888: Chipping Away at the Skills Gap - with Scott Dow, Board Member, LA Semiconductor & President, Heroic Game Day

Dr. Joe Sallustio: Welcome back everybody. It's your time to add up on the EdUp Experience podcast where we make education your business. This is Dr. Joe Sallustio here again, bringing you more innovative leaders to the microphone as we talk about what's going on in and around education and higher education today. 

There's a lot to talk about, isn't there? There's FAFSA. There is ending of the terms. The school year is almost out for many of our K-12 and higher education colleagues. We have people questioning the value of higher education. We have lots of people that have applied to school and wondering where to go as they wait on that financial information, as I said with FAFSA.

Something that we have to figure out as an institution is what this is going to mean as institutions go into fall. We don't know how the drawdowns will work if you're in financial aid, how the cash is going to come in, so many questions. What's going on with artificial intelligence? We talked about it for a little while, it kind of was a big thing, still is, but it doesn't come up as much now that we're all settling in using different AI programs. It's almost becoming part of our fabric now and not something we have to talk about.

It's almost an assumption that we're using AI for different tasks. So it's going to be fun to talk with my guest about what's going on today in his organization and organizations that he works with and is connected to. And let's get him on right now. Ladies and gentlemen, here he is. He is Scott Dow. He is a board member at L.A. Semiconductor and the president at Heroic Game Day. Scott, welcome to the microphone. How are you?

Scott Dow: Very good, Joe. Thanks for having me on the show.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: Tell me about where you want to start. Heroic Game Day, L.A. Semiconductor. Which one do you want to start with? Tell us about both if you want. What do you do? How do you do it?

Scott Dow: Yeah, let me talk about both here because we're connected at the hip. So L.A. Semiconductor is a traditional semiconductor company. They create chips, a lot of chips for the military, a lot of analog chips, very basic semiconductor stuff, but very important. Without these chips, microwaves wouldn't work, our backup cameras wouldn't work, a lot of the tools and weapons in the military wouldn't work. So we really don't appreciate these chips until they stop working, and then we start to get a little frantic about life. So that's L.A. Semiconductor.

The CEO there has been in the business for the last 35 years, a really smart guy and doing some really great work. We partnered up with them. I started about 10 years ago, I started a kid-driven game-based learning platform, kind of like Minecraft or Fortnite for kids, K-6 kids, elementary school-aged kids. So when we talk about higher education now, we actually extend that down to kindergarten.

So higher education now needs to start at K-6. And we're working with universities who are actually working with us to create the game-based learning content, the skills content. We teach the top 20 skills, teamwork, communication, hardware, software, coding, critical thinking, resilience, all these great skills that these kids need to lead, to survive and thrive in their new world that's coming up. You talk about AI, artificial intelligence, so all that good stuff. It's going to be a different world that these kids are moving into.

So anyway, we partnered up with L.A. Semiconductor. So right now, as we speak, kids in our game, elementary school-aged kids, are learning how to build a computer chip.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: That is amazing. So Joe, do you know how to build a computer chip?

Scott Dow: Most of us do not. These kids, because they're in a gamified virtual learning environment, are going into the L.A. Semiconductor Fab in the game, getting excited about what a chip is, learning about what a chip is, and actually learning and doing the work to build a computer chip they can then use in the game to upgrade their vehicle, to upgrade their building, to upgrade whatever.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: Are you kidding me?

Scott Dow: I'm serious. So anyway, that's how we partnered with industry, the semiconductor industry and brought in technology that's being used for good, right? With these young kids, right? This is a concern of most parents. You know, my kids, there's technology everywhere. I don't know what's good. I don't know what's bad. I don't know how to manage this thing, but we help them do that. We help those kids, those parents, the schools to use technology for good, to help companies like L.A. Semiconductor. All semiconductor companies will get into this, you know, in our conversation why this industry is so important.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: It's interesting because you're talking about that you've created an ecosystem of learning from really from soup to nuts, right? So let me understand this, because I think maybe perhaps I need to go back and get into Heroic and start learning how to build the chip. But I'm a student. I'm a K through 6 student. I am inside the game, and I can build my own semiconductor through partnership with L.A. Semiconductors and upgrade parts of my game with the chip that I build within the game.

