loader from loading.io

Tori Mondelli with Innovative Learning with Gamification and AI | Episode 379

Professor Game Podcast

Release Date: 02/06/2025

AI + Game Thinking = Retention Breakthrough | Episode 397 show art AI + Game Thinking = Retention Breakthrough | Episode 397

Professor Game Podcast

Click the link below to book a quick 10–15 minute chat with me. No sales, no pressure—just ideas and clarity on how to engage your community and grow revenue. 🗓 Strategy Meets AI Game design + AI = game changer. In this episode, Amy Jo Kim returns to share how she’s combining decades of design wisdom with cutting-edge AI to build smarter, faster onboarding and retention systems. If you're struggling with churn, this conversation is your blueprint to better systems, better questions, and better engagement. Previous episodes with Amy Jo Kim:   Rob is a host and consultant at...

info_outline
Why Most Community Building Fails (And HOW TO WIN) | Episode 396 show art Why Most Community Building Fails (And HOW TO WIN) | Episode 396

Professor Game Podcast

🚀 Want your community buzzing and bringing in more revenue? Snag my free mini course with 3 killer gamification hacks: Why are your members disappearing—even when you’re doing everything “right”? Rob breaks down the real reasons communities lose members, even when packed with great content. Drawing from what successful games do to keep players hooked, you'll learn the 3 invisible traps that quietly destroy retention—and what to do instead. No gimmicks. No burnout. Just practical, game-inspired strategies to re-engage your members and boost community revenue. Grab the free above...

info_outline
Coaching Leadership Through Role-Playing Games with Joe Lasley | Episode 395 show art Coaching Leadership Through Role-Playing Games with Joe Lasley | Episode 395

Professor Game Podcast

🚀 Want your community buzzing and bringing in more revenue? Snag my free mini course with 3 killer gamification hacks: What happens when role-playing games become a leadership development tool? In this episode we interview Joe, founder of GameNamic Leadership, to explore how tabletop RPGs can unlock transformational learning, reshape team dynamics, and deliver lasting cultural change. From piloting immersive retreats to coaching teams in real time, Joe shares how combining leadership coaching with roleplay doesn't just gamify learning—it changes how people show up at work. ​Dr. Joe...

info_outline
The Great Gambit: Teaching Peace Through Play with Anders Kjellberg | Episode 394 show art The Great Gambit: Teaching Peace Through Play with Anders Kjellberg | Episode 394

Professor Game Podcast

🔥 Losing users? Get free, expert-backed resources to boost retention with gamification: What happens when a teacher turns history into a simulation? We interview Swedish educator Anders Kjellberg, who co-created The Great Gambit, a role-playing simulation designed to help students understand the driving forces behind conflict—and how to prevent war. From sweaty failures to empowering classroom dynamics, Anders shares what worked, what didn’t, and how learning through games can activate students like never before. Anders works as a teacher in Swedish upper secondary school. His main...

info_outline
Bram Wulteputte Gamifies Education With Minecraft and NASA | Episode 393 show art Bram Wulteputte Gamifies Education With Minecraft and NASA | Episode 393

Professor Game Podcast

🔥 Losing users? Get free, expert-backed resources to boost retention with gamification: How do you gamify learning without losing the learning? We talk with Bram about designing Minecraft-powered learning experiences that actually work. From working with NASA to teaching democracy through play, he reveals how chunking content, building tutorials, and collaborating with subject matter experts creates game-based learning that sticks. Bram Wulteputte is a Co-founder and the Head of Education at Shapescape, a company merging education with the immersive world of . With years of experience in...

info_outline
Why Aldi Agaj Builds Games With Scientists AND Teachers | Episode 392 show art Why Aldi Agaj Builds Games With Scientists AND Teachers | Episode 392

Professor Game Podcast

🔥 Losing users? Get free, expert-backed resources to boost retention with gamification: What if learning felt like playing — and retention was built into the design? In this episode, Rob interviews Aldi Agaj, CEO of Alter Learning, who shares how his team builds educational video games in collaboration with scientists, educators, and developers. From failures to scaling 40+ games, Aldi reveals how passion, teamwork, and gamification fuel long-term engagement and real-world impact in education. Chief Executive Officer of AAK Tele-Science , And CEO of Alter-Learning Educational Platform...

info_outline
3 Customer Retention Strategies That Keep Customers Coming Back | Episode 391 show art 3 Customer Retention Strategies That Keep Customers Coming Back | Episode 391

