2017 Games for Change Festival: Full Schedule

Visit the full Games for Change Festival website here.

6:00pm EDT

VR Brain Jam (Advance Registration Required)

A 3-day event prior to the festival, the VR Brain Jam is a collaborative event that pairs neuroscience researchers and game developers to explore how VR can be used in neuroscience research and cognitive therapy. The game jam, co-hosted by Games for Change and Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center, will take place July 28-30. Advance registration is required by application only.

Speakers

Moran Cerf

Professor, Kellogg School of Management

Moran is a professor of neuroscience and business (Kellogg and the department of Neurosurgery). Additionally, he is a visiting faculty the Media Lab, and the Sloan screenwriting Professor at AFI. Prior, he worked as a hacker for a decade. He holds multiple patents and his work has... Read More →

Dave Culyba

Assistant Teaching Professor, Carnegie Mellon University

Dave is an assistant teaching professor at Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center. He primarily spends his time teaching students the ins and outs of working in creative industries like game development, theme parks, and virtual reality. He also focuses part of his time... Read More →

Emily Treat

VP Production Services, Games for Change

Working as a VP of Production Services, Emily is extending her expertise to oversee social impact game projects at the Games for Change Lab. Drawing from her designer-producer background, she works closely with impact partners, designers, developers, and other team members to produce... Read More →

Friday July 28, 2017 6:00pm - 9:00pm EDT
Theresa Lang 55 W 13th St, New York, NY 10011

Advance Registration Required

8:30am EDT

VR Brain Jam (Advance Registration Required)

Speakers

Dave Culyba

Assistant Teaching Professor, Carnegie Mellon University

Emily Treat

VP Production Services, Games for Change

Saturday July 29, 2017 8:30am - 9:00pm EDT
Theresa Lang 55 W 13th St, New York, NY 10011

Advance Registration Required

TBA

Games and Learning Early Career Workshop (Invite Only)

The 2nd annual Games and Learning Early Career Workshop is an invite-only event for early career scholars, offering an opportunity for valuable career advice, network building, and critical feedback on their scholarship in games and learning. We endeavor to both widen and deepen research in the field as a new generation of scholars embarks on their careers.

Sunday July 30, 2017 TBA
TBA 63 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10011

Advance Registration Required

TBA

Minecraft Edu Curriculum Hackjam (Advance Registration Required)

The Minecraft Curriculum Hackjam will convene 50 educators, designers, and Minecraft mentors to make subject-area curriculum relevant, immersive, and impactful for all students. Based on each group’s strength and interest, participants will turn their expertise into Minecraft: Education Edition lesson plans to be used by educators around the world. Ready to do some quick-thinking and fast-planning and even faster curriculum-writing?

Speakers

Meenoo Rami

Manager, Minecraft: Education Edition

Meenoo Rami, author of Thrive, is a national board certified teacher who taught students English in Philadelphia for ten years, at the Science Leadership Academy and in other public schools in the city. Meenoo is a teacher-consultant for the National Writing Project and an instructor... Read More →

Sunday July 30, 2017 TBA
Starr Foundation

Advance Registration Required

8:30am EDT

VR Brain Jam (Advance Registration Required)

Speakers

Dave Culyba

Assistant Teaching Professor, Carnegie Mellon University

Emily Treat

VP Production Services, Games for Change

Sunday July 30, 2017 8:30am - 5:00pm EDT
Theresa Lang 55 W 13th St, New York, NY 10011

Advance Registration Required

9:00am EDT

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Speakers

Colleen Macklin

Professor, Parsons School of Design

Colleen Macklin is a game designer, professor at Parsons School of Design and founder and co-director of PETLab (Prototyping Education and Technology Lab). PETLab projects include disaster preparedness games with the Red Cross, the urban activist game Re:Activism and the physical/fiscal... Read More →

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Susanna Pollack is the President of Games for Change. With a background in media and entertainment, she now leads the nationally recognized organization and produces the annual Games for Change Festival, the largest gaming event in NYC as well as the Games and Media Summit in partnership... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 9:00am - 9:15am EDT
Tishman Auditorium

9:15am EDT

Keynote - with Michael D. Gallagher

Speakers

Michael D. Gallagher

President and CEO, Entertainment Software Association (ESA)