Scott Dow: Yeah, a virtual chip.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: This is amazing. So, you know, I was like you, I had forgotten more than I've learned and I forgot how to make a computer chip if I ever knew how to do it. Just for clarity, I've never known how to create a computer chip. I just wanted to, if anybody was believing that I knew that, totally.

Scott Dow: Me neither. So, and none of the people out, well, maybe our CTO, he actually had an idea how to build one of these things. But L.A. Semiconductor came in as the subject matter expert. So whether it's L.A. Semiconductor and/or that post-secondary university, the learning institution, they come in as the subject matter experts and they work with us to make sure, right? L.A. Semiconductor made sure that we created the games, the activities, the missions in these nine different steps. There's nine steps to building a computer chip. I know how to build a computer chip now, right? Because I've actually watched this content being built and how I watch the kids go through this process.

So the next step is, you know, working with post-secondary, the higher ed folks who will actually credit that learning. And give that eight-year-old a certificate from, you know, XYZ University, or college credit even if they're right. That's the next step. I mean, I actually call this credit, but just at the basic level, just give them a certificate. Give them something that recognizes that kids are smarter than most of the doctors at the university. 

I sat down with one PhD at one university. I won't share the name of it, but I told them about this. Hey, we've got first graders that are actually building computer chips. He says, no, he can't do that. I said, well, actually we not only can we do it, but it's happening today as we speak. And then this is how we're doing it. So by the end of that conversation, he was saying, yeah, okay, I get it now. I see how we can engage. 

And this is the crux of the matter here, right? And this is why we're losing so many kids in elementary school. We're losing them. They're not interested in STEM. They're not interested, right? They're losing that interest, that excitement for science, technology, engineering, math. They're losing that in elementary school. If we're trying to get kids excited about it in middle and high school and college, it's too late. We've already lost most of them. That's why we go back to what I said initially. Higher learning starts at kindergarten. We have to reframe how we're thinking about higher learning.

And then that experience of the college, the university, post-secondary has to be brought down, has to start in elementary school. We have to get the kids excited about learning, whether it's technology with semiconductors, whether it's trades, whether it's whatever. We have to get them excited to learn, to do, to be successful. We have to give them the hope.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: And, you know, we'll get on the show here in another six months and we'll talk to you about what we're actually doing with the Department of Defense. Which we believe will impact directly our national security.

Scott Dow: 100%. Right now, you know, the military, they're down in their recruiting. Why? Because 75% of the kids from the get-go don't even qualify. They can't even try to get over that bar because of health, other issues. So, you know, it all starts in that young age. We have to keep the fire lit, keep stoking the fire of learning, wanting to learn at that age. And we will end up with more kids in college. We will end up with the best and the brightest workers.

When I sit in boardrooms now of the semiconductor people, I look around the room and most of these are older folks and I ask them, because these are really smart people, way smarter than me. They speak a language that I don't even understand. So I asked them, I said, who's going to take your place? You know, I see a bunch of really smart people and hardworking patriotic workers, the best on the planet, right in this room. Who's taking your place? That's it. Huh? They don't know who's taking their place, right? They don't see that happening in the K-12, the feeder, the farm team.

They don't see the success there. They don't see the best and the brightest and the most patriotic workers coming out of that system right now. It used to be that way. And that's how we got ahead in the world. That's how you develop better technology is by having better people, smarter people to develop that technology. And it all starts in that K-12 system. So anyway, they're excited to partner with us. Why? Because it fills that pipeline for them. It gives them hope that when they hand over the reins, that semiconductor hands over the reins to XYZ people, you know, person that they're, they're smart, smarter than these guys.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: Where did this come from? Heroic Game Day? Where was the brainchild? How did it come to be? Where did it all start? Why?

