Theoretical foundations and real-world examples of the application of video games to promote learning
WHEN: Tuesday, May 29th, 1PM
WHERE: CDM 230
TITLE: Theoretical foundations and real-world examples of the application of video games to promote learning
ABSTRACT: Video games are increasingly being promoted for their potential to promote engaging and problem-oriented learning. They have been touted as having the potential to transform education and video games for learning have even been celebrated at the White House. This discussion will present the theory behind the use of games for learning and review some real world examples of their use in schools.
BIO: William R. Watson is an Assistant Professor of Learning Design and Technology in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Purdue University. He is the director of the Purdue Center for Serious Games and Learning in Virtual Environments, which conducts research on and provides support for implementing, designing and developing educational video games and virtual environments for learning. Watson earned a Ph.D. in Education and a M.S. in Information Science from Indiana University. His research interest focuses on the critical, systemic change of education to realize a learner-centered paradigm, including the application of technology such as video games, virtual environments, and learning management software in order to create customized and personalized learning environments.
Materials from the DePaul Faculty Teaching & Learning Conference
Materials from the DePaul Faculty Teaching & Learning Conference are now available on the Teaching Commons website, including:
- James Paul Gee’s keynote presentation: “What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Teaching and Learning”
- Faculty and staff presentation slideshows and handouts
- "It's-a me, Mario!" – What playing videogames taught me about effective online course design (my presentation)
Presentation Video Uploaded
I have uploaded the video to accompany the presentation given at the DePaul Faculty Teaching and Learning Conference (20th April, 2012). You can view it here, or on the page with the transcript and handouts.
"It's-a me, Mario!" – What playing videogames taught me about effective online course design
I presented ("It's-a me, Mario!" – What playing videogames taught me about effective online course design) at the 2012 DePaul Faculty Teaching and Learning Conference on Friday. The webpage and handouts for the presentation are now live, and can be found here.
"It's-a me, Mario!" – What playing videogames taught me about effective online course design
My proposal to present ("It's-a me, Mario!" – What playing videogames taught me about effective online course design) at this year's DePaul Faculty Teaching & Learning Conference has been accepted.
The conference will take place on Friday, April 20th, 2012, from 9:00am-5:00pm. If you have not done so already, you can register for the conference at http://teachingcommons.depaul.edu/Conference/index.html
The overview for the presentation is:
Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda are two of Nintendo’s most valuable video game franchises, spawning a slew of highly regarded (and highly selling) series of games on multiple consoles. I cheerfully admit to spending a considerable amount of time playing these games over the years, but playing these games has also taught me much about effective and fun design of online and hybrid courses. In this dynamic session I will outline ten lessons learned from these two video game series that can be applied to course design – structuring a course that promotes student learning, reduces confusion, and that could even be fun.