AI and the Future of Education
Wednesday, March 25, 2026
5:30–8:30 pm
Featured Speakers
Aaron Rasmussen
Aaron Rasmussen (COM’06, CAS’06) is an entrepreneur, inventor, and game designer. He’s best known as a founder of educational platforms MasterClass and Outlier.org, which creates impactful, for-credit online college courses to promote affordable, accessible education. At MasterClass, Rasmussen was both creative director and CTO, creating courses taught by notable experts and directing many himself.
Rasmussen previously founded and sold an industrial robotics company and a beverage company. The entirely audio-based video game he co-created, BlindSide, has won multiple awards and is being adapted into a film by Radar Pictures. Rasmussen serves on the board of trustees at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. He speaks and writes on education, innovation, art, and the intersection of all with artificial intelligence.
Clay Hopper, Random Actor
Clay Hopper is a senior lecturer in directing at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts School of Theatre and a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC). He previously served as associate artistic director at Olney Theatre Center (2019–2022) and as director of the National Players Summer Shakespeare Festival (2006–2012). His directing credits include Twelfth Night, The Tempest, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Amadeus, as well as contemporary works such as 39 Steps and Call of the Wild. Hopper was director of the Classic Repertory Company at New Repertory Theatre (2012–2016), directing Great Expectations, 1984, Animal Farm, and Of Mice and Men.
James Grady, Random Actor
James Grady is a designer, educator, and researcher whose work explores the intersections of design, performance, and computation. He is the co-creator, with director Clay Hopper, of Random Actor, an experimental design tool that links human performance with computational systems. Developed through years of collaboration with colleagues, students, and Boston University’s Spark! program, the project received a 2024 American Digital Design Award from GD USA for its innovation and impact. Random Actor has been shaped by contributions from undergraduate and graduate students across disciplines, expanding its creative applications in theater, music, and interactive media. Grady’s broader research focuses on digital product innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovative pedagogy. He is principal of Design Axl and an assistant professor of graphic design at Boston University.
Penny A. Bishop
Penny A. Bishop is dean of Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development and professor in Teaching & Learning. A scholar of early adolescence and middle grades education, her research focuses on providing responsive learning environments for young adolescents. Previously, Dean Bishop served as dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Maine. She began her career in higher education as a faculty member at the University of Vermont in 1998, where she served as associate dean of their College of Education and Social Services from 2014–2020 and founding director of the Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education from 2009–2017. A former middle school teacher, Dean Bishop has published seven books on education reform, along with dozens of widely cited book chapters and articles in top peer-reviewed journals.
Naomi Caselli
Naomi Caselli is an associate professor of Deaf education at Boston University, director of the BU Deaf Center, and director of the AI and Education Initiative. Her research brings together education, linguistics, psychology, and computer science to ensure deaf children have full access to language. A central focus of her work explores how AI can be used responsibly to improve accessibility for sign language users. Through interdisciplinary research inclusive of sign languages, Caselli advances understanding of language learning while shaping ethical, human-centered applications of AI in education and communication.
Michael Alan Chang
Michael Alan Chang is an assistant professor at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, a faculty fellow in BU’s Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, and an assistant director at the Earl Center for Learning & Innovation. A learning scientist and computer scientist, his work explores ethical, participatory approaches to AI-supported teaching and learning. Chang partners with students, families, and educators to design AI tools that promote equity and democratic learning. His NSF-supported research has led to the development of collaborative AI systems, including Community Builder, now used in public schools nationwide.
Nermeen Dashoush
Nermeen Dashoush is a clinical associate professor at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development whose work explores how AI, media, and technology can expand access to high-quality STEM learning for young children. Her research focuses on adult–child discourse, informal learning, and culturally relevant design to strengthen STEM and AI literacy. She is principal investigator on multiple grants, including an NSF-funded project co-designing AI literacy and computational thinking experiences with families. Dashoush has contributed to Emmy-nominated children’s media, advises PBS KIDS, and creates widely used digital learning tools.
TJ McKenna
TJ McKenna is a clinical assistant professor in science education at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development and associate director of educator engagement and impact for the AI & Education Initiative. With over 20 years of experience as a scientist, educator, and science communicator, his work focuses on supporting teachers at scale. McKenna designs AI systems for educational coaching, researches AI-mediated professional learning, and develops AI literacy curricula that connect pedagogy, practice, and policy to strengthen equitable STEM education.