Scott Dow: Yeah. I mean, we started a company about a decade ago, over a decade ago. And simply, I mean, I'm an education entrepreneur, but I saw the need, the opportunity to bring together gaming and education. And at that point, it was like oil and water, still is like oil and water. We just figured out how to bring the two together with a lot of energy. 

And what's really cool about this too, like, you know, if you go to the website, heroicgameday.com, there's leaderboards. So not only are you building the educational capacity of these kids. You're building grit and perseverance and competition and in a technology world, all of those things still exist.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: And, you know, we talk about a lot of times with college students who are noticing today, grit is one of those missing pieces a lot of times. Perseverance, the ability to push forward, not succumb to some of the challenges. And we do see that as a, so building that early, there's so much more than the game. The gaming aspect is so beautiful, right? Even as adults, we compete from gaming. I mean, I still got a PS5 in my basement that I was playing last night. But it teaches you also sometimes when you don't, we talk about this, when you don't pass that level. You go back and you try it again and try it again and you try it again and try and eventually you learn how to get by. That's what learning is, not getting a grade pass fail grade at the end of the first time you try it. So there's so many benefits beyond the learning piece, right? There's the talk about that a little bit in the resilience building perseverance, grit. What comes out of it?

Scott Dow: Yeah, yeah. And if you look at our skill chart there on that homepage, you'll see that resilience is one of the top 20 skills. Why? Because it is an absolute critical skill. Harvard University has done some studies on that and they've come out and said that resilience, grit is the biggest indicator of success for any entrepreneur. That is correct. Right? So anyway, you're absolutely right when you talk about the difference between game-based learning and traditional classroom, high stakes test learning. Gaming, we encourage failure.

We celebrate it. Yeah, you didn't quite get to the next level. Tough luck, kid. Let's do it. Let's try again. Okay, I'm going again. It's just part of the process of learning and that's just the natural. That's how learning naturally happens, just trial and error, trial and error. So that's how we're able to use technology to get back to the basics of learning, the real basics of the stuff that really works.

And so as we're doing that in these critical industries, like just the semiconductor industry, semiconductors, that's the new oil. China's investing more money in buying and building semiconductors than they are in oil because they know, and you talk about competition, they know, I know, because we worked there for a few years with the Ministry of Education. I know exactly how these folks are thinking and what they're doing. Artificial intelligence. They know that if they control the technology, that they will control the world, basically. That's the way it is, simple terms.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: Yeah. And congratulations to the Biden administration for allocating more money. You can criticize them a lot on a lot of different fronts, but this is one area where they've started down the right path of putting $53 billion plus on the table to bring that industry back home. We used to have it here on our home.

Scott Dow: Yeah, we kind of let it go. I mean, my semiconductor guys, they went through all that. They said, yeah, it was because of labor. The labor costs were cheaper overseas for people to solder chips into the boards. Well, now a lot of that is automated. So the labor costs aren't as much of a factor as they were back then. So now we're able to actually bring back parts of that supply chain. That's interesting. That's our future. We have to lead. We have to continue to lead. Still, the US is leading the world, but we've lost a lot of ground.

And the trends are a little scary when we looked at the competitive trends out there with other countries like China is at the top of the list. They want to take us up.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: Yeah. They will. There's no question about it. That's their plan. They want to move. They want to leapfrog the U.S. and they're going to do it in their mind. Their plan is to do it with technology. I semiconductors all that good stuff.

Scott Dow: Yeah. And they've got the investment, the will, the infrastructure. They've been chasing for years, right? So that's competition. So what do you do when you're at the top? If you continue to, if you get comfortable or complacent, you eventually get caught and it's tough. It's tough being at the top. I mean, you gotta stay sharp.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: Yeah. It's a lot easier to stay sharp when you're number two. You know, just, it's just human nature.

