HASTAC 2015 talk on games and education by Anastasia Salter and Keri Watson

2. Education + Games
Education is “one of the most perfect game ecosystems
that’s out there,” full of challenges, rewards, rules,
allies, enemies, countdowns, and incentives, “all sorts
of things that make school the best real-world
implementation of a game that’s out there.”
And yet “it’s a poorly designed game; it’s kind of
broken.”
Set Priebatsch

4. Alternate Reality Game
An “unfiction” game that invades a
player’s normal environment and invites
them to play, often through puzzle-solving
and deciphering clues

8. Examples: THATCamp Games

9. Rethinking
“Twentieth-Century Art”

10. Our Platform…

11. Visual designs and videos by Marcelo Laborda

13. This course presents an introduction to the major artists,
works, techniques, and styles of modernity and relates
them to historical and cultural contexts of the 20th
century.
Particular attention is paid to the social history of Modern
Art, including the cultural, political, and economic forces
that influenced artists and art making during the twentieth
century.
Course Overview

14. Course Objectives
 Question the continually changing category of
experience that comprises the notion of art
 Recognize a core group of images within 20th-
century art and interpret these works within the
socio-historical and cultural context of their
production and reception
 Develop skills of critical reading, visual analysis, and
written expression

23. Reactions to Games

24. 24
38
17
10 10
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Strongly
agree
Agree Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree Strongly
disagree
I enjoy playing games (n=29)
Percent

25. 21
17
7
28 28
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Strongly
agree
Agree Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree Strongly
disagree
The game format corresponded with my
preferred style of learning (n=29)
Percent

26. 18
43
25
0
14
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Strongly
agree
Agree Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree Strongly
disagree
Deciphering the clues in the game helped
me to be more engaged in the course (n=28)
Percent

27. Groups & Collaboration

28. 14
10
31
21
24
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Strongly
agree
Agree Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree Strongly
disagree
I enjoy working in a group (n=29)
Percent

29. 31
62
7
0 0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Strongly
agree
Agree Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree Strongly
disagree
I think the ability to work with others is a
valuable skill (n=29)
Percent

30. 7
69
14
3
7
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Strongly
agree
Agree Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree Strongly
disagree
The game fostered cooperation among
students (n=29)
Percent

31. Polarizing Results

32. 10
45
10
21
14
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Strongly
agree
Agree Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree Strongly
disagree
The game format method of learning helped me to
have a greater appreciation of 20th century art
(n=29)
Percent

33. 17
41
17
10
14
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Strongly
agree
Agree Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree Strongly
disagree
Because of the game format I have a better
understanding of the complexities of classifying
20th century art (n=29)
Percent

34. John Cage and Marcel Duchamp,
Reunion, 1968
Eve Babitz and Marcel
Duchamp playing Chess, 1963

35. Yoko Ono, Play It By Trust,
1966/2011
Alison Knowles, Homage to Each
Red Thing, 1996.

36. Secret Societies of the Avant-garde