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. The 2026 BU Wheelock Forum will brought together a diverse and distinguished group of educators, researchers, and thought leaders from Boston University and beyond to explore key issues in teaching, learning, and educational equity. Featuring: • Aaron Rasmussen (COM’06, CAS’06), entrepreneur, inventor, and game designer • Clay Hopper and James Grady, BU's College of Fine Arts, co-creators of Random Actor • Dean Penny Bishop, BU Wheelock • TJ McKenna, Nermeen Dashoush, Michael Alan Chang, and Naomi Caselli, BU Wheelock Facebook: http://spr.ly/6017eFu1J LinkedIn: http://spr.ly/6018eFu1K Instagram: http://spr.ly/6016eFu1y TikTok: http://spr.ly/6016eFu1y Website: http://spr.ly/6019eFu1z Newsletter: http://spr.ly/6010eFu1M At Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, our faculty, staff, students, and alumni are changing society through action. Our academic programs prepare professionals who dismantle systemic barriers and create positive change for all children and families.

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 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. The 2026 BU Wheelock Forum brought together a diverse and distinguished group of educators, researchers, and thought leaders from Boston University and beyond to explore key issues in teaching, learning, and educational equity. Facebook: http://spr.ly/6017eFu1J LinkedIn: http://spr.ly/6018eFu1K Instagram: http://spr.ly/6016eFu1y TikTok: http://spr.ly/6016eFu1y Website: http://spr.ly/6019eFu1z Newsletter: http://spr.ly/6010eFu1M At Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, our faculty, staff, students, and alumni are changing society through action. Our academic programs prepare professionals who dismantle systemic barriers and create positive change for all children and families.

Explore the questions AI has raised about teaching and learning, and the importance of co-design in shaping how we consider the future of AI in education. The conversation will focus on educators, those designing learning experiences, and undergraduate students who are currently wrestling with these disruptions, emphasizing ethical and political considerations and holding those in conversation with insights about professional judgment in shaping how AI shows up in practice. Facebook: http://spr.ly/6017eFu1J LinkedIn: http://spr.ly/6018eFu1K Instagram: http://spr.ly/6016eFu1y TikTok: http://spr.ly/6016eFu1y Website: http://spr.ly/6019eFu1z Newsletter: http://spr.ly/6010eFu1M At Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, our faculty, staff, students, and alumni are changing society through action. Our academic programs prepare professionals who dismantle systemic barriers and create positive change for all children and families.

Conversations with the Dean Follow a discussion that explores how BU Wheelock and Quincy Public Schools are working together to mitigate a reactive response and incorporate AI in the classroom in proactive and thoughtful ways. 0:00 Topic introduction and Guiding Star 1:43 Naomi Caselli Introduction 2:34 Michael Marani Introduction 3:29 Conversation Begins 43:37 Closing Remarks