In 2005, when Deshjuana Bagley founded TechPlayzone®, she had no idea that she was introducing a STEM phenomenon of playful learning that would captivate and educate thousands of Florida students and propel her onto the world’s stage. Globally recognized by FIRST® LEGO® League, the largest STEM program for youth, Desh is known for using robotics to build problem-solving and critical thinking skills among students of all ages leading them to majors and careers in STEM. During the global pandemic, Desh orchestrated a statewide robotics exhibition on a Virbela® campus, incorporating SketchFab, Tinkercad, and Solidworks while also using FrameVR® as a tool for student creation and design. The virtual robotics tournament introduced over 600 participants to the possibilities of building personal, immersive virtual reality spaces containing customized 3-D models. Desh’s new entrepreneurial endeavor became using virtual reality tools to continue her quest of helping young people become creative critical thinkers and designers. Desh’s twenty-year training methodology continues to embody incorporating emerging technologies into existing learning standards to help diverse audiences. This now includes augmented reality and virtual reality tools and platforms. Desh’s goal is to help develop a highly skilled, innovative, and creative workforce prepared to bring a variety of viewpoints, cultural identities, and perspectives into the X-verse. Desh’s visionary leadership builds on the core principles of thinking big, innovative results, and continued learning. Desh Bagley graduated from the University of South Florida and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. She is married to Daryl Bagley, Sr and they are parents to five young adults who are all highly skilled in STEM.
10:30 AM - 11:20 AM
Andrew Melchior | The Mill
David A. Smith | Croquet
Tish Shute | AWE
Deshjuana Bagley | TechPlayzone
Anselm Hook | MorpheusXR