Scott Dow: And, so, so this is our message out to, you know, anyone that we'll talk to, and I appreciate this time that we've had with you to talk about this, that, you know, the message is higher learning has to start in kindergarten. Right. We have to bring in, there's some really easy ways. It's not a whole lot of investment. This is great branding for any university. This is just the best branding in the world, right. To start helping kids learn when they're in elementary school. Right. That brand becomes a part of them and they're more likely to go to that college when they're college age. But before that, let's help them learn, right? Not only for the branding purposes, but more so for the potential, right? To help these kids realize their potential early on, stay on that track, right? Stay excited about learning.

And we know we're seeing data now that's off the charts. Now this is something that has taken us a good decade to really get into the full cycle of this thing. Watching kids play the game, collecting data, mapping our data to state test data, math scores, reading, science. And we can now guarantee, based on our data, and then the time that kids are spending in the game, you know, learning to build those chips, doing this and that, that 30 minutes a day in our game, we can guarantee that that kid will be proficient in their state reading, math and science tests.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: From your website because of the data you generate, you offer the education industry's first ever learning guarantee. The Heroic reading and math proficiency guarantee. That's pretty incredible.

Scott Dow: That's it. Yeah, it's amazing. So do we need to say anymore?

Dr. Joe Sallustio: Yeah. If we don't, and you know, we don't get a hundred percent of the kids. You know, we get that. How does that work? Talk about the model a little bit to you. So do you partner with a high school, with an elementary school, with the district? Do you, is it an individual user law? You know, how does that work? The model.

Scott Dow: Depending on the country it's different, but in the U.S. we work with the schools, the districts and the state. So, you know, at that state level, we're working to get it funded so we can get into the school without them paying out of their local budget. So there's a lot of different things that we've been trying to scale up. So that's the model in the US because there's a lot of funding. The solution to our education problems is not more funding. We're one of the top funded education systems in the world.

The solution is using that existing money better, paying teachers more, giving them more tools that don't require more time, that actually gives them more time to do their higher level stuff. And so we're a part of that solution. A little bit of money goes a long ways to helping the kid learn, get engaged, get excited, have hope, helping the teacher lighten their load.

We got teachers leaving the system in droves. Why? Because they're overworked. They pay teachers more and they're overworked and underpaid.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: Yeah. I'd be leaving too.

Scott Dow: Yeah, for sure. Right. What industry would you go to an entry where somebody says, we're not going to pay you that much, but we're going to work you to death? Do you want to start today? Until you leave. Until you leave or drop dead. Right.

So anyway, that's the model in places like India. We just launched in India last month. That's more of a direct to consumer. Why? Because the India parents are able and willing to pay a little extra for a little bit of extra help for their kids. So that's kind of the model, depending on the country.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: Do you do individual users in the US? Like I'm a dad, I got two kids. I'm like, man, this sounds great. I'd love to stick them in this. And is that a possibility?

Scott Dow: You go big, not in the US. We're actually doing some tests, actually starting Monday. We're doing some direct to consumer social media testing in the US with some specific verticals. One is for type one diabetic kids. There's nothing for them when they get diagnosed in the elementary school age years. So we've actually created content as part of our skills platform that helped them learn how to manage and live the adventure of their life.

So that's one test we're doing. Another test we're doing with the semiconductor folks. So we're doing some tests and I believe we'll get it all figured out so we can offer it to someone like you and I'll let you get in there with your, how old are your kids?

Dr. Joe Sallustio: Nine and six.

Scott Dow: Perfect. Perfect age for it. So we'll get you in there, let those kids do some beta testing.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: Yeah. That'd be great. It's funny because I, you know, I'm thinking about this from the higher ed perspective going, wow, what a great pipeline to the skills workforce. And then all of a sudden I went selfishly and I went, wow, I would love my kids to be in something like this. And then all the other higher ed leaders that listen to this podcast could be thinking the same thing. Like I would love my kids to be in something like this. What a great way to develop amazing partnerships too, because you've, you as a dad, I think a dad first, especially my boy, he would cry. He would just die to be in something like this where he's, you know, he asks for video games all the time and he just wants to play video games. And of course I don't want to get him in video games all the time because he's not outside playing and because it's not always learning what I want him to learn. But if it's helping math and science, boy, that's just the perfect combo.

