Play is a timeless practice in education. Global trends in games for learning continue these age-old cultural traditions in the uses of social game play for a variety of educational purposes. Research that investigates the cognitive learning potential of game play, game analysis and game creation increasingly demonstrates the ways that games can support creative skills, knowledge and literacies across the curriculum.
In addition to the affordances of game play, games have also generated concerns and panics about their role in society, following a long tradition of media panics. Research related to the type of learning that is supported by game design and coding support these uses of game creation and design for a broad variety of educational purposes.
Play2Learn, the culminating event for GamiLearning, an international research project funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in Portugal and supported by the UT-Portugal project at The University of Texas at Austin offers an opportunity for scholars and practitioners to share their research findings and to enrich the dialogue about the role of games in the learning environment. We are looking for research related to game play and game/media creation in formal and informal learning spaces for a wide range of topics and audiences.
List of Topics
The Role of Play in Media Education for All
Pedagogies of Play
Game Creation for Learning
Digital Game Creation by Students and 21st Century Literacy
Game-Based Learning for Children and Youth
Do It Yourself Media
The Value of Gamification
Social Media and Learning
Youth Media and Learning
Technologies for Learning through Play