Games and Learning

Games for Change always draws game developers and activists interested in using games to promote social good, but this year’s conference offers fewer panels and sessions focused on games and learning.

Instead, games and education will get a full day of attention the day before the general Games for Change conference opens. The conference is co-hosting a summit aimed at expanding the use of games in school with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology.

The invite-only event will include major producers like iCivics and GlassLab as well as leading government officials. The summit will bring area experts, teachers and producers together to try and develop games that can improve education and improve access for under-served students.

Richard Culatta, director of educational technology at the U.S. Department of Education, is heading up the summit and told Polygon last week that he believes schools are increasingly creative about using technology in the classroom, “But I think we are largely dependent on the people who are building these tools and solutions to provide apps that meet educational need.

Part of the message we are trying to send here is, if you’re building and designing games for learning you have to connect and work with teachers and with school leaders to make sure you are building games that are meeting the needs.

–Richard Culatta, U.S. Department of Education

The Department has hosted other events, including a White House game jam last year and a series of regional events since then, and have also released a guide for developers looking to creating apps and games for the classroom.

In introducing the guide, Culatta outlined the real hopes of the Department of Education in this area, writing, “Developers and entrepreneurs who choose to apply their talents to build tools for learning have the ability to help transform education in America and exponentially increase opportunities for all students.”

The summit on Tuesday will include some heavy hitters from the game industry, including Rovio and Zynga as well as the industry’s lobbying arm the Entertainment Software Association.

Games for Change has a list of general events slated to happen on Tuesday and for those who did not get their invite to the New York event, the entire proceeding will be live streamed at the Department of Education.

Once the formal conference gets underway, there are an array of general session panels that cover everything from the Arab World and its use of digital media to documentary producer Morgan Spurlock. One of the sessions that does address learning and games directly should be a really interesting panel from the folks at Rovio. On Thursday they will be outlining how they are “using deep research, a commitment to play-based education, and the legions of Angry Birds players worldwide in an effort to leverage a transformation in education.”

We at gamesandlearning.org will be there as well, covering the summit and the conference on here and on our Twitter feed.