Mr. Gallagher joined ESA in 2007. Under his leadership, the association is transforming the perception of video games by demonstrating the influence of entertainment software on areas of daily life such as education, health, and the workplace. In particular, ESA has heightened awareness... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 9:15am - 9:45am EDT
Tishman Auditorium

Games for Learning Summit Keynote

9:45am EDT

Keynote - Ten Important Findings from the Research on Games for Impact: A Look Back Over the Last Decade of Research with Constance Steinkuehler

It has been over a decade since Jim Gee’s seminal text What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy was published and the proposition that video games are great learning environments was advanced. Since that time, slowly but surely, games have advanced along the Gartner Hype Cycle from “peak of inflated expectations” to the “slope of enlightenment” (Squire, 2016). We now have a decade of research under our belts on what works (and why) in games for learning. We better understand how games specifically can generate learning and behavior change both inside classrooms and out. And we have begun to see third generation products enter the market that blur the distinction between games for impact and games for commercial ends.

In this presentation, Steinkuehler highlights ten big findings from the scholarly literature confirm, explain, and sometimes surprise about the nature of games and changing minds. She then draws some observations about the remaining frictions and opportunities in the games for change ecosystem and offers a few admonitions as we shift into the next phase or R&D.

Speakers

Constance Steinkuehler

Professor, University of California, Irvine

Constance Steinkuehler is a Professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine where she investigates cognition and learning in multiplayer videogames in domains including literacy, scientific reasoning, mathematical reasoning, computational literacy, collective problem... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 9:45am - 10:15am EDT
Tishman Auditorium

Games for Learning Summit Keynote

10:15am EDT

Keynote - How Unique are We? The New Neuroscience of Decision-making and Free Will with Moran Cerf

The neuroscience of our decision making and free will has been progressing in the last couple of years, offering us a new lens on what it means to be human, and allowing for new ways to think about the possibility of expanding human capabilities. This talk with shed light on the new developments and where we are heading with new technologies because of that.

Speakers

Moran Cerf

Professor, Kellogg School of Management

Monday July 31, 2017 10:15am - 10:45am EDT
Tishman Auditorium

Neurogaming & Health Keynote

11:00am EDT

Roll for Learning – Games in the Core Classrooms

Game design is usually a computer science classroom activity. Learn about how ARTSEDGE at the Kennedy Center uses story-first tabletop game design to have students making games based on literature in English classes, and live action role play (larp) to get students to step in to shoes of the characters from Romeo and Juliet. Learn about the process of developing both learning modules, and how we strive to bring games, art, and core learning together.

Speakers

Allen Brooks

Interactive Content producer, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Allen Brooks creates digital and interactive learning content with The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He came to the Kennedy Center after working as an actor, teacher, and 3D animator. Leading different projects across the five art forms, he builds videos, teaching frameworks... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 11:00am - 11:15am EDT
Room 104

Games for Learning Summit

11:00am EDT

Games and Game-based Simulations in Medical Professional Training

Games and game-based simulations have been used in medical professional training for well over a decade. More recently, the medical community has been turning to games to meet their skills assessment, continuing competency, and professional credentialing needs. This presentation will share four game-based assessment products targeting diverse health professionals’ needs: nurse educational skills assessment (vHealthCare), emergency department physician decision making skills assessment (Vital Signs), physician diagnostic interview skills assessment (USC Standard Patient Studio), and occupational therapy professional continuing competency certification (NBCOT Navigator). These applications will be demonstrated to illustrate how different game approaches are being employed to assess skills of medical professionals and drive a discussion of how games must be designed to address assessment versus learning needs. In addition, results of research and end-user feedback on the game-based assessments will be shared.

Speakers

Jenn McNamara

Vice President Serious Games, BreakAway Games

Jenn McNamara is Vice President of Serious Games and Strategic Partnerships at BreakAway Games. She leads a team creating game-based solutions that meet customers’ goals throughout the defense, homeland security, medical, corporate training, and human capital management communities... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 11:00am - 11:20am EDT
Room 105

Neurogaming & Health

11:00am EDT

Can Gaming Play Nicely with Pharma?

Joseph and Luc will discuss their pioneering journey to deliver one of the first medical therapies under prescription that combine games and life sciences. From development to FDA submission, they will address the challenges they faced and what both industries learned from working together in this “unorthodox marriage”. In this session you will learn about how a gaming and life science company commercialized a new medical breakthrough for the treatment of lazy eye.

Speakers

Joseph Koziak

CEO, Amblyotech Inc.

Joe’s background over the past 20 years covers the acquisition, development and commercialization of medical devices, diagnostic and pharmaceuticals. He has founded and created successful exit strategies for three startups. He has raised over $125 million in equity financing and... Read More →

Luc St-Onge

Associate Producer, Ubisoft

From a very young age, I've always been curious. I liked to deconstruct things to better understand them. That is still how I approach work today. Having worked in various fields such as Creative Writing, 3d animation, Game School manager, VFX, Architecture, lecturer and now Game... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 11:00am - 11:30am EDT
Tishman Auditorium

Neurogaming & Health

11:00am EDT

Panel - VR in the Classroom: Practices, Challenges and Opportunities

Immersive virtual worlds provide an opportunity for students to experience a person, place, or process, in a new and engaging way, making learning come alive! But with this new opportunity comes new challenges: challenges of cost, of equity, of software availability and hardware complexity. How are educators using VR in the classroom today? How are developers approaching creating VR learning material? We'll talk with innovative educators and developers about the state of VR in the classroom, and their visions for the future of education.

Moderators

Mark DeLoura

Games and Education Consultant, Level Up

Mark is an engineer, game developer, and former Senior Advisor for White House OSTP, now focusing on consulting on games for learning and K-12 computer science education. He is a board member of Games for Change and recently was honored with the 2017 Game Developers Choice (GDC) Ambassador... Read More →

Speakers

Cathy Cheo-Isaacs

Educational Technology Specialist, All Access Labs

Cathy Cheo-Isaacs (@iwearthecrowns) is the Educational Technology Specialist at All Access Labs. Credits include: Google Educator, Google Trainer, Certified BrainPOP Educator, Class Dojo Mentor, Polar Ambassador, Seesaw Ambassador, Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, #MinecraftMentor... Read More →

Steve Isaacs

Teacher, Game Design and Development, William Annin Middle School, Basking Ridge, NJ

Steve teaches Game Design and Development at William Annin Middle School in Basking Ridge, NJ. He is a strong proponent of Game Based Learning, Student Choice, and Student Voice. For the past two years, Steve has been involved in a research study on Virtual Reality in the Classroom... Read More →

Jesse Schell

CEO, Schell Games

Jesse Schell is CEO of Schell Games, a team of one hundred people who strive to make the world’s greatest educational and transformational games, including Yale Medical's PlayForward: Elm City Stories, Water Bears VR, SuperChem VR, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood games, and Happy... Read More →

Dan White

CEO, Filament Games

Filament Games CEO Dan White wants learning to be associated with meaning and inspiration rather than accountability and drudgery. Accordingly, he believes that learning should be highly interactive, and that game-based learning, like project- and inquiry-based learning, is a "best... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Starr Foundation

Games for Learning Summit

11:15am EDT

10 Years, 100 Countries: The Programmatic Growth of Global Game Jam, Inc.

This sessions explores what the Global Game Jam is up to at 10 years old. Since growing to the world's largest game jam, GGJ is now exploring new programs, new avenues for social impact, and strengthening its capacity as an organization. Learn about our strategy and plans moving forward, and how we are taking the core of the game jam, and expanding our global good.

Speakers

Seven Siegel

Executive Director, Global Game Jam, Inc.

Seven Siegel is the Executive Director of the Global Game Jam. She has experience in all sectors, including academia, nonprofits, for-profit, and government. Throughout her time traversing sectors, Steven always came back to games and social impact, with a focus on social entrepreneurship... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 11:15am - 11:25am EDT
Room 104

Civics & Social Issues

11:20am EDT

The Importance of Screwing Up: Improving Health Through Failure

Sometimes when we want to motivate a friend to change their behavior we end up saying unhelpful things like “it’s time you do something with your life.” In this session, we'll discuss how making those kinds of mistakes in a virtual role-play experience with virtual humans can teach people not to make them in real life. We'll show examples of how games can get people to use effective communication techniques to change lives.

