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Themes
In October 2009 we asked for submissions on the following theme.
There is a growing interest in the potential role of games to support engagement with complex issues such as citizenship, sustainability and learning. Well created games can immerse players in new worlds and activities, providing the opportunity to look at existing problems in new ways. There has been a similar interest in developments in mobile learning: the recognition that learners move across contexts, accessing a range of resources, people and places to learn and connect. When these two area combine, they bring a range of opportunities ... which is why we asked for ideas relating to the following themes in our most recent Call for Ideas.
Theme 1: 'Meaningful games'
These are games that aim to achieve serious social results by enabling learners to engage with important issues such as learning, democracy, environment and sustainability and their local community etc. They’re games that offer the opportunity to explore and interact with important topics that can be difficult to engage with – topics that are important personally, locally or nationally and internationally. We were looking for new forms of meaningful games to engage players as learners, and learners as players: the key was that we were looking for new, exciting ideas for games that can support learners in developing their understanding and actions relating to these important issues.
Theme 2: Mobile games
These are games that are primarily developed for use while learners are on the move or interacting with the places, objects or people around them. These games can make use of a mobile devices (phones, mobile consoles etc) but also fixed artefacts so that the mobile learner can be engaged in the game whether by interacting with digital systems or maps, physical objects, or other players (in real or virtual spaces). Mobile Games for Learning can provide opportunities to learn through interaction with ‘real’ spaces, histories, maps, and people in public and outdoor spaces that are not traditionally seen as sites of learning. There are opportunities to explore how Mobile Games for Learning could promote healthy lifestyles and wellbeing as well as offer more approaches to learning that include learners who do not always succeed in mainstream education. What we learn and how we learn are both important to the construction of successful Mobile Games for Learning.