Professor Game Podcast

🚀 Want your community buzzing and bringing in more revenue? Snag my free mini course with 3 killer gamification hacks: Tired of watching great customers walk away? We reveal how gamification can transform retention, skyrocket engagement, and massively increase your customer lifetime value—without resorting to gimmicky rewards. Rob is a host and consultant at Professor Game as well as an expert, and advocate for the use of gamification and games-based solutions, especially in education and learning. He's also a professor and workshop facilitator for the topics of the podcast and LEGO...

info_outline
Role-Playing for Real Learning with Anthony Kurza | Episode 390 show art Role-Playing for Real Learning with Anthony Kurza | Episode 390

Professor Game Podcast

🔥 Losing users? Get free, expert-backed resources to boost retention with gamification: From clueless to collaborative in one session? That’s the power of a well-designed Tabletop RPG. Rob Alvarez sits down with Anthony Kurza, creator of the SAN model and higher ed coach, to explore how role-playing games can unlock retention, connection, and deep learning—both inside and outside the classroom. Anthony Kurza is a game designer specializing in tabletop role-playing games and an educator in higher education. His work bridges storytelling, game mechanics, and immersive learning, creating...

info_outline
Witcher-Level Storytelling for Real Engagement with Jakub Szamalek | Episode 389 show art Witcher-Level Storytelling for Real Engagement with Jakub Szamalek | Episode 389

Professor Game Podcast

🔥 Losing users? Get free, expert-backed resources to boost retention with gamification: Why do players stay hooked for 100+ hours in games like The Witcher 3? It's not just gameplay—it's story. Rob Alvarez is joined by Jakub Szamalek, the master narrative designer behind gaming's most iconic worlds, to unpack the secrets of choice, emotion, and retention through storytelling. Jakub Szamalek is an award-winning narrative designer and writer, best known for his work on The Witcher III: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077. Jakub has played a key role in shaping some of the most emotionally...

info_outline
When Perfect Balance Fails: Lessons in Gamified Design with Alireza Ranjbar | Episode 388 show art When Perfect Balance Fails: Lessons in Gamified Design with Alireza Ranjbar | Episode 388

Professor Game Podcast

If you're struggling to keep people engaged and loyal in your product or business, check out my FREE gamification course to learn how to do just that: What happens when a perfectly balanced gamification system fails with users? Alireza Ranjbar Shourabi shares this shocking experience and unpacks how cultural nuances, hidden perceptions, and behavioral insights can make or break your engagement strategy. Starting in high school, Alireza used computers as a means to create and play games, first diving into programming and then exploring 2D and 3D art. Eventually, he discovered his true passion...

info_outline
 
More Episodes

If you're struggling to keep people engaged and loyal in your product or business, check out my FREE gamification course to learn how to do just that: professorgame.com/freecommunity-web

Discover the intersection of AI and gamification in education to enhance creativity and efficiency. We're joined by Dr. Victoria "Tori" Mondelli, a pioneer in the field of educational game design and the founding director of the University of Missouri's Teaching for Learning Center. This episode dives deep into the world of gamification, exploring how games can be used as powerful educational tools to enhance engagement and learning outcomes.

Dr. Mondelli serves as the Founding Director of the University of Missouri’s Teaching for Learning Center. She is an affiliated faculty member in Adroit Studios Gaming Lab in the College of Education & Human Development and the History Department in the College of Arts and Science. She holds a Ph.D. in early modern European history. Her training as a historian led her to prize writing across the curriculum and writing in the disciplines' pedagogies. From there, she became an expert in coaching faculty and other educators to incorporate the full gamut of evidence-based and creative practices to maximize student engagement and deepen learning.

Her passion for game-based learning was ignited while at the City University of New York and led her to facilitate workshops nationally, often with her co-author, Dr. Joe Bisz. Their collaborative, highly interactive pedagogy was in need of a scholarly design method to leverage research-based principles known to improve learning. After years of research and praxis, Mondelli and Bisz released their book in 2023, The Educator’s Guide to Designing Games and Creative Active-Learning Exercises: The Allure of Play.

When not playing games, Dr. Mondelli can be found leading strategic teaching initiatives to enhance support for faculty members and graduate instructors. Lately, she has been in the thick or pedagogical and ethical discussions and policy-making for Gen AI at her institution. In short, tech or no tech, she aims to increase the prevalence of learning environments that intentionally build a sense of belonging for ALL learners, while structuring active learning and transparent assessment.

Rob is a host and consultant at Professor Game as well as an expert, international speaker and advocate for the use of gamification and games-based solutions, especially in education and learning. He's also a professor and workshop facilitator for the topics of the podcast and LEGO SERIOUS PLAY (LSP) for top higher education institutions that include EFMD, IE Business School and EBS among others in Europe, America and Asia.

 

Guest Links and Info

 

Links to episode mentions:

 

Lets's do stuff together!