2019 Games for Change Festival: Full Schedule

11:45am EDT

Project Briefs: Impacting Impact - Maximizing Your Game's Reach, Stickiness, and Sustainability

To achieve success in education gaming, developers must focus first and foremost on creating unique approaches to learning to inspire students and educators alike. In today’s landscape, that often means hyper-personalized, adaptive and measurable. With that comes a fear about data use from stakeholders who live near and far from the classroom, including parents, advocates and legislators, and that fear has been strong enough to derail even the most well-funded businesses. Learn what it takes to navigate this environment safely, building a foundation for success today, building trusting partnerships with schools and a pathway to growth in the future.

Building a great game for change is a challenge. Maximizing its impact is also a challenge! Come learn from teams about the work they've done to increase the reach, stickiness, and sustainability of their games. How can we more effectively distribute our games, maximize their audience, lengthen their lifespan, and make them more personal?

Moderator: Mark DeLoura

Clara Prieto
Designing for Inclusive Play: How to build games for everyone

Emma Cofer
Designing for Inclusive Play: How to build games for everyone

Shannon Frederick Meneses & Peter Stidwill
“Game of the Year”: Sharing Six Years of Learning

Linnette Attai
Personalization and Privacy: Innovating in the Age of Compliance

Brian Alspach
The Fundamental Equation of Games in the Classroom

Moderators

Mark DeLoura

Executive Director, Level Up Games

Mark DeLoura is a game technology and education consultant, and passionate proponent of K-12 computer science education and games for learning. He worked as Senior Advisor for Digital Media at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy during the Obama administration... Read More →

Speakers

Peter Stidwill

Executive Producer, FableVision Studios

As FableVision’s Executive Producer, Peter leads the company’s effort to manage multiple animations, games, websites, videos, and museum exhibits simultaneously. He oversees the staffing of the creative studio, ensuring that teams are set up to meet the varied needs of all projects... Read More →

Clara Prieto

Global Brand Marketing Manager, Google

Clara Prieto joined Google in 2011 where she has a wide ranging experience working across different countries, industries and products. She currently leads global branding for Google Play and for the last year she has been heading the Change the Game Initiative which aims to make... Read More →

Emma Cofer

Lead Brand Strategist, Platforms & Ecosystems, Google

Emma Cofer is Lead Brand Strategist for Google's Platforms & Ecosystems team, working to connect user insights to brand opportunities across Android, Google Play, Chrome, and Chrome OS / Chromebook. Previously, Emma worked in brand strategy consulting for nearly a decade, most recently... Read More →

Shannon Frederick Meneses

Executive Producer, Learning Games Network

Shannon Frederick Meneses is Executive Producer at Learning Games Network. She has worked in the educational technology industry for 20 years, working on projects ranging from engaging and playful games to complex and content rich websites and applications. Before Learning Games Network... Read More →

Linnette Attai

President, PlayWell, LLC

Linnette Attai is founder of the global compliance consulting firm PlayWell, LLC, providing strategic guidance around the complex obligations governing data privacy, marketing, and content. Linnette has over 25 years of experience navigating compliance challenges, building organizational... Read More →

Brian Alspach

Executive Vice President, E-Line Media

Brian is Executive Vice President and a founding team member at E-Line Media, a video game developer and publisher passionate about harnessing the power of games to help players understand and shape the world. Brian leads E-Line's educational efforts with a particular focus on helping... Read More →

Tuesday June 18, 2019 11:45am - 12:35pm EDT
Room 104

Games for Learning, Project Brief

4:15pm EDT

Project Briefs: Students and Educators as Game Designers

The game industry has grown to become a $140 Billion industry and is predicted to exceed $180 Billion by 2021. Providing students with an opportunity to develop their own games takes students from player to creator while learning authentic career readiness skills. Hear from educators who have brought these opportunities into the classroom in order to create inclusive design teams allowing students to engage in the iterative design process and experience a variety of roles common to the industry. In addition you will hear from educators who have brought their love of game design into the classroom by creating game based experiences for students and training educators to do the same.

Moderator: Elisabeth Gee

Cédric Ceulemans
Co-creating Serious Games for Peace

Matthew Farber & Kevin Miklasz
GGJ Next: A Global Game Jam for Youth

Noa Lahav
EdVenture: Enabling Educators to Create Immersive Game-Based Learning Experiences

Peggy Sheehy
Your Game is Our Textbook?

Santhosh Kumar Subramanian
Games by Children for Children

Moderators

Elisabeth Gee

Professor, Arizona State University

Elisabeth (Betty) Gee is a professor and the Delbert and Jewell Lewis chair in Reading and Literacy at Arizona State University. She studies the social, cultural, and intellectual dimensions of game-related learning in out-of-school settings. Her recent projects have focused on families... Read More →

Speakers

Dr. Philipp Busch

Project Manager, GIZ

Dr. Philipp Busch works for GIZ since October 2014. In spring 2018 he finished his doctoral thesis about "Gameful Approaches in Development Cooperation", now teaches Gamification and Agile Methods at the University of Mainz. Philipp works at GIZ for the Social Innovation Team in Cairo... Read More →

Peggy Sheehy

Game Master, Suffern Central School District

Peggy Sheehy is an educator and change agent with strong opinions about education. She strives to create learning environments where students can take charge and experience agency, autonomy, and authenticity. For the past twenty-two years, she has served as classroom teacher, district... Read More →

Dr. Matthew Farber

Assistant Professor, University of Northern Colorado

Matthew Farber, Ed.D. is an assistant professor of Technology, Innovation, and Pedagogy at the University of Northern Colorado. He has been invited to the White House, to keynote for UNESCO, and he has been interviewed by NPR, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal. With Karen Schrier... Read More →

Kevin Miklasz

VP, Data and Prototyping, BrainPOP

Kevin has worked in and around the fields of game design and education for the last 10 years. As a trained scientist, he has a PhD in Biology from Stanford University, but has spent his time gaining a smattering of diverse experiences in education: designing science curriculum, teaching... Read More →

Noa Lahav

Community Manager, Ministry of Education Israel

Founder of EdVenture. Community Manager at the Technological Innovation Unit in the Ministry of Education. Former science teacher, instructor and coordinator. M.Ed in science education, studying edTech and creativity.

