How can XR headsets empower teachers in the classroom? Jonathan Teske, a former teacher and edtech expert, founded ReframeXR to make immersive, interactive learning experiences an everyday reality.  ReframeXR allows educators to create spatial classrooms where students can engage in collaborative, hands-on learning. Imagine an earth sciences lesson where students manipulate the James Webb Telescope in real time to explore the electromagnetic spectrum, or a science class where they conduct experiments on virtual sinkholes to understand ecosystems and erosion. 

Jonathan’s diverse background as a teacher, gamer, and football player makes him uniquely positioned to bring this idea to life. As the former Future of Education Lead at Meta, Jonathan led research on VR in education. Through his research, he discovered a major flaw—VR doesn’t work in classrooms because it isolates students and overwhelms teachers. With ReframeXR, he’s developed a teacher-first approach, ensuring mixed reality enhances education rather than disrupting it.

As Jonathan works to scale, he has the opportunity to pitch his tool to Jin-Soo Huh from The Learning Accelerator, an education nonprofit dedicated to bringing innovative and effective teaching practices to life. Jin-Soo is a former teacher himself, and understands the challenges of edtech adoption. Together, they dive into how Jonathan can navigate school funding constraints, get buy-in from educators and administrators, and ensure ReframeXR is both impactful and accessible for classrooms nationwide.

02:35 Jonathan's Journey 

09:51 The Problem with VR in Classrooms 

10:18 The Birth of ReframeXR 

13:31 Stargazing with the James Webb Telescope in Reframe 

16:54 Impact on Teachers 

19:18 Meet Jin-Soo Huh from The Learning Accelerator 

21:44 Impact on Student Engagement 

24:09 Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze?

27:14 Final Advice from Jin-So Huh 

Links: 

• Jonathan Teske
• Reframe XR
• Jin-Soo Huh 
• The Learning Accelerator 

About the Host, Nicole Jarbo:
Nicole Jarbo is the host of Pitch Playground and the CEO of 4.0. An entrepreneur and 4.0 alumni herself, Nicole took a side hustle from $0 to $500k per year and founded a fintech startup that empowered Gen Z with their finances. She's passionate about sharing the inspiring stories of the 4.0 community and believes in work that makes the world more livable, creative, sustainable, and fun.

About 4.0:
4.0 is a hub for education innovators and social entrepreneurs reimagining the future of learning. Through mentorship, funding, and community support, we empower bold thinkers to turn their dreams into reality. To date, 4.0 has helped spark and invest in over 1,800 ideas, and our alumni have impacted over 10M students and families. We envision a future where our education system meets the needs of every family and improves life outcomes for all.

We Want to Hear From You!
Whether you're an educator, entrepreneur, or just passionate about changing education, reach out to share your story, ideas, or feedback. Visit us at pitchplayground.com, leave us a review and subscribe to Pitch Playground wherever you get your podcasts. 

Remember to Vote!
At the end of this season one of these entrepreneurs will receive $50,000 towards their idea.  We want to hear from you, yes YOU, to cast your vote for the idea you think should receive the cash. Sign up for our newsletter at 4pt0.org to stay tuned on when voting will open. 

What are the options after high school for non-college bound students? Victoria Chen, a former high school biology teacher, founded BridgeYear, a Houston based nonprofit, to address gaps in the education system that fail to provide non-college-bound students with viable career options. As a teacher, Victoria witnessed a valedictorian abandon a full scholarship due to family issues and end up working as a cashier.  BridgeYear offers a hands-on career exploration for high-demand well paying jobs that don't require a four-year degree.  

Bridgeyear’s flagship program is the Career Test Drive, where students walk into school one day and find their gymnasium completely transformed.  Different booths are set up where students can test drive different careers that don’t require a four year degree. Careers such as being an electrician, an auto tech or a surgical technologist.  As Victoria says, you should never buy a car without test driving it, and you should never choose a career without giving it a try either. 