Speakers

Seth Bleecker

Instructional Designer, Kognito

Seth is a writer, problem-solver, and designer of interactive experiences. Through his work at Kognito, he discovered that communication skills are teachable, learnable, and can improve many aspects of life. Since then he's designed over 20 simulations in an attempt to make the world... Read More →

Ron Goldman

Co-Founder & CEO, Kognito

Ron Goldman is an innovator, tech executive and social entrepreneur. Over the past decade, he has pioneered the use of gaming and simulation technology for learning and assessment experiences in health, behavioral health and education. Ron is the co-founder and CEO of Kognito, a health... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 11:20am - 11:40am EDT
Room 105

Neurogaming & Health

11:30am EDT

Beyond the Holocaust: Embodying Jewish Values in WWII Games

When religion is represented in a game, it broadens the exposure of players to unfamiliar practices. However, Judaism is typically absent from games, even as Jewish cultural and religious touchstones are appropriated. As Jewish women designing games about our own heritage, we will discuss ways to represent Jewish concepts in games, particularly when those concepts challenge dominant narratives about religion and about Jews.

Speakers

Jessica Hammer

Assistant Professor, Carnegie Mellon University

Jessica Hammer is an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University, jointly appointed between the HCI Institute and the Entertainment Technology Center. She combines game design with qualitative and quantitative research techniques to understand how games impact human behavior... Read More →

Shoshana Kessock

CEO, Phoenix Outlaw Productions

Shoshana Kessock is a writer and game designer, co-founder of Phoenix Outlaw Productions and staff writer for the 7th Sea tabletop roleplaying line by John Wick Presents. She is the author of games like Dangers Untold, SERVICE, Keeping The Candles Lit, The Last Ten Minutes, Blood... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 11:30am - 11:45am EDT
Room 104

Civics & Social Issues

11:30am EDT

The Videogame Pioneers Archive at the Smithsonian: Preserving the Legacy

Last year, the Smithsonian embarked on a video archive project to preserve the history of the videogame industry in the words of its founding pioneers. This talk shall provide an update on the Smithsonian’s progress.

Speakers

Christopher Weaver

Founder and former CEO, Bethesda Softworks

Christopher Weaver received his SM from MIT and was the initial Daltry Scholar at Wesleyan University, where he earned dual Masters Degrees in Japanese and Computer Science and a CAS Doctoral Degree in Physics. The former Director of Technology Forecasting for ABC and Chief Engineer... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 11:30am - 11:50am EDT
Tishman Auditorium

Civics & Social Issues

11:45am EDT

iCivics: From Concept to Scale - 9 Years in the Baking. Why Good Ingredients Matter.

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor spoke at G4C 9 years ago when iCivics amounted to little more than her vision. Today, iCivics – winner of several awards including FAST Company’s 2017 Top 10 Most Innovative in Education - counts 5 million users and is the largest civic education provider in the country. The panel will look beneath the frosting to expose the less visible ingredients that made iCivics a success at this time when civics matter more than ever.

Moderators

Asi Burak

CEO, Power Play

Asi Burak is a veteran of the videogame and tech industries, and an award-winning executive producer. He is currently the CEO of Power Play and also the chairman of Games for Change. He has served as a strategic advisor to organizations like EON Productions (producer of the James... Read More →

Speakers

Louise Dubé

Executive Director, iCivics

Louise Dubé serves as the Executive Director of iCivics. Inspired by a deep commitment to learning, she has devoted her career to ensuring that all students are prepared for active and thoughtful citizenship and life. Louise began her career as an attorney in Montreal, Canada... Read More →

Daniel Norton

Chief Creative Officer, Filament Games

Dan has been designing learning game and positive impact media for over a decade. He is a co-owner at Filament Games, where he serves as Chief Creative Officer, alongside the miscellaneous duties of being a Founding Partner. His design methodology centers on building models that... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 11:45am - 12:15pm EDT
Starr Foundation

Civics & Social Issues

11:45am EDT

Panel - Building a Bigger Tent: How to Make Media that Includes All Kids

Can you identify media that is designed to include all kids? Does your development process follow a framework that prioritizes being inclusive, equitable and accessible? Learn how producers like Toca Boca use content, art and functionality to create a welcome space for play and learning. Panelists will share their examples for incorporating research, best practices and collaboration to create diverse children's media, using a checklist created by the Kids' Inclusive and Diverse Media Action Project (KIDMAP).

