Interview with Shawn MacDonell

Shawn MacDonell ignored his guidance counsellor who was pointing high school students like sheep toward computer science degrees. Instead, he developed a program to teach children how to read. With baseballs.

Shawn MacDonell grew up when computers were gaining popularity in the home and the Internet had not yet extended beyond military and academic circles. It was a time when guidance counsellors and aptitude tests pointed high school students like sheep toward computer science degrees.

That didn’t cut it for Shawn. He abandoned that path after taking his first few steps and, somewhat accidentally, he developed a program to teach children how to read. With baseballs.

Show ID and intro
Interview with Shawn MacDonell (blog)

This episode of Electric Sky is published as part of the Canadian National Day of Podcasting, initiated by the Canadian Podcast Buffet to bring dusty old podcasts out for a shine for a one-day reunion-like festival on December 1, 2010. Somehow it became an annual event.