Learning Games Network Now Taking Applications for 2012 Game Design Boot Camp at MIT

April 19, 2012 - PRLog -- CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts - Learning Games Network, a non-profit spin-off of the MIT Education Arcade that bridges the gap between research and practice in game-based education, is now accepting applications from teachers and students for the 2012 Game Design Boot Camp scheduled for Monday, July 23 to Friday, July 27 on the MIT Campus in Cambridge, MA.  Qualified teachers and students will be chosen from among applicants to participate in an intensive workshop introducing teachers to new instructional resources and working with them to develop coaching strategies that can be used to guide students through an extended (i.e., quarter- or semester-long) and comprehensive research and creative game design process.

Exploring topical and subject-specific material through game design activities, lesson plans and challenge worksheets, Boot Camp participants combine learning and fun while developing their critical, conceptual, creative, and strategic thinking skills. Teachers will learn how to utilize the Game Design Tool Kit to engage middle and high school students in a game design process that supports learning of important topics and standards across the curriculum.  Students attending the Boot Camp will be guided through the early stages of game design, creating a paper prototype and “pitch” presentation for their game concept.

A select group of teachers will work with teams of middle and high school students where each student will be assigned specific roles and responsibilities building on existing skills and interests as they are encouraged to develop new ones.  Using the Game Design Tool Kit, teachers will guide their groups through the process of game design from the inception of an idea to the strategic and creative applications that turn a concept into a playable paper game prototype.

The camp offers teachers the opportunity to develop their abilities using a proven teaching method that encourages effective and collaborative relationships while giving them the mechanisms for engaging and energizing students in the development of creativity, communication, collaboration and critical thinking skills.  Teachers completing the Boot Camp will receive a Professional Development certificate from the MIT Education Arcade.  Students with a strong interest in game design will learn everything from basic conceptual skills to advanced strategizing and will leave the camp with the knowledge needed to begin developing their own video games.

The 2012 Game Design Boot Camp will be facilitated by Learning Games Network and will include expert instructors and designers from the MIT Education Arcade, FableVision (a Boston-based storytelling and interactive development studio) and Learning Games Network.

The week-long workshop will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, July 23 through Friday, July 27 and will be held in classrooms on the Cambridge, MA campus of MIT.

All applications must be received by Friday, May 18, 2012.  Attendees will be selected based upon criteria outlined in the application materials and will be notified of their acceptance by June 1, 2012.

To apply or for additional information visit www.learninggamesnetwork.org/http://learninggamesnetwork.org/2012-game-design-boot-camp/

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The Learning Games Network (LGN) was founded as a 501(c)3 organization in 2008 by Eric Klopfer (Professor, MIT; Director, MIT Scheller Teacher Education Program and MIT Education Arcade), Scot Osterweil (Research Scientist and Creative Director, MIT Education Arcade), Kurt Squire (Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison), and Alex Chisholm (Former Director of Communications and Program Development, MIT Comparative Media Studies and Co-Director of the MIT Education Arcade). LGN’s team of producers, designers, programmers, teachers, and researchers collaborate with a wide variety of partners on projects that lead to research-based design, production, implementation, and evaluation of games in formal and informal settings. LGN’s creative, pedagogical, and technical expertise has informed projects with partners such as NBC News, BrainPOP, Educational Testing Service, Pearson, U.S. Department of Education, and the Chinese Ministry of Education.