The University of Iowa’s ITS Office of Teaching, Learning & Technology is offering a public talk and workshop series, Game-based Learning for Higher Education, on March 25-26.
Lee Sheldon, associate professor of games and simulation at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, will present “Game-Based Learning, the Multiplayer Classroom and You,” from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 25 in C20 Pomerantz Center. He will explore the dynamic field of gaming in higher education and how instructors can harness the power of games for meaningful engagement in the classroom.
On Thursday, March 26, Sheldon will lead a series of master classes designed as interactive sessions to explore topics in greater depth. He will share teaching and learning strategies with instructors and talk with students who are interested in careers developing games.
The classes are open to the public but have limited seating.
To see a full lineup of events and to register, visit http://teach.its.uiowa.edu.
As instructors who use “Jeopardy” in their classes can attest, game-based learning strategies can be an engaging and effective way to help students learn. The learning-through-gaming landscape is booming, not only in education but also to promote and facilitate things like community building, healthcare intervention strategies, and sustainable energy.
In addition to Sheldon’s visit, the UI is supporting a number of activities for instructors seeking to incorporate game-based-learning into their courses or even develop their own games and game-based curricula.
With a $34,600 Innovations in Teaching with Technology Award, Sheila Barron is creating an interactive simulation environment to teach statistical concepts in the social sciences. Barron is a statistician/biostatistician manager in the College of Education Department of Psychological and Quantitative Foundations.
After attending a daylong Center for Teaching Faculty Institute on game-based learning, Teacher Leader Center Director William Coghill-Behrends launched a digital badging initiative within the college’s professional development programs.
Contact: Game-Based Learning Coordinator Megan Mathews, (319) 335-6141, megan-mathews@uiowa.edu