Learning is a catalyst for workplace transformation, how industry vanguards keep their employees moving along the steep curve of digital transformation. But, most professional development and workplace learning experiences feel prescriptive and uninspired, nothing like the disruptive technologies they are meant to address. Games - serious games, not gamification - are increasingly used as K12 teaching tools because they work! Games have been shown to increase participation, foster SEL (social and emotional learning), improve attitudes toward learning, and motivate learners to take risks. Immersive game environments, like Minecraft, add new layers of interactivity, exploration, and inspiration. It's time for game-based learning to grow up. 3D worlds enable novel skill building, safe opportunities to take risks, and new modes of interaction to improve remote collaboration. When combined with Web3 concepts, such as tokenization and decentralization, completely new ways of teaching and learning emerge.
Beth Porter has pioneered research and developed products that transform online teaching and learning. Beth launched the Open edX initiative at edX, an open-source digital learning software used by more than 55 million learners worldwide. Beth was instrumental in architecting the original Texas OnCourse program, a state-funded career and college counseling platform serving all Texas schools.
A former VP at Pearson Education and edX, Porter’s expertise stems from a deep passion for education, and desire to provide high quality tech-enabled learning experiences. She has led multiple product and engineering teams to deliver customer-focused educational technology products.
As part of her work building EdTech products that truly solve higher education’s engagement problem, Porter is co-founder, President and COO of Esme Learning, an AI-powered digital learning platform. She has worked with clients in technology, education, and publishing to develop product strategy and vision, provide technical direction and architecture, and conceive end-to-end solutions that meet business needs. Porter also co-founded Riff Analytics, AI-enabled collaboration software that was acquired by Esme Learning in 2021.
Porter is a lecturer at Boston University’s Questrom School of Management. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx