GLS 5.0 Educator Symposium

Are you an educator, library media specialist, administrator, or technology coordinator? Are you interested in learning more about how media and technology can be integrated into schools? If so, then join us for the inaugural GLS Educator Symposium on Saturday June 13th. This free event runs from 9:30 am to 4 pm at the Memorial Union in Madison, Wisconsin.

The GLS Educator Symposium features panel presentations from noted scholars in videogames and digital media as well as hands-on workshops in game design, digital poetry, Second Life, and educational games. Registration for the symposium is now closed.

In the meantime, you're also welcome to join us on the GLS Educators Network. Questions? Contact Jen Scott Curwood.

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9:30-10:00

Registration and continental breakfast

10:00-11:00

Panel Discussion: “Games, Media, and Learning in the 21st Century Classroom”

with GLS faculty members Erica Halverson, Rich Halverson, and Kurt Squire with Shannon Sullivan from Worldwide Workshop and Hank Duderstadt, a game design teacher in California's Alameda Unified School District.

How are youth using games and media in in-school and out-of-school settings? This panel discussion will cover cutting-edge research and development in this area, and note highlights from the GLS conference. Panelists include internationally known GLS faculty members whose work has helped to shape the field of media and games, and they will discuss their ongoing research in online spaces, after school environments, and school settings. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in critical discussion with panelists on these issues.

11:15–12:15

Panel Discussion: “21st Century Standards Meets 21st Century Teaching and Learning”

with Emilie Amundson, DPI English Language Arts Consultant; Erin Schwane, English Teacher at New Berlin High School; and Brian Sniff, Mathematics Program Coordinator for the Madison Metropolitan School District.

What does a 21st century classroom look, feel and sound like? How does the definition of “literacy” change to meet the demands of our fast-paced, 21st century world? How can technology become an embedded piece of all that we do, rather than a list of skills we teach in isolation? These are just a few of the questions the English Language Arts and Mathematics Standards design teams have asked while working to update the Wisconsin Model Academic Standards. Come and get a sneak peak at the direction of the updated standards documents, and hear from educators from the writing teams about the possible applications for classroom level teaching and learning.

12:15-1:30

Lunch (on your own)

1:30-3:30

Workshops: Participants will choose one of four workshops to attend, and each workshop will have a maximum capacity of twenty attendees. Participants must bring their own laptop for the workshops.

Rapid Game Prototyping (Beefeaters, 3rd floor) with University of Wisconsin graduate students Kevin Harris, Matt Gaydos, and Ryan Martinez.

Video games are just one way to integrate games into curriculum. Used within the video game industry, paper prototyping helps individuals explore content, think systemically, and iteratively develop game concepts – all using everyday supplies, such as dice, cards, pens and paper. In this workshop, participants will analyze a game in order to better understand how they work. Then, participants will develop playable games in small groups; afterwards, we will play the games created. The last portion of the session will be an open discussion between participants and the facilitators for feedback on how games and game design might be integrated into curriculum. Playful dispositions are a must, but no previous game design experience is required.

iPoetry in the Classroom (Langdon, 4th floor) with University of Wisconsin graduate students Jen Scott Curwood and Damiana Gibbons with Lora Cowell, Library Media Specialist at Hartford Union High School.

In this workshop, participants will create their own digital poems. The presenters will begin by examining the role that digital poetry can play in helping to foster identity development, critical thinking, and content area learning for students. They will cover the basics of how to create iPoetry; then, each participant will make their own digital poem by integrating visual images, music, and narration through the use of film editing software. The presenters will also touch on relevant issues of copyright, multimodal literacy, pedagogy, and engagement.

Demystifying Second Life for Education (Old Madison West, 3rd floor) with Peggy Sheehy, Instructional Technology Facilitator and Media Specialist at Suffern Middle School in Rockland County, New York.

What is Second Life, and how does it support learning? In 2006, Peggy Sheehy established the first middle school campus in Second Life and will share what schools are already doing in this virtual world, what's involved in establishing a virtual campus in Teen Second Life, and how increasing social interactions in an immersive 3-D platform can support learning. This workshop will address basic Second Life skills and provide an introduction to the educational possibilities. Sheehy will cover professional development opportunities, pedagogical uses and each participant will gain a sufficient level of skill to continue to explore independently. She will discuss support strategies, teacher and administrator buy-in, and policy issues. Participants will create their own avatars, alter appearance, and communicate via chat, IM, and voice; they will also learn how to navigate within Second Life, control the camera, manage inventory, and connect with like-minded professionals.

Games and Digital Tools for the Classroom (Old Madison East, 3rd floor) with University of Wisconsin graduate students Moses Wolfenstein, Ben DeVane, and Suzanne Rhodes as well as representatives from Filament Games.

This workshop will offer educators hands on access to a selection of games and other digital tools for schools and classrooms. In addition to offering suggestions for how to deploy off the shelf games like Civilization and DDR, this session will also offer educators access to software designed by GLS researchers. Featured software will include: KidGrid, an application for collecting formative student data on the iPhone, and Game Star Mechanic, a web based game for learning game design. Innovative games for classroom learning from local developers Filament Games will also be available, including Resilient Planet, Coaster Creator, and Guardian of Law.

3:30-4:00

Debrief and discuss the day’s events