Moderators

Sandhya Nankani

Founder, Literary Safari

Sandhya Nankani is the founder of Literary Safari, which has been producing and creates kids educational content since 2008, including learning games for Lion Television, E-Line Media, and UNICEF. In 2014, she embarked on an experimental journey to create her own apps for multicultural... Read More →

Speakers

Barbara Chamberlin

Game Designer, Professor, NMSU Learning Games Lab

Barbara Chamberlin directs game development and research at the Learning Games Lab at New Mexico State University. Her research interests include user testing (particularly, how to do it in a way that doesn't actually slow down development), and game design models used for development... Read More →

Raul Gutierrez

CEO, Tinybop Inc

Raul Gutierrez the founder and CEO of Tinybop has enjoyed a long career in technology and the arts. Tinybop was built on the belief that all kids should be exposed to big ideas and that the best way to learn is through play.

Ingrid Simone

Executive Editor, Toca Boca

Ingrid joined Toca Boca in 2014, bringing a passion for providing quality content focused on kids, family, learning and a love of most things digital. As executive editor of Toca Magazine, she provides relevant and relatable content for families on topics including play, diversity... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT
Room 105

Games for Learning Summit

11:50am EDT

MISSING: Beyond Awareness

The MISSING Game moves beyond awareness to generate action. The unique aspect of the game is that it creates awareness directly among the public who is a key stakeholder in the issue of sex-trafficking as demand-maker rather than with a third party. The game has been designed specifically to generate analysis. We are using the data generated by the game (demographics, ratings and reviews) to extrapolate a behavioral pattern of players (i.e. demand-makers).

Speakers

Leena Kejriwal

Founder, Missing Link Trust

Photographer and installation artist. Her work reflects a preoccupation with human-trafficking and finds a new language in the public artwork MISSING, to spread awareness of the plight of young girls lost into the dark holes of sex-trafficking. The MISSING project, uses the public... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 11:50am - 12:00pm EDT
Room 104

Civics & Social Issues

11:50am EDT

Making Games for Good: Kickstarter as a Platform for Games with Impact

Since 2009 Kickstarter has provided a platform for creators to launch independent projects and appeal directly to their communities. But our mission has never been simply to distribute money. We seek to use the platform to champion creative independence and provide a place where underserved communities can have a voice.

Speakers

Luke Crane

Head of Games, Kickstarter

Luke is the Head of Games at Kickstarter where he has been helping creators bring their games to life for nearly five years. When he’s not helping creators make their games, he’s making his own. Since 2002, he’s published numerous RPGs like The Burning Wheel, Burning Empires... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 11:50am - 12:10pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

Civics & Social Issues

12:00pm EDT

Designing with Purpose: Creating Games for Global Competency

How can games challenge kids to solve global problems? Learn how the team at WGBH’s Design Squad Global is creating EMMY-award winning experiences that help children build their engineering design process skills while exploring global issues.

Speakers

Melissa Carlson

Senior Digital Producer, WGBH

Melissa Carlson is an Emmy Award-winning Senior Digital Producer at WGBH in Boston, where she leads the development of digital games and experiences for children’s educational properties including PBS KIDS’ Design Squad Global and Plum Landing.

Monday July 31, 2017 12:00pm - 12:10pm EDT
Room 104

Civics & Social Issues

12:10pm EDT

Beyond Representation: Designing Games With Sociocultural Context

Many modern games let players play as characters who look like them--but only as outsiders, inhabiting a fictional world shaped by the developer's culture and worldview. Kevin Chen, project director at Nuclear Fishin' Software, discusses how the team behind their teenage immigrant simulator Four Horsemen uses simple technology and radically unique design to make the world of the game feel recognizable as a reflection of the player's own, from language cues to cultural values.

Speakers

Kevin Chen

Director, Nuclear Fishin' Software

Kevin Chen is the founder and sole full-time employee of Nuclear Fishin' Software, a tiny indie game studio in Brooklyn. Most recently, he was writer, programmer, and project director on Four Horsemen, a visual novel / simulation game about the immigrant experience, which shipped... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 12:10pm - 12:20pm EDT
Room 104

Civics & Social Issues

12:10pm EDT

Unpacking Unconscious Gender Bias in Media

The research that The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media performs centers around unconscious gender bias in media and how media portrays women and girls. T

Di Nonno will discuss present research findings from the Institute's new machine learning research software, GD-IQ, Geena Davis Inclusion Quotient. The presentation will also provide solutions for how content creators can use the data to change the gender inequity in media.