Right now, Victoria is at a pivotal moment with BridgeYear.  As she works to scale she’s also developed morepathways.org, a tech platform that can connect students with vetted workforce training programs. She has the opportunity to pitch morepathways.org to New Profit’s Molly O’Donnell.  Molly is a venture philanthropist that invests in social entrepreneurs working to transform education. They dive into how Victoria can balance the organizations direct service work, as they scale for widespread impact. 

02:06 Victoria's Journey: From Teacher to Founder

03:04 The Reality of Student Challenges

08:17 The Birth of BridgeYear

09:07 BridgeYear's Career Test Drive Program

13:35 Impact on Student’s 

17:18 Scaling Up: The Tech Platform MorePathways.org

19:56 Introducing Molly O’Donnell

23:27 Trade-Off’s: Direct Service and Widespread Impact

24:54 Impact Jenga 

29:01 Final Takeaways 

Links: 

• Victoria Chen
• Bridgeyear.org 
• Morepathways.org
• Molly O’Donnell
• New Profit 

About the Host, Nicole Jarbo:
Nicole Jarbo is the host of Pitch Playground and the CEO of 4.0. An entrepreneur and 4.0 alumni herself, Nicole took a side hustle from $0 to $500k per year and founded a fintech startup that empowered Gen Z with their finances. She's passionate about sharing the inspiring stories of the 4.0 community and believes in work that makes the world more livable, creative, sustainable, and fun.

About 4.0:
4.0 is a hub for education innovators and social entrepreneurs reimagining the future of learning. Through mentorship, funding, and community support, we empower bold thinkers to turn their dreams into reality. To date, 4.0 has helped spark and invest in over 1,800 ideas, and our alumni have impacted over 10M students and families. We envision a future where our education system meets the needs of every family and improves life outcomes for all.

We Want to Hear From You!
Whether you're an educator, entrepreneur, or just passionate about changing education, reach out to share your story, ideas, or feedback. Visit us at pitchplayground.com, leave us a review and subscribe to Pitch Playground wherever you get your podcasts. 

Remember to Vote!
At the end of this season one of these entrepreneurs will receive $50,000 towards their idea.  We want to hear from you, yes YOU, to cast your vote for the idea you think should receive the cash. Sign up for our newsletter at 4pt0.org to stay tuned on when voting will open. 

How could $50,000 transform learning? On Pitch Playground, we invite education innovators and social entrepreneurs to throw their best ideas at us. From technologies that build empathy to providing affordable childcare and reimagining the way we learn—this is a place for pitches from visionaries. Each episode features an intrepid edupreneur workshopping a $50,000 project to solve a critical problem in education. With support from mentors, funders, and fellow entrepreneurs we'll explore what it takes to turn dreams into reality.

At the end of the season, we award $50,000 to the best pitch we've heard on the show. We're inviting educators and social entrepreneurs to play in the sandbox with us and share their vision for the future of education. We encourage these visionaries to be BOLD—don't just think outside the box; reshape the box itself. Draw outside the lines. It's about making good ideas last longer and go further.

About the Host, Nicole Jarbo:
Nicole Jarbo is the host of Pitch Playground and the CEO of 4.0. A serial entrepreneur, former educator, and proud 4.0 alum, Nicole has a track record of building impactful ventures across a variety of industries, including education, financial technology, and media. She’s passionate about sharing the inspiring stories of the 4.0 community and believes in work that makes the world more livable, creative, sustainable, and fun.

About 4.0:
4.0 is a hub for education innovators and social entrepreneurs reimagining the future of learning. Through mentorship, funding, and community support, we empower bold thinkers to turn their dreams into reality. To date, 4.0 has helped spark and invest over 2,000 ideas, and our alumni have impacted millions of students and families. We envision a future where our education system meets the needs of every family and improves life outcomes for all.

Have a Pitch to Transform the World?
We’d love to hear from you! Whether you're an educator, entrepreneur, or just passionate about changing education, reach out to share your story, ideas, or feedback.  Visit us at https://pitchplayground.com/ and subscribe to Pitch Playground wherever you get your podcasts.