From Game Design to Classrooms: WILA's 2024 Collider Unites Educators and Developers to Transform Learning

The 2024 Games and Education Industry Collider was a resounding success, bringing together hundreds of educators, game developers, researchers, and caregivers to explore the intersection of games and learning. The event was held at Pacific Science Center on Saturday November 16th and featured a diverse range of sessions, from keynote addresses to panel discussions and hands-on workshops. Check out the highlights from the event https://youtu.be/Cyx05c3u7jY.

The Collider was made possible by our Diamond Sponsor foundry10, Champion Sponsor Unity, and Community Sponsor Nimble Workforce. This was the fourth event held in this series and the first under the newly formed Washington Interactive Learning Alliance (WILA) that comprises Seattle Indies, Seattle EdTech, Perfect Day Games, and foundry10. The expansion of the event from an evening affair to a full day of programming and exhibitions was made possible by a grant that WILA received under the ICAP 2.5 program facilitated by the WA State Department of Commerce.

“Never have I ever had a research nor teaching experience like this before. We shared, exchanged ideas, and learned all day long. 10 out of 10, highly recommend this event. It was fantastic.” Dr. Erica Kleinknect, Professor of psychology Pacific University.

Participants were treated to talks from games and education industry veterans, panels, interactive workshops, speed networking sessions, excellent free meals, and a vibrant expo floor featuring interactive exhibits and research projects related to using games and gameplay for educational purposes.

Key Highlights:

• Keynote Address: Tammie Schrader, a renowned educator and advocate for game-based learning, kicked off the day on a high note with an inspiring and hilarious keynote speech highlighting the potential of games to transform education.
• Creating an Experience Panel: A panel of experts, led by Mark DeLoura, shared insights on creating educational tools that align with school environments and curricula, while also pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with emerging technology.?
• Educator, Designer, and Researcher Roundtable: This session, led by Travis Windleharth of foundry10, delved into the specific needs of educators in the classroom, fostering a dialogue between designers and researchers to create more effective learning experiences.
• Games 101: For those new to game design, Tom Smith, Educational Game Designer at Roblox provided a comprehensive overview of game mechanics and development principles, empowering attendees to create their own educational games.
• Gamifying SEL: Jason Ermer showcased the "Quest of Epic Proportions," a role-playing adventure designed to promote social-emotional learning skills like active listening and perspective-taking.
• Design for Impact Panel: A panel of experts, led by Lyla Ross, discussed strategies for creating meaningful and impactful learning experiences that address real-world classroom challenges.
• Designing Developmentally-Appropriate Game Characters for Young Children: Dr. Sonia Tawari led a session around how to design characters that help children learn, connect, and understand the world around them.
• Expo floor: Over 20 indie video games, research projects, and tabletop games were on display for our guests to play and interact with along with the developers and researchers behind them to share further insight into their impact as tools for classroom learning.
• Workshops: We hosted over half a dozen workshops and panels around inclusivity in games, creating educational VR/XR experiences, speed networking, game design, STEM education for secondary educators, and more.

The Collider fostered a collaborative and innovative atmosphere, inspiring attendees to push the boundaries of game-based learning and create transformative educational experiences.

Additional Resources:

• Collider Highlight reel: https://youtu.be/Cyx05c3u7jY?
• Interviews from the show floor w/Tim Reha: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3JC8ojdOzJYpIFSWKrx0WMI8AYCROBWq&si=f0NrwjSSIkyXVxW5?
• Join the Discussion on the WILA LinkedIn Group: https://www.dhirubhai.net/groups/14560127/
• Collider YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyq96xsbO53GpJxtRc-aWYImOW3OcsLQm?
• foundry10 blog post: ?Educators and Game Designers Unite to Redefine Learning

By sharing insights, experiences, and best practices, the 2024 Games and Education Industry Collider has undoubtedly made a significant contribution to the advancement of game-based learning.