2019 Games for Change Festival: Full Schedule

11:15am EDT

Virtual Reality for Workplace Training

Immersive technologies like virtual reality (VR) provide a number of well-researched learning benefits. Dr. Casale will discuss how VR uniquely takes advantage of these best learning principles, offering a highly effective way to train in the workplace.

Speakers

Dr. Michael Casale

Chief Science Officer, STRIVR

Dr. Michael Casale is a cognitive neuroscientist whose academic research focused on understanding the biological underpinnings of learning and memory, in particular how to optimize training for a variety of learning situations. He has led multi-million dollar research projects aimed... Read More →

Monday June 17, 2019 11:15am - 11:35am EDT
Room 105

XR for Change Summit, Talk

11:45am EDT

Smileyscope: VR in Pediatrics, One Year Later

Since presenting at G4C last year, Smileyscope has proven the effectiveness of VR to mitigate the negative associations of needle procedures for kids. Through clinical research we have validated the use of VR to mitigate pain and anxiety in the pediatric arena.

Speakers

J Milligan

Creative Executive Producer, Two Moos

J is an Emmy, Peabody and Bafta award-winning interactive designer, writer and director, a steward of some of the world’s most beloved and trusted brands. He’s worked with world-class talent, technology and partners to create experiences that enrich the lives of kids and families... Read More →

Monday June 17, 2019 11:45am - 12:05pm EDT
Room 105

XR for Change Summit, Talk

12:15pm EDT

Stopping Harassment Through Design

Brittan Heller was patient zero. As Jane Doe in one of the first anti-cyber harassment lawsuits, she learned how to stop trolls -- and has been helping the tech industry confront online abuse for over a decade. Come hear her describe the mechanics of digital targeting and learn how users, game designers, and AR/VR/XR content creators can create inclusive virtual environments.

Speakers

Brittan Heller

Technology + Human Rights Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School

Brittan Heller works to make emerging tech more humane. She is one of the first technology and human rights fellows at Harvard's Carr Center, focusing on content and behavioral moderation in next-generation tech like gaming and AR/VR/XR. Heller is also a senior associate at CSIS's... Read More →

Monday June 17, 2019 12:15pm - 12:35pm EDT
Mainstage - Tishman Auditorium

XR for Change Summit, Talk

2:00pm EDT

Fighting Addiction With Immersive Technology and AI

The opioid crisis requires rethinking traditional addiction treatments. XR has the power to target the behavioral foundations of addiction by letting patients engage with novel treatments in their natural environments. Applying machine learning to the wealth of data generated by XR enables real-time identification and even prediction of drug cravings. This talk will review the state of XR addiction treatments, explain how XR can transform behavioral therapies, and discuss exciting future directions for the field.

Speakers

Aldis Sipolins

Immersive Technology Research Lead, Draper Laboratories

Aldis is an immersive technology researcher who applies principles of design and cognitive neuroscience to change human behavior. Aldis received a PhD in Visual Cognition and Human Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2015, where he founded a VR research... Read More →

Monday June 17, 2019 2:00pm - 2:20pm EDT
Room 105

XR for Change Summit, Talk

2:30pm EDT

Creating Empathy in VR Experiences

Illya is a writer, director, artist and interactive storyteller. Shaped by her experiences as a physician, her artistic practice explores embodiment, identity, and belief in a media inundated and increasingly virtual world. Cyril Tsiboulski is her longtime artistic partner. Their online works, Reconstructing Mayakovsky and Queerskins: a novel are taught frequently on a university level as notable examples of digital literature. Queerskins: a love story, their first VR experience, premiered at The Tribeca Film Festival in 2018. They are recipients of grants from The Sundance Institute/Arcus Foundation, The Tribeca Film Institute/MacArthur Foundation, and The Peter Reed Foundation.

Speakers

Illya Szilak

Writer & Director, Cloudred

Monday June 17, 2019 2:30pm - 2:50pm EDT
Room 105

XR for Change Summit, Talk

3:00pm EDT

Fireside Chat: Marcie Jastrow and Jesse Damiani

Join Marcie Jastrow and Jesse Damiani for a conversation on the immersive industry and future of XR!

Speakers

Jesse Damiani

Editor-at-Large, VRScout

Jesse is an entrepreneur, advisor, journalist, curator, educator, and public figure in emerging technology. He is Editor-at-Large of VRScout, a Contributor at Forbes, Series Editor of Best American Experimental Writing, and CEO of Galatea, a screenwriting and project management tool... Read More →

Marcie Jastrow

SVP of Immersive Media, Technicolor

Marcie Jastrow is an industry veteran with over 20 years in the Entertainment business.Currently the SVP of Immersive Media at Technicolor, as well as the Head of the Technicolor Experience Center (TEC), Marcie is dedicated to bringing artists, technologists, and partners together... Read More →

Monday June 17, 2019 3:00pm - 3:20pm EDT
Mainstage - Tishman Auditorium

XR for Change Summit, Talk

3:20pm EDT

Techniques to Transform Online Cultures

No one wants their social platforms to be filled with bullies and anti-social behavior, yet it can be hard to know how to develop a culture that promotes and rewards good behavior. Existing culture can be difficult to change. However, creators have more control than they might think. Rather than relying solely on codes of conduct or live moderators to police negative behaviors, understanding and harnessing culture tools can give you power to increase pro-social behavior. This talk will cover ways to systematically examine what an online space's default culture is, and specific techniques to make them more inclusive, welcoming, and desirable to users.

