The Game-based Learning Review, Episode 3: Reach for the Sun with Special Guest Ed Metz!

January 26, 2026
Brandon Pittser
The Game-based Learning Review, Episode 3: Reach for the Sun with Special Guest Ed Metz!
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Current State of VR in Schools
What Does the Research Say?
Challenges Facing VR Adoption
Best Practices from Early Adopters
The Future of VR in Education
Related Projects
Meta Quest 2 & 3
Design Thinking
12+
mPower Math

mPower Math is a K-6 math suite developed with TVO that focuses on building foundational skills through interactive problem solving. Players complete adaptive activities aligned to classroom learning while practicing critical thinking within varied scenarios.

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Meta Quest 2 & 3
Design Thinking
12+
Square Panda

Square Panda is collection of early literacy games developed with Square Panda that focus on letters, phonetics, and spelling. Players place physical letters into the Square Panda Playset to hear sounds and build words while completing challenges.

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In this week’s episode we’re live with Ed Metz, former leader of the Department of Education’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. As we chat, Dan Norton carefully orchestrates the growth of a toad lily in Reach for the Sun, an award-winning Filament Games classic about photosynthesis and plant growth which got its original funding from the SBIR program. In this wide-ranging discussion, we cover the origins of SBIR, the shifting funding landscape in EDU, the existential importance of starch, and prognostications for the future of education. It’s a packed hour!

Tune in Mondays on the Filament Games YouTube channel from 12:30pm – 01:30pm CST to learn more about the educational games of the past, present and future. Subscribe for notifications!

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