The 2007 International Symposium is Sponsored By:

Anglis

Editure

ePALS, Inc.

Goethe-Institut/German Cultural Center

CoSN's 6th Annual International Symposium: Using Games and Simulations for Engaged Learning

March 27, 2007

Hyatt Regency San Francisco Embarcadero Center

Sponsored by Goethe-Institut/German Cultural Center

Co-produced by The George Lucas Educational Foundation

CoSN focuses on the use of technology in K-12 classrooms in the United States, but we recognize the considerable knowledge to be gained and shared through interaction with policymakers and educators around the world. While educational traditions, law, and practices vary throughout the world, we share many concerns and believe that there is value in communicating about solutions to these problems.

Since 2000, CoSN has worked to open a worldwide dialogue about the issues of technology and school networking. The International Symposium brings together key education and policy leaders from the U.S. and other nations to examine global responses to the effective use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education.

The 2007 International Symposium is focused on the compelling issue of the role that games, simulations and similar software will play in schools and other educational venues. Gaming and other interactive software primarily exists in the commercial/consumer markets, yet many educators believe they hold the potential to powerfully engage learners, particularly at the primary and secondary education level.

Our children increasingly spend hundreds or thousands of hours engaged in virtual reality gaming environments, and undertake complex and multifaceted decision-making to succeed in these “games”. Some believe schools need to find innovative ways to engage students and believe that games, simulations and other interactive technologies might make mainstream school instruction more engaging.

There are salient differences between the design environment for those who design games and those who develop products for the K-12 market. One difference is that game developers are largely unconstrained by national or state mandated curriculum and can design their products for integrity and validity as a stand alone experience. Also, game designers must count on the nature of the experience to engage the student rather than relying on an adult authority to require kids to use it.

To date, there has been limited cross-over between the worlds of education and gaming/interactive software. This Symposium will explore if there are effective strategies for stimulating greater synergy between these sectors with the goal of providing more compelling and engaging learning environments for our children.

To provide for a productive conversation, we will define educational gaming and/or interactive software as meeting three criteria. Educational gaming is:

• Explicitly designed to accomplish credible educational objectives.
• Engaging for the children/young adults who are the target audience. That is, kids will use the programs even if they are not told by an adult that they have to do so.
• Highly interactive, meaning that a user must engage repeatedly and at more than one level with the software for it to work.

The Symposium is designed for senior-level policymakers and educators with primary responsibility for ICT/education technology, as well as interested corporate leaders, to explore:

1. Are there exemplary models for encouraging involvement of the gaming/interactive industries in education, and if so, what lessons have been learned?
2. What policies, either public or by private markets, encourage or discourage the development of educational gaming/interactive software?
3. What standards should be used to assess the quality of education gaming software?
4. What can we expect to see in “next generation” educational game software?