Cédric Ceulemans

Learning Experience Designer, Butterfly Works

As a learning experience expert, Cedric coordinates educational projects from their early research phase to their handover to partners. Thanks to his experience in both international development and design, he offers a keen eye on learning experience, making it both dynamic and relevant... Read More →

Santhosh Kumar Subramanian

Principal Designer, The Gamification Republic

For Santhosh, just like Theatre, Storytelling, painting, Games are medium of expression. He has been working with children and adults (and private and not-for-profit institutions) for more than a decade. After dabbling with various forms of play and working with thousands of children... Read More →

Tuesday June 18, 2019 4:15pm - 5:05pm EDT
Room 105

Games for Learning, Project Brief

12:15pm EDT

Project Briefs: Reaching Underserved Audiences

Games can serve as a very powerful medium for learning, but equity and access continue to be challenges in the industry. Hear about several programs that have been developed specifically to provide opportunities for individuals in remote or otherwise under represented areas.

Amanda Armstrong
Using Formative Research to Inform Design of Serious Games

Maria Burns Ortiz
When Solving a “Small” Problem Can Have a Big Impact: How Developing Games for U.S. Tribal Communities Set Us Up for Global Expansion

Andrea Jetten
Games: Tackling the Learning Crisis for Children Affected by Conflict

Tammie Schrader
Flexhibit Carts and Game Based Learning in Science Classroom

Moderators

Stephen Reid

Director, Immersive Minds

As Director of Immersive Minds Stephen has been pioneering the use of technology as a tool for learning for almost two decades. He's dedicated his career to exploring, piloting and advocating the use of games and emerging technologies from the early adoption of podcasting, animation... Read More →

Speakers

Amanda Armstrong

Games Lab Coordinator, Learning Games Lab, New Mexico State University

Amanda L. Armstrong is the Games Lab Coordinator at New Mexico State University's (NMSU) Learning Games Lab, where she leads user-testing sessions, teaches summer sessions with children and youth on game design, and has been involved on a few design teams. She is also a PhD candidate... Read More →

Maria Burns Ortiz

CEO and Co-Founder, 7 Generation Games

Maria Burns Ortiz is co-founder and CEO of 7 Generation Games, which makes bilingual immersive educational video games and interactive apps. Taking 7 Generation Games from concept to award-winning company, she oversees all creative aspects of game development, including design, narrative... Read More →

Andrea Jetten

Sr. Advisor Quality Assurance Can't Wait to Learn, War Child Holland

Andrea Jetten is the Quality Assurance Advisor for Can't Wait to Learn - an innovative programme that provides education to children affected by conflict and crises through game-based learning applications on tablets. She is involved in the development of the games and, as the product... Read More →

Tammie Schrader

Science Coordinator, NEWESD 101

Tammie Schrader currently works for Northeast Washington Educational Service District 101 and is a Regional Computer Science Coordinator serving 59 school districts in Eastern Washington. She was a science teacher in Cheney, Washington, and is a science methods instructor at Gonzaga... Read More →

Wednesday June 19, 2019 12:15pm - 1:05pm EDT
Room 104

Games for Learning, Project Brief

2:45pm EDT

Project Briefs: Your Game is Our Textbook

When Game Based Learning is implemented effectively, the game serves as the medium for learning. Students learn from the experiences provided through the game play. This quick take series will highlight the work of a number of outstanding educators who are using games as the primary vehicle for learning.

Moderator: Peggy Sheehy

Vít Šisler
Stories of Nazi occupation in a classroom: Lessons learnt from Attentat 1942

Ben Spieldenner
Technical Reading & Writing Through Games

Jessica Ochoa Hendrix
A Discussion with Stakeholders of Piloting Games in Schools

Owen Gottlieb
Teaching Prosocial Religion from 12th Century Cairo: Lost & Found

Moderators

Peggy Sheehy

Game Master, Suffern Central School District

Speakers

Owen Gottlieb

Assistant Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology/ConverJent

Owen Gottlieb, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Interactive Media and Learning at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is the founder and lead research faculty at the Initiative in Religion, Culture, and Policy at the RIT MAGIC Center. Gottlieb's mobile ARG , Jewish Time Jump... Read More →

Ben Spieldenner

Game-Based Learning Specialist, Ashland City Schools

Ben Spieldenner teaches English and is a Game-Based Learning Specialist for Ashland City Schools (Ashland, OH). His passion is helping students and teachers discover how much fun learning can be. He created and wrote two new high school courses: Technical Reading & Writing Through... Read More →

Jessica Ochoa Hendrix

CEO & Co-Founder, Killer Snails

Jessica Ochoa Hendrix, CEO of Killer Snails, has worked in K-12 education since 2003. Prior to co-founding Killer Snails, she worked as an educational consultant whose clients included Relay Graduate School of Education and the Charter Network Accelerator. Previously, she worked for... Read More →

Vít Šisler

Assistant Professor, Charles University

Vit Sisler is a lead game designer of the award-winning video game Attentat 1942, which explores World War II through the eyes of survivors. He is also an Assistant Professor of New Media Studies at Charles University, where he focuses on serious games, educational simulations and... Read More →

Wednesday June 19, 2019 2:45pm - 3:35pm EDT
Room 104

Games for Learning, Project Brief