LevelUp Life

Patrick Felicia

Join us as we unravel the connections between games and personal evolution. Explore innovative game-based strategies that extend beyond screens, fostering learning, motivation, and positive change. Whether you're a seasoned gamer or a curious novice, our Pixel Pathways guide you through educational adventures. Tune in for expert insights, practical tips, and inspiring stories to empower you in leveling up your potential. Discover the transformative impact of games, turning every challenge into a game-changing opportunity! 

Episodes

  1. 06/13/2024

    #007: An Interview with Brock Dubbels on Games, Learning and Play

    Brock Dubbels specializes in driving innovation, leadership, and research spanning various sectors. With a passion for building winning teams, reducing effort while increasing impact, and maintaining a strong focus on customer value, he has had the privilege of working with some of the most prominent organizations and institutions.   His approach is grounded in a lean design research practice that transforms business cases into actionable insights. He specializes in omnichannel products and services, including FinTech and and MedTech, educational games, and online-to-offline experiences.   As a seasoned professional with a diverse skill set, He brings expertise in:  Business modeling User experience (UX) Strategic thinking and acting Quantitative and qualitative research Field research Communication Rapid prototyping Design thinking Virtual and augmented reality Machine learning and artificial intelligence   His journey includes two published books on video game research, motivation, and learning, alongside collaborations with industry giants like Amazon, Equinix, and Nielsen, among others.   With honors such as being a Fulbright Fellow, a scholar supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, and a recipient of the Orion Innovation Award, he has consistently pushed the boundaries of knowledge.   As the Editor In Chief Emeritus of the International Journal of Games and Computer-Mediated Simulations, he has contributed significantly to the field of games and simulations.   His commitment to research and innovation extends beyond the corporate world, as he has made valuable contributions as an Adjunct Professor, Game Developer, and a Public School Teacher in the field of education, focusing on serious games and virtual reality.   He is here to share his insights, experiences, and passion for innovation and leadership. Join hil in exploring the boundless possibilities of driving change and creating a brighter future.  In this interview shares his experience and thoughts about games and how they can support the learning process and innovation.

    28 min
  2. 05/23/2024

    #004:Enriching Esports: Four Years of Research Findings on NASEF with Constance Steinkuehler

    Constance Steinkuehler is a Professor in the Department of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine where she researches culture, cognition, and learning in the context of multiplayer online videogames. She is an ADL Belfer Fellow, Chair of UCI’s Game Design and Interactive Media Program, and Co-Director of the Games+Learning+Society (GLS) Center. She teaches courses on games and society, games as social platforms, research methods, and visual design. Her current projects include investigations of toxicity and extremism in online games, an audit of game company policies related to player-vs-player behavior, reasoning with misinformation, and a literature review of the impact of gaming tech on adjacent and distal fields.   Constance formerly served as Senior Policy Analyst under the Obama administration in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, advising on videogames and digital media. She is the founder of the Federal Games Guild, a working group across federal agencies using games and simulations as tools for thought, and the Higher Education Video Games Alliance, an academic non-for-profit organization of game-related programs in higher education. Her research has been funded by the Anti-Defamation League, the Samueli Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Gates Foundation, the National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the Universities of Cambridge, Wisconsin-Madison, and California-Irvine. She has published over one hundred articles and book chapters including six conference proceedings, four special journal issues, and two books. She has worked closely with the National Research Council and National Academy of Education on special reports relate to videogames, and her work has been featured in Science, Wired, USA Today, New York Times, LA Times, ABC, CBS, CNN NPR, BBC and The Chronicle of Higher Education. In this interview, Constance tells us more about her motivation to use games for teaching, and shares lifelong experiences and insights about how she sees games can be used for learning, for motivation and for change.

    25 min
  3. #003:Education’s Great Pivot is Powered by Short Sims with Clark Aldrich

    04/24/2024

    #003:Education’s Great Pivot is Powered by Short Sims with Clark Aldrich

    Clark Aldrich is changing the trajectory of education. ​As a leading analyst he founded Gartner's e-learning coverage and jump-started the adoption of distributed learning by the world’s largest organizations. His research and projects on game based and simulation based learning launched the gamification segment. He is the author of six books, including Unschooling Rules, which empowered the trend of student-centric micro-schools. Now his work on Short Sims is making educational media relevant for preparing students and employees to take leadership roles in a skills-based economy.   Aldrich’s visionary and change-agent status has been codified through awards including numerous "Best of the Years", a U.S. Patent, being highlighted in "top-of-the-profession" lists and cover stories by industry leading publications, roles on multiple boards, his role as columnists for several magazines, keynotes, and being featured in hundreds of news stories including by New York Times, NPR, CBS, and ABC. He has been called a 'guru' by Fortune Magazine and a 'maverick' by CNN. He has also lectured at the Army War College, the Naval War College, and FBI's Quantico. Aldrich recently held Top Secret clearance for his strategic work with the US military.   In this interview, Clark tells us more about his motivation to use simulations for teaching, and shares lifelong experiences and insights about how he sees games and simulations can be used for learning, for motivation and for change.

    22 min
  4. #002:Bring Joy Back to Teaching & Learning with a Gameful Classroom with katrin Becker

    04/11/2024

    #002:Bring Joy Back to Teaching & Learning with a Gameful Classroom with katrin Becker

    Katrin is an award winning, internationally known expert in the design and analysis of Serious Games and in gamification in the classroom. She holds two Computer Science degrees and a PhD in Educational Technology. She is a certified instructional designer with a graduate certificate in serious game design and research. She has over 35 years of teaching experience and has taught CS, video game design, DGBL, and technical writing. Her teaching innovations have been internationally recognized and she is widely published. She designs and develops e Learning in all sectors, including educational and advertising games. Her recent game, Gene Rummy is a physical card game to help people learn basic Mendelian genetics. She is also the author of three books; one on the technical aspects of simulations and games written for non-technical people (Wiley, 2011), now available on LeanPub, one on choosing and using digital games for the classroom (Springer, 2016), and a memoir called, "Reni". Her next book, "Gamification 101: A Practical Guide to Gameful Learning", is due out next year.   Finally, to counterbalance a very digital life, she runs a small farm where she has been raising rabbits, waterfowl, and other animals for over 30 years. This farm forms the basis for her “Ducks in the Classroom” program, which provided eggs for hatching in classrooms locally from 1988-2012, and information on school hatching projects globally since 2001. It also accounts for occasional bit of poo on her shoe.  In this interview, Katrin tells us more about her motivation to use gaming and games for teaching, and shares lifelong experiences and insights about how he see games can be used for learning, for motivation and for change.

    21 min

About

Join us as we unravel the connections between games and personal evolution. Explore innovative game-based strategies that extend beyond screens, fostering learning, motivation, and positive change. Whether you're a seasoned gamer or a curious novice, our Pixel Pathways guide you through educational adventures. Tune in for expert insights, practical tips, and inspiring stories to empower you in leveling up your potential. Discover the transformative impact of games, turning every challenge into a game-changing opportunity!