Welcome back. I'm excited for you to tune in to today's podcast. Typically I get asked questions about this topic, oh, I don't know, about a gazillion times a week.

For being a writing program, I never expected that the number one question people would ask me has nothing to do with writing.

I think the fact that I raised five kids during the internet era, everyone is dying to know what I think about.

Are you already anticipating me?

Do you already know what the question is?

Video games?

Oh my gosh, I mean, will they turn into demented little people if they play

mortal combat that's the question how many hours how many minutes how many days

are they too violent is it okay if they love Minecraft?

Will they turn into people who never get jobs?

This is today's topic. Today's guest is someone that was introduced to me by a brave writer fan on Instagram.

I immediately tuned in to this person's Instagram stories and was mesmerized by the expertise, the whimsical manner in which they shared

their story and shared their ideas.

And I just knew that I wanted to get to know this person better.

And that person is Ash Brandon, a middle school teacher from Golden,

Colorado.

After researching the use of video games in classrooms,

Ash found that there was very little research

about how games compel players to play and how this can be brought into the classroom or any educational environment.

Since 2016, Ash has spoken across the country about how academic spaces can mimic game structures

to make learning compelling, motivating, and engaging. That's good news, right? Ash believes game. motivating and

I'm engaging. specifically entertainment games can help us create better teaching

...