Session Title: Games for e-Learning: Are We Ready for What’s to Come?
Time & Date: 11:00 A.M. – 11:45 A.M., Thursday, June 18, 2009
Location: Rm. 261, Thursday, June 18, 2009
Session Description: Digital play in virtual worlds and games using web 2.0 tools offer exciting opportunities for learning in online setting, yet this is still an emerging area of study where much future research remains to be done. The panel will critique and challenge common attitudes towards the use of games for learning contexts, looking at historical discussion on play and knowledge, and situating the current debate around the affordances and barriers of games in digitally defined, dynamic and collaborative learning environments.
The panelists will explore the ways new technologies allow for different relationships between learners, and between learners and providers of instruction, thereby, changing the way we perceive pedagogical roles and the construction of knowledge, as well as affecting the way we think (Turkle, 2004). In addition, the question of technology will be raised and the extent to which it can adapt and respond to learners inputs using intelligent tutoring systems. Since, according to O’Regan (2003) ?emotion is associated with learning online?, the panelists will open the discussion on the possibilities of serous games to teach empathy and ethical behaviour and increase awareness about real-world issues, such as poverty, environment, sustainability, conflict, and globalization
Examples will be given to illustrate student learning and engagement in online gaming, especially influenced by gender, culture, and age.
O’Regan, K. (2 ing. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Network, 7(3). Retrieved November 30, 2008, from
http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/jaln/v7n3/pdf/v7n3_oregan.pdf
Turkle, S. (2004). How computers change the way we think. Chronicle of Higher Education, 50(21), B26-B28.
Conference Stream: Open, Connected, & Social
Session Format: Panel Discussion
Co-Presenter: Natasha Boskic
Co-Presenter Bio: Natasha Boskic works at UBC. She is also pursuing her doctoral degree in Language and Literacy Education, with a focus on digital game spaces and narratives.
Co-Presenter: Mirela Gutica
Co-Presenter Bio: Mirela Gutica teaches computer technology at BCIT and is a UBC doctoral student researching human-computer interfaces that adapt to affect in the context of learning.
Co-Presenter: P. J. Rusnak
Co-Presenter Bio: PJ Rusnak is a doctoral student at UBC researching how the world and the human spirit are shaped by the growing landscape of technology.
