All posts by Robert O. Duncan

I'm an Assistant Professor of Behavioral Sciences at City University of New York, with joint appointments in Neuroscience and Cognitive Neuroscience. I also have an appointment as a Visiting Scholar at New York University. My research interests include cognitive neuroscience, functional magnetic resonance imaging, glaucoma, neurodegenerative disorders, attention, learning, memory, educational technology, pedagogy, and developing games for education.

CUNY Games Conference 4.0: CFP Announcement

Our Call for Proposals is now open! Proposals are due on November 1, 2017. Please forward far and wide!

The CUNY Games Network of the City University of New York is excited to announce The CUNY Games Conference 4.0: The Interactive Course to be held on January 22 and 23, 2018 at the Graduate Center and the Borough of Manhattan Community College in New York City.

The CUNY Games Conference is a two-day event to promote and discuss game-based pedagogies in higher education. The first day of the conference focuses on interactive presentations, and the second day consists of low-key game design, playtesting, and game play.

Game-based pedagogy incorporates some of the best aspects of collaborative, active, and inquiry-based learning. With the growing maturity of game-based learning in higher education, the focus has shifted from whether games are appropriate for higher education to how games can be best used to bring real pedagogical benefits and encourage student-centered education. The CUNY Games Network is dedicated to encouraging research, scholarship, and teaching in this developing field. We aim to bring together all stakeholders: faculty, researchers, graduate and undergraduate students, and game designers. Both CUNY and non-CUNY participation is welcome.

The conference theme is composed of two broad goals:

  • To invent, explore, and learn to effectively use Game-Based Learning (GBL) to address higher educational goals.
  • To advance understanding of how to create rigorous interactive classroom learning activities, including methods, examples, and assessments, since well-developed learning activities share similar attributes to games.

To meet these goals, proposals should aspire to address the following three areas:

  • Innovation: In what way did you invent a new type of GBL or improving existing GBL for higher education? What new applications of GBL were developed to foster and assess learning? In what new ways was GBL integrated with other teaching methods to foster and assess learning?
  • Advancing understanding of how people learn in GBL learning environments in higher education: How does your work enhance understanding of how students learn in GBL environments that offer new opportunities for learning? How does your work lead to a better understanding of how to foster and assess learning in GBL environments?
  • Promoting broad use and transferability of GBL: How does your work inform the design and use of GBL across disciplines, populations, and learning environments in higher education?

All proposals must have a clear and explicit relevance to higher education.

The conference will feature the following session formats:

Arcade game demos and posters

We encourage everyone to consider bringing something to showcase at our arcade this year, which will be given its own time and space separate from the presentations. The arcade area will feature posters and games (finished or in progress), gamecasting videos, and more. We also especially encourage participation by undergraduate researchers.

30-minute interactive presentations

Reserved for interactive presentations only, such as workshops and live demonstrations. Interactive learning components should comprise at least 15 minutes of the presentation.

10-minute short presentations

Short talks that briefly discuss theories, research, practice, or individual games, including game-like interactive learning activities.

Presenters are encouraged to apply for both the arcade and a presentation. Please submit each separately.

Your proposal must include: session format; contact information for the corresponding presenter; name, affiliation, and email address for each additional presenter; title, 250-word abstract; a paragraph on connections to higher education; keywords selected from a list on the submission form; and special requests (e.g., scheduling or equipment needs). Please proofread and edit your proposal before submission. Accepted proposals will be published in our conference proceedings.

Panel Proposals: We also invite panel submissions for three or more speakers. Please submit one proposal for the entire panel. Innovative panel ideas are encouraged!

Submit a Proposal!

ESA Publishes 2016 Computer & Video Game Industry Report

The Entertainment Software Association has published it’s 2016 report on usage of computers and video games. As the preface to the report states “The study is the most in-depth and targeted survey of its kind, gathering data from more than 4,000 American households. Heads of households and the most frequent gamers within each household were surveyed about their game play habits and attitudes.”

 

Follow the link below to download a free copy of the report:

Source: Entertainment Software Association | 2016 Essential Facts About The Computer And Video Game Industry

Using Design-Based Research to Further Learning Outcomes

Nathan Martin and Jay Lynch wrote an article for EdSurge that details the rationale and value of design-based research for education. Please refer to the full article on EdSurge by following the link below.

If education researchers hope to see more of their findings influence everyday learning and instruction—and they desperately do—then their best bet may be to encourage education technologists to hone their design research skills.

Researchers frequently lament how little of even the most robust and replicable educational research permeates actual teaching and studying. But the challenges and constraints of practical educational settings mean laboratory-based findings don’t readily translate into the kinds of practices, resources and tools that can meaningfully improve teaching and learning. If research is to yield real-world solutions, it will take teachers, students, researchers and technologists working together to dabble, invent and test new ideas. Edtech companies, many of which already partner with teachers and students early in the product design process, are uniquely suited to facilitating the type of research necessary to bridge the gap between academia and the classroom…

Source: Reality Is Messy, Labs Aren’t: How to Make Research Backed Education Work | EdSurge News