Speakers

Jessica Outlaw

Head of Research, The Extended Mind

Jessica Outlaw, M.S., is a culture and behavior researcher in immersive tech and the founder of The Extended Mind. She uses behavioral science to help XR companies build and test experiences. She does research in digital worlds, app design, and gives trainings to new and experienced... Read More →

Monday June 17, 2019 3:20pm - 3:40pm EDT
Mainstage - Tishman Auditorium

XR for Change Summit, Talk

4:30pm EDT

smokeSCREEN VR: A Partnership for Social Change

As one of its first inaugural research projects to sponsor, Oculus Education partnered with the play4REAL Lab at Yale to develop and evaluate smokeSCREEN VR, the first VR intervention focused on JUUL/E-cigarette prevention for teens. With encouraging early findings, the team will conduct a randomized controlled trial of the game in 2019. In this session, Kimberly Hieftje, PhD of play4REAL and Cindy Ball of Oculus Education will talk about their partnership and project highlights, including early pilot-study findings, next steps, and the value of these types of collaborations in contributing to the ever-expanding field of virtual reality research and education.

Speakers

Dr. Kimberly Hieftje

Director, play4REAL Lab at the Yale Center for Health & Learning Games

Kimberly Hieftje, PhD, is a Research Scientist at the Yale School of Medicine and Deputy Director of the Yale Center for Health & Learning Games, which focuses on the development and evaluation of videogame interventions for health prevention and promotion, behavior change, and education... Read More →

Monday June 17, 2019 4:30pm - 4:50pm EDT
Mainstage - Tishman Auditorium

XR for Change Summit, Talk

5:00pm EDT

VR for Advocacy

Join Tyler Gates as he discusses how organizations are using the power of immersive technology to engage and evoke empathy within stakeholders and members on the Hill to deliver context for and alter their mindsets on advocacy issues.

Speakers

Tyler Gates

Managing Principal, Brightline Interactive

Tyler is the Managing Principal at Brightline Interactive and President of the DC Chapter of the VR/AR Association. He is a visionary for the applications of VR/AR technology for training, enterprise and branding solutions. His technological prowess in conjunction with his aptitude... Read More →

Monday June 17, 2019 5:00pm - 5:20pm EDT
Room 105

XR for Change Summit, Talk

5:30pm EDT

Game Design Thinking for Civic Engagement

We live in a moment of declining civic engagement and flourishing participatory culture. The question this session will explore is: How might games better enable individuals to connect with - and contribute to - the social movements they care about? Participants will learn how we’re using game design thinking with activists in Wisconsin to co-design a new civic engagement game. We’ll conclude by collectively brainstorming ideas that leverage game design thinking to empower grassroots organizing.

Speakers

Libby Falck

Graduate Student, MIT

Libby Falck is a researcher at MIT and the founder of Forward Labs, a civic technology and consulting firm that specializes in applying educational game design to grassroots organizing. Libby was previously the founder of ChangeX Education, a maker education consultant at Autodesk... Read More →

Monday June 17, 2019 5:30pm - 5:50pm EDT
Room 105

XR for Change Summit, Talk

6:20pm EDT

Keynote - The Many Ways That XR Technology is Transforming, Localizing, and Personalizing Healthcare

XR technology is transforming healthcare. XR-enabled platforms can shift the locus of clinical care from the hospital and the clinic to the home and the workplace and, via improved analytics, provide tools and systems that enable personalized medicine. Individualized health and wellness protocols as well as treatment plans can be provided via portable systems that integrate wearable sensors, XR, and AI technologies to effectively promote adherence and encourage healthy lifestyles. As the cost of healthcare rises, wearable systems integrated with XR based systems will enable effective telemedicine platforms that reduce the costs of care delivery and improve clinical efficiency.

Speakers

Dr. Walter Greenleaf

Distinguished Scholar, Stanford University Virtual Human Interaction Lab

Dr. Walter Greenleaf, an early pioneer in digital medicine and virtual reality technology, is a research neuroscientist and medical product developer working at Stanford University. Walter is currently a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Stanford’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab... Read More →

Monday June 17, 2019 6:20pm - 6:40pm EDT
Mainstage - Tishman Auditorium

XR for Change Summit, Talk