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April 23, 2010
I am speaking at Games For Change's Power of Design workshop
The Power of Design: Youth Making Social Issue Games
Games for Change is excited to present a day-long workshop on game design programs for youth on Monday May 24th - 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. - as part of this year's Games for Change Festival at The New School in New York City.
We created this workshop especially for teachers, after school program leaders, and mentors who want to leverage the enthusiasm for games to create an innovative learning experience that incorporates many of the skills youth need to thrive in today's world. Some of the key questions we will tackle include: Why is game creation good for learning? How do you structure a successful program that optimally uses game design for learning? What works for what age groups? What kind of teacher/staff prep is required? Can youth game development help improve skills in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)? How can social issues be integrated into the game design program?
The workshop will feature creators of exemplary game design programs, a close look at some of the amazing game design software now available, and indispensable advice for setting up your own youth game design program.
For more information and to register for this workshop visit http://www.gamesforchange.org/f-program-2010#edu Individuals may register for this workshop only (select "Youth Game Design Workshop Only" on your registration) or in combination with the the four-day Games for Change Festival.
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The Power of Design: Youth Making Social Issue Games
Panels and Speakers:
Why is designing games good for learning?
Alan Gershenfeld, Founder, E-Line Media; Leah Gilliam, Director of Projects, Institute of Play/Quest to Learn; Elisabeth Hayes, Arizona State University, TechSavvy Girls
Empowering Youth and Accelerating Learning through Game Creation with Globaloria
Idit Caperton, President and Founder, World Wide Workshop; David Lowenstein, Globaloria State Director, West Virginia Public Schools; Shannon Sullivan, Globaloria Program Director and Executive Producer; Laura Minnigerode, Globaloria Research Manager; East Austin College Prep Academy, Texas.
In this panel, members of the management team of the World Wide Workshop present Globaloria, the first-of-its-kind social network for game-making where participants learn complex concepts and school subjects by creating web-games about social issues and educational topics; they work independently and in small teams to develop their original games from an idea to a finished product. Launched in 2006, Globaloria pilots have reached over 1500 participants (youth and adults) in various public schools and universities, corporate education programs, summer camps and youth groups worldwide.
Review of Game Creation Platforms
Eric Nunez, Parsons The New School
Activate!
Colleen Macklin, Parsons The New School; John Sharp, Savannah College of Art and Design
Game Creation Software Demos
Game Design and STEM Learning
Rafael Fajardo, P4 Games; Scott Leutenegger, P4 Games; Karen Michaelson, Founder and Director, Tincan
Evaluating Game Design Programs
Alex Games, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Michigan State University; Principal Investigator, Games for Entertainment and Learning Lab, and Jim Diamond, Research Associate, EDC/Center for Children and Technology
Spreading Serious Game Design: Global Kids' Playing For Keeps Capacity Building Program
This panel will explore how Global Kids' successful serious game design program, originally created as for an afterschool context, was redesigned to scale and spread to libraries, public housing computer labs, in-school tech clubs, and public school classrooms. Representatives from each site will report on their experiences and details will be shared about the professional development program developed to support their implementations. Results from an independent evaluation will be shared and the final work produced by participating youth will be shown. Thaddeus Miles, Director of Public Safety, MassHousing, H. Jack Martin, Assistant Director for Public Programs and Lifelong Learning, The New York Public Library, Marc Lesser, Education Director, MOUSE, Selen Turkay, graduate student, Teacher's College, Otis H., Global Kids Youth Leader. Moderated by Barry Joseph, Online Leadership Director, Global Kids.
A Closer Look at Game Design Programs for Youth
Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Club Tech;
Quest to Learn - an overview of how to teach game design to middle school students using Gamestar Mechanic and Atmosphir, Al Doyle, teacher, and Quest to Learn student game makers.
Reception to follow.
The Power of Design: Youth Making Social Issue Games is made possible by generous support of the AMD Foundation.
Posted by Rafael Fajardo at April 23, 2010 12:00 PM