There has never been a more exciting and more urgent time for education than right now. Possibilities are exploding, and AI is evolving daily, rapidly reshaping not only how we work and learn but also the skills we need for tomorrow.
The truth is, the skill sets that mattered yesterday may not even exist tomorrow. Creativity, adaptability, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence are the new currencies. There is no time to wait. Students and lifelong learners must adapt fast, and that begins by changing the way they learn.
My mission in education is simple: to bring excitement and joy back into learning. Excitement triggers focus and engagement. Most people do not enjoy learning, not because they are incapable, but because they are disengaged or carry negative emotions toward it. That creates boredom.
When we are excited, we are fully engaged. Nothing lights up the brain quite like the feeling of winning. Even the smallest wins spark dopamine, lifting focus, effort, and confidence. That is when the best learning and teaching happen. Think about watching your favourite sports team. You are thrilled when they win and disappointed when they lose. The brain naturally responds to the highs and lows of winning.
We often overlook our own wins, yet the brain automatically gets excited by them. Even watching others win, like our favourite athletes, fires up the same response. Games work because they tap into this. Even when we fail, we keep coming back, because eventually we win. That loop builds confidence and determination.
When I mentor students who tell me they have never won at anything, I sit with them and identify one hundred wins they have already had, wins they did not even notice. This is why gamifying education is the most natural way to learn. It builds confidence, resilience, and a growth mindset for life.
At school, one poor test result can lead a child to believe they are not smart enough, not good enough, or that they have already fallen behind. That belief hardens into habit, and it blocks learning. In TeachingBlox, every challenge feels like levelling up in a game. Students are having fun, earning points, and progressing while the AI teacher ensures their knowledge and skills are growing at the same time. Just like in games, when you reach a new level, you have already gained the knowledge and ability to succeed there.
It is the struggle in the middle of a game that makes it addictive, the fight to push through. TeachingBlox recreates that same feeling. Students are not just earning points or levelling up, they are building determination, resilience, and confidence. The AI teacher ensures every step is real growth in knowledge and skills. This is without doubt the pinnacle of education.
That is why I created an AI teacher that detects patterns of high focus and engagement and turns learning into a game. The more students learn, the more points they earn. Points convert into rewards. Every point is a micro win, releasing dopamine to the brain. Just like in great games, students struggle, make mistakes, and try again, moving from Level 1 to Level 2 and beyond. What once felt hard soon feels easy. The gaming industry perfected this loop years ago. Education should have adopted it long ago. That is why I built TeachingBlox.
Imagine your kids running home from school excited to do maths. Why can’t maths feel like levelling up in a game? With TeachingBlox, it does. Students jump in because it feels like play, but they are mastering maths, science, and beyond, all aligned to their unique learning patterns. They chase points, check leaderboards, trade in-app currency for rewards, and most importantly, begin to associate learning with winning.
The three ingredients that make learning exciting and addictive are:
Excitement: when students realise they can succeed, their focus and engagement rise.
Confidence: when they believe in their own ability.
Determination: when they commit with obsession to pushing through challenges.
When a teenager or even an adult learner hits this rhythm, they enter a flow state where time and noise disappear. Life gets better as knowledge and skills compound, from Level 1 (Basic) to Level 15 (Mastery).
And in a world changing this fast, there is no better way forward.
The future will not wait. Neither should we.
By Ross Paraskevas
Fonder & CEO TeachingBlox