Instructional Gaming Forum (IGFORUM)

Sony has announced a new Playstation title, Kinetic, for the exercise buffs.

Here’s Rick van Eck’s (long awaited) presentation. Well he has it in Apple Keynote and I don’t have a keynote at hand to convert it. (His keynote file was to large for upload/download (7-8 MB), but guess what? After the export to PPT & PDF, it became only 1.7MB / 700kB respectively.

Hmm, may be we should not be to quick to label Microsoft as file bloater?

I attached the PDF for you since it is the smallest in file size:

1. Ten Empirical Questions to Guide Digital Game-Based Learning
2. Intelligent Learning Games

Elizabeth Simpson send me this CNN post:
Not playing around: Scientists say video games can reshape education It will be really interesting now to see how the various government bodies are looking into funding games research!

The Federation of American Scientists — which typically weighs in on matters of nuclear weaponry and government secrecy — declared Tuesday that video games can redefine education.

As announced at AECT 2006, the Igforum.us will be merged into the Multimedia Production Division blog, for easier management. Since I am going to be the comm officer this year, I can finally “do that.” (mwahaha)

Nothing will change for you, you can still type in IGFORUM.US to get here, it just that the blog will be move to another server. That’s all. Hopefully the move will enable more chat among AECT/MPD members. I really don’t like the current situation when I am yakking 90% of the time.

There’s a new gaming research book on the shelf that should interest many of you.

”Games and Simulations in Online Learning: Research and Development Frameworks” is edited by David Gibson, Clark Aldrich, & Marc Prensky and published by Idea Group, Inc.

The books consists of five broad sections:

1. Situating Games & Simulations in Education
2. Social Analyses of Games & Simulations
3. What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do
4. Using Real Space in Digital Games & Simulations
5. Embedding Assessment in Games & Simulations

More information about the book can be found here.

INSTRUCTIONAL GAMING/SIMULATION SHOWCASE

The AECT Planning Committee has recently agreed to the addition of a new event to the Conference program. The “Instructional Gaming/Simulation Showcase” will take place on Oct 13, 2006 (Friday) from 9.15am to 3.30pm in the foyer of the Regency Ballroom of the Dallas Fairmont Hotel.

INSTRUCTIONAL GAMING/SIMULATION SHOWCASE

The AECT Planning Committee has recently agreed to the addition of a new event to the Conference program. The “Instructional Gaming/Simulation Showcase” will take place on Oct 13, 2006 (Friday) from 9.15am to 3.30pm in the foyer of the Regency Ballroom of the Dallas Fairmont Hotel.

If you have an instructional game/simulation developed by you or your student(s), we would like to invite you to showcase it here. The 6-hour long Instructional Gaming/ Simulation Showcase will be a free-form event. As such, we intend to place two to four tables in the foyer, allowing up to three game/simulation presentations per table. Presenters can reserve blocks of one- to two-hour slots to “setup shop” and invite conference participants to learn more about their games and to play. A handout or “job-aid” may also be useful for the players.

SIF Planning Meeting:
The Instructional Gaming SIF will be holding a planning meeting to discuss how we can move the instructional gaming agenda forward. If you are interested to help out with ideas/planning efforts, please plan on coming to the meeting on Oct 12, 2006 (1:30 PM-2:00 PM).

The Special Interest Forum is an inter-divisional group. Members of all AECT divisions are welcome.

2ND INSTRUCTIONAL GAMING SYMPOSIUM
Date: Oct 12, 2006 (THU)
Time: 1:00pm – 4:30pm
Venue: Fountain Room

1.00-1.30pm
Lloyd Rieber: Rediscovering gaming in education: High tech, low tech, and everything in-between

1:30-2.00pm
Sebastian Loh: Instructional Gaming SIF Planning Meeting

2:15-2.45pm
Rick van Eyck: Ten research areas to guide the field of digital game-based learning

2.45-3.15pm
John Rice: A taxonomy for video game research

3.30-4.00pm
William Sugar: Examining the effectiveness of the many hats of an instructional designer game

4.00-4.30pm
Goknur Akilli: Games for learning, FIDGE for instructional design

Here’s the details for the (3-hour long) 2nd Gaming Symposium.

Bear in mind there are many many submissions this year with the keyword Gaming/Simulation. Unfortunately that means there are many overlapping
sessions, too. I will prepare a larger conference planner with Gaming/Simulation for all of you when the confirmation date is closer (after Oct 5).

Also, look out for an email within the next few days about a new event at AECT 2006. Those of you that are making games/simulations, this will be a good time to get it ready.
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