This May, New York University’s Games for Learning Institute (G4LI) will host a summit and talks on “Games and 21st Century Learning” and “Action Video Game Playing as a Learning Tool.” The G4LI is a joint endeavor of Microsoft Research, New York University, and a consortium of universities. The Institute’s goal is to identify the qualities of computer games that engage students and develop relevant, personalized teaching strategies that can be applied to the learning process. Admission to the talks is free and open to the public.
A schedule of events follows:
- Fri., May 1, 2 p.m. James Paul Gee: “Games and 21st Century Learning”: This talk will explore how video games can organize deep conceptual understanding, as well as a variety of 21st century skills rarely offered in schools today. Gee will discuss the different learning theories that underlie different approaches to games for learning. This talk is co-sponsored by the Graduate Center at CUNY and the program in Educational Communication and Technology at NYU Steinhardt. Location: Warren Weaver Hall, Room 109 (West 4th Street and Mercer).
- Mon., May 11, 2 p.m. Daphne Bavelier: “Action Video Game Playing as a Learning Tool”: Although the adult brain is far from being fixed, the types of experience that promote learning and brain plasticity in adulthood are still poorly understood. Surprisingly, the very act of playing action video games appears to lead to widespread enhancements in visual skills in young adults. Action video game players have been shown to outperform their non-action-game playing peers on a variety of sensory and attentional tasks. Location: Pless Hall. 5th Floor Conference Room. 82 Washington Square East.
- Tues., May 26, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Games for Learning Institute Summit: G4LI will host the 6th Annual Games for Change Festival (www.gamesforchange.org) for a day of discussion and networking with educational game designers, developers, evaluators, and users as they consider the current landscape of games for learning and forge new collaborations to empirically develop design patters for effective educational games. Attendees are encouraged to present a poster about their current work. Please email info@g4li.org for poster requirements and template and to RSVP for the summit. Location: King Juan Carlos Center. 53 Washington Square South.
About the Speakers:
James Paul Gee is a member of the National Academy of Education. His book Sociolinguistics and Literacies was one of the founding documents in the formation of the “New Literacy Studies,” an interdisciplinary field devoted to studying language, learning, and literacy in an integrated way. Gee has published widely in journals in linguistics, psychology, the social sciences, and education.
Daphne Bavelier’s work explores the role that early life experience plays in determining the cerebral organization of the adult brain by comparing congenitally deaf adults to hearing adults. She is exploring the properties of visual attention and visual selection in hearing adults and is especially interested in testing the hypothesis that congenitally deaf individuals have enhanced visual attention capabilities.