design + edu + project mgmt
From January 2017 through August of 2017, myself and another METALSs graduate student created a research-based interactive branching story that used learning science to help learners identify and demystify fake news on social media. …
At SXSWedu 2015 I led a panel discussion with creative teachers who had designed custom games for K12 instruction. …
I led the development of a casual conference game to reinforce the organization’s values and provide social opportunities for a fun and engaging conference experience. …
This post was first published at workingexamples.org. …
For years I have wondered if games really can change behavior. Something intuitive tells me it’s true, but the industry is only beginning to mature enough to offer long-term proof of success. …
I revel in failure. The size of a failure correlates with the size of the the opportunity it offers. Failure is how we learn. It helps us evolve and grow as individuals and as a society, which is why I was surprised to see a very public aversion to failure at the Games for Change Festival last week. The festival attendees were roughly split between designers and educators, and everyone had come together to discuss the development of interactive experiences that enact real change. During one session, a teacher admonished game designers for producing what I, too, consider the scourge
I was reading recently about sustainability in the U.S. and abroad, and I was curious if games could teach me about sustainability. Sust., a Scottish company, has created a pair of flash-based games that teach the basic concepts of sustainability. The games are a mix of short videos and interactive questions that ask the player to make responsible, eco-friendly decisions relating to building and lifestyle. In both these games by Sust. the Sustainability Meter is the scoring system, and it fluctuates depending on your answers to multiple choice questions. Sust. Environment Game explains the fundamentals of sustainability; location, energy usage, water usage, waste
An interesting perspective on Gamification from designer and author Gabe Zichermann. He points out that people often ask, “Do games help children?”, instead of asking a more useful question, ” What kind of help do games provide?”. Evidence shows that at least part of the “help” games offer is an increase in fluid intelligence (i.e. critical thinking) because games continuously focus on 5 things that encourage growth of gray matter in the brain- seeking novelty, challenge yourself, thinking creatively, doing things the hard way, and networking. Combine that with the positive reinforcement that is intrinsic to games (we wouldn’t make