Speakers

Madeline Di Nonno

CEO, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media

CEO of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, the only research based non-profit working within the entertainment industry to improve gender and diversity in children's entertainment. Previously, Di Nonno served as President and CEO, On The Scene Productions, and led development... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 12:10pm - 12:30pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

Civics & Social Issues

12:15pm EDT

Playing for Change: Ten Years of Kids Helping Kids in the Virtual World of Club Penguin

Do kids care about giving back? How do you engage an under 13 virtual community and gaming audience? Learn how Club Penguin inspired a generation of gaming kids through an innovative, virtual, community-driven campaign "Coins For Change" along with other innovative campaigns. Over ten years, Coins For Change inspired millions of players in 196 countries to take action to make a difference through gaming. With the power of a virtual community, tens of millions of dollars were donated to causes helping children, the environment, and endangered animals around the globe. Most importantly, kids were given the chance to use their voice to make a positive impact.

Speakers

Nicole Rustad

Chief Impact Officer, Vortovia

Don’t make changes. Change the world. Vortovia was founded by Nicole Rustad, a champion for world change who uses equal parts strategy and passion to make things happen. Formerly the Corporate Citizenship Program Director for the Walt Disney Company, for almost ten years she drove... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 12:15pm - 12:30pm EDT
Starr Foundation

Civics & Social Issues

12:20pm EDT

How to use Comic Books and Augmented Reality to Challenge Sexual Violence

Comic books can move young adults and teenagers to action, and superheroes are modern-day mythological icons. A case study of the "technologically innovative and wildly popular” (MSNBC) augmented reality comic book series, “Priya’s Shakti” which features India first female superhero, who is a survivor of sexual violence. Learn how they used augmented reality from comic books to street art to engage audiences and talk about very difficult and complex topics.

Speakers

Ram Devineni

Producer, Priya's Shakti

Ram Devineni produced "The Russian Woodpecker," which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. His most recent film, The Karma Killings, about the Nithari serial killings is out exclusively on Netflix worldwide. He is... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 12:20pm - 12:30pm EDT
Room 104

Civics & Social Issues

1:45pm EDT

How Gaming is Bringing Education to Children in Conflict Zones

An estimated 2.5M Syrian children have had their education disrupted by six years of conflict. Norad - The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation has sponsored the development of two free mobile learning games. The apps, "Antura and the Letters" and "Feed the Monster", help teach basic Arabic literacy skills to out of school children ages 5-10.

Speakers

Rachel Alves

Digital Strategist, NORAD - Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation

Rachel is a Digital Analyst and Strategist with over six years experience in the gaming industry managing AAA core and casual titles. She holds a degree in Sustainable Development from St Andrews University, where she wrote papers on how to use gamification and digital tactics to... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 1:45pm - 2:00pm EDT
Room 104

Civics & Social Issues Games for Learning Summit

1:45pm EDT

English learning via Alphabear

Alphabear is an original, English word puzzle game that has been played by over four million people worldwide since 2015. It has received numerous awards, including Google's first annual "indie game award" in 2016. Thanks to support from the US Department of Education, Spry Fox is now working on a sequel to Alphabear that will include multiple new educational features. This lecture will cover why Spry Fox decided to focus its educational ambitions on the Alphabear IP, explain the studio's prototyping process and share the features that have been prototyped thus far, and share the studio's future plans for Alphabear.

Speakers

David Edery

CEO, Spry Fox

Co-founder and CEO of Spry Fox, a game development studio focused on making the world a happier place. Spry Fox has developed several hit games including Alphabear, Bushido Bear, Triple Town, and Realm of the Mad God. Collectively, Spry Fox’s games have been played by over 50 million... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 1:45pm - 2:05pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

Games for Learning Summit

1:45pm EDT

The Promise of Brain Training Games

Imagine if you could see better, hear better, have improved memory, and even become more intelligent through training done on your own computer, smartphone, or tablet. I discuss recent research that begins to unlock this potential in the context of training vision and how to apply similar principles to achieve effective training for other cognitive abilities. I discuss the substantial potential of the field, current limitations, and paths to overcoming these limitations through on-going research.

Speakers

Aaron Seitz

UCR Brain Game Center for Mental Fitness and Well-being

Aaron Seitz is an internationally recognized expert on the mechanisms of learning and applies knowledge of brain plasticity to create brain-training video games that are effective in improving performance in real-world tasks. A notable example is his vision training game ULTIMEYES... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 1:45pm - 2:15pm EDT
Room 105

Neurogaming & Health

1:45pm EDT

Panel - The Youth-to-Industry Pipeline: How Challenges & Game Jams Create Career Pathways

Learn how game-making competitions, hackathons, game jams inspire youth to level up from players to developers, build 21st century skills like coding, computational thinking, and system design, and pursue college and industry pathways.

Moderators

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Speakers

Sara Cornish

Senior Director, Programs & Strategy, Games for Change

Sara is the Senior Director of Programs and Strategy at Games for Change, where she develops new partnership-driven projects and leads community development and learning programs including the national G4C Student Challenge. Sara has over 10 years of cross-sector experience as... Read More →

Mark German

President, E-Line Education, E-Line Media

As President, E-Line Education at E-Line Media, Mark oversees the educational services division offering pathways of learning delivered through game-based programs that empower students to understand and shape their world, including the Gamestar Mechanic platform which has generated... Read More →

Geneva Heyward

High School of Art & Design

Geneva Heyward is student at the High School of Art & Design in New York City. She has been inspired by video games since age three, which has led to a passion for drawing and programming. Geneva was the runner-up Grand Prize Winner in the 2017 Games for Change Student Challenge. Geneva... Read More →

Marc Lesser

Senior Director | Learning Design, Mouse

Marc is a specialist in the fields of digital learning and youth development with broad experience designing programming and learning environments in local and national contexts. Marc is currently the Youth Studies Fellow at City University of New York, and directs the national efforts... Read More →

Ani Martinez

Community Manager, Remake Learning

Ani Martinez works as a community manager and creative strategist in learning, the arts, and civic engagement in Pittsburgh, PA. Her recent work includes initiatives like Rec2Tech (rec2techpgh.org), and the My Brother's Keeper Digital Literacy Collaborative. Her work sits between digital literacy and justice, and acts as a catalyst for partnerships across different sectors. Martinez is the Community Manager for the Remake Learning Network, and was recently named a Mozilla Ne... Read More →

Kevin O'Hanlon

Director, Federal Government Affairs, Entertainment Software Association

Kevin is a lobbyist for the domestic video game industry at the Entertainment Software Association. Kevin works extensively on games and education for ESA. He is also the resident virtual reality sherpa for federally elected officials. Kevin previously worked as a staffer on Capitol... Read More →

Olivia Thomas

Olivia Thomas has been designing video games since the age of nine. Now she is double majoring in computer science and GIMM (Games, Interactive Media and Mobile Development) at Boise State University. She has won several awards for her games, including the National STEM Challenge... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
Starr Foundation

Games for Learning Summit

2:00pm EDT

Mini-Talk Series - How Teachers Use Games in the Classroom

From every corner of the continent, teachers are finding new ways of using games to engage their students. This series will feature inspirational mini-talks from educators who are on the front lines of that innovation. Learn about game-based learning in action, game design curricula, successes and failures of using games in the classroom and social impact games for underrepresented students. Then contribute lessons learned during a discussion with the audience.

Moderators

MacKenzie Rawcliffe

Digital Marketing Manager, ISTE

MacKenzie works for the International Society for Technology in Education in Portland, Oregon. ISTE is the creator and steward of the definitive education technology standards. Their mission is to empower learners to flourish in a connected world by cultivating a passionate professional... Read More →

Speakers

Randall Deich

STEM Coordinator, Lauderhill 6-12 STEM-MED/ SBBC

Randall Deich is the STEM Coordinator at Lauderhill 6-12 STEM-MED (Multilevel Entrepreneurship Design), a Title 1 school in Broward County, Florida. As a Program Coordinator and educator with 24 years of learning experiences, Randall has been able to utilize