Scott Dow: Yeah, no, it is. And to take it even a step further, we actually add real world learning to our game. So we're the only MMO game out there that is integrated into, you know, so a bunch of our schools have grow stations, right? Little classroom grow stations where the kids learn how to grow things, right? And in the game, there's a virtual farm. It's called Heroic Farms. So in the game, there's a virtual farm. We've created some missions around that, you know, farm where the kids learn how to grow and, you know, learn that Dunkaroos aren't grown on trees.

You know, this is where tomatoes come from and all that good stuff, basic stuff. But then we also encourage them to do that outside of the game. Right. Grow something outside the game, come back and report and you'll be rewarded for doing so. So we've got schools that have come to us and said, this is amazing. These kids are so excited about agriculture. Surprise. There's so many lessons, right? Just in growing things, right? The law of the harvest, et cetera, et cetera. So that's an example of a real world integration to the virtual world. 

And this is the world that our kids, your kids, my kids, and grandkids are going to be living in. A world that is integrated much more than it is today. Virtual and real world, right? A company like Intel will be hiring more and more workers that never set foot in a fab. Right. But they will virtually do work in the fab. So we need to prepare our kids to survive and thrive in a world that is an integrated virtual and real world environment. And to strike the right balance. I would love, just like you, I would love to turn the clock back in time to get back to just, we just need to go in the backyard and play in the mud.

That was fun. It was relatively safe. But we're not going back there. So, you know, I've had many parents come to me and say, well, I'm just not going to let my kid use technology. Right. Well, that's never going to end well. Right. They're going to get it. They want all they want is to hold the iPhone, grab the video game controller, watch YouTube. That's it. Right.

So we, as the responsible adults in the room need to understand that up until those kids turn 12 years old, we actually have some influence, right? That's where, you know, from the time we bring them into this world, to the time they turn 12 is when we really have opportunities to teach. That's when they're, you know, building their character, their worldviews, everything. And so technology has to be a part of that, right? We have to teach these kids how to manage technology, not let technology manage you, right? The internet's a great tool that will either enhance your life or ruin it. One of the two.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: Yeah, for sure. Right? Depending on how you teach your child before they turn 12 will be a big factor in which way that goes. That's what a good story. I mean, teachers must absolutely love this because it's helping their classroom scores. It's allowing them to create more effective lesson plans because kids are learning and they're able to showcase that learning so you can see it so you can move along faster. I mean, what kind of feedback do you get from teachers?

Scott Dow: Most, you're right. When they see the results, they love it. And my father was a high school principal. And so I come from an education family. His father was a principal and it goes on and on. So I understand that world and I appreciate that. Unfortunately, a lot of teachers are just so burdened up to their eyeballs. It's tough for them to see anything new and really embrace it and take advantage of it until they see someone else. So that's kind of the battle that we've been facing is we just need to show these teachers that we're in this to make their life easier. 

Well, most other stuff, you know, that they're getting a technology and this and that, that, you know, they got to go for a day full of professional development of this and they got to do that. Right. It adds more work. Right. We, our biggest challenge is just telling teachers to just stay away. Don't help the kids. Just get them into the game and go mark your test scores or go look on the dashboard and see what the kids are doing in the game. But let the kids play the game. The game teaches, right? Teachers, bless their hearts, love to teach. So their natural instinct is to teach. I'm responsible for this kid's future. To some degree, they're right. I need to teach this kid, right? Well, in our case, actually use it as a break.

Go do some of your other stuff. And so when we get to the teachers to that point, they love it. We're getting more and more teachers who are starting to use it in the classroom because we don't come to school saying we need classroom time because that'd be like the death knell of any of our sales pitches, right? Because there's no classroom time. There is none, right? There's none. We come to them and say, look, do you want an extra 30 minutes of learning every day that is engaged, that is teaching these skills that will drive your state reading scores and math scores and science scores to proficiency and above? We don't even teach those subjects in the game. We just teach life skills that help the kids like resilience, problem solving, communication, critical thinking that help them do better on the academics. 

So that's our pitch. And they say, well, okay, let's try it out. Then they try it out and they start to see this is working. You know, this kid here who's been a bad actor in my class all year is now starting to be a good actor. The kid's engaged, we finally connected with this kid. It changes lives. And then they started using it more in the classroom. So, so it's a, I wish it was a lot easier. Yeah. Getting into that, but, but it's a, it's a bit of a process.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: What else, what else do you want to, yeah. I mean, this has been fascinating and, I think from a learning perspective, this is exactly where the future is headed. But what else do you want to say about Heroic Game Day? Anything that we didn't cover? Anything that you want to say about the company? Open mic.

Scott Dow: Yeah. So let me talk a little bit about L.A. Semiconductor and then them as a business and how we've talked a lot about Heroic Game Day and how we're helping companies like them. So, so there, you know, our semiconductor industry, you know, they're projecting there's going to be a million, you know, shorter, less workers than we need in the tech industry. This is lumacy. In the, in the semi, you know, over the next five to 10 years in the, in the semiconductor industry, it's, you know, 50 to 80, 90, a thousand shortage of workers. So, you know, you can't run a business like that. Right. You know, I've got, you know, in this, in our company, we have a hundred people that we employ. L.A. Semiconductor, there are about four, four and 500 people. They want to grow to 1200 people. They have plans. They're trying to grow right now and they're just, they just can't find the people. 

So that's a huge problem, right? This is still, even with all the automation and all this and that AI, we still need people, different roles, different jobs. And so this is how we're able to train the upcoming generation. The kids are going to be there in the next seven to 10 years. That's kind of a longer term play. But here's where it becomes an immediate term. We're able to connect and communicate and engage with the parents of these kids. And the semiconductor industry, this was kind of a shock to me when I first heard about it was 70% of the workers in the semiconductor industry do not need a college degree.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: What button are you going to hit on that one? You will learn by the numbers. I will teach you.

Scott Dow: So they don't need a college degree. I thought that's crazy, right? So here we got parents of, let's say, Title I kids. These are parents. Maybe it's a single parent. They got three jobs, right? They're just trying to keep things together, right? There's some tough situations out there. But they're underemployed. That parent can actually go into a semiconductor job and put on the bunny suit and get an entry level job, 20 bucks an hour or whatever, get some on the job training so they're continually moving up and have a great career. Amazing. Without college degree. And I know that's kind of, it may not be the thing all your audience wants to hear that not everyone needs a college degree. But there's educational opportunity. There's higher education learning available everywhere.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: Yeah, post-secondary is what we'll say post-secondary education. There's higher ed and there's non-credit, for credit. There's all different ways to get it. That's, you know, you're totally right.

Scott Dow: Yeah. Yeah. So, so anyway, that's, you know, we're able to get to the parents of these kids, you know, parents like you, of your kids. Yeah. We can communicate with you, you know, showing how good your kid's doing. But here, here's, you know, some opportunities in the semiconductor. Have you thought about this? Have you thought about upskilling? Here, take this course at such and such a college or whatever, do a little bit of upskilling and this company will sponsor you, maybe even pay you away and then hire you when you're done. So that's how we get to an immediate solution to the problem through our platform. So anyway, that's how we're helping.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: Well, there you have it, everyone. Our amazing guest today doing great work. Anybody that's out there helping kids get into STEM careers, particularly in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, semiconductor creation. I mean, these are the industries that are going to help define our future. Here he is. He is Scott Dow. Board member at L.A. Semiconductor and president of Heroic Game Day. Scott, it's been an honor to host you today, man. Thanks for coming on.

Scott Dow: All right, Joe. Thanks for having me. And we'll be in touch.

Dr. Joe Sallustio: There you have it, everybody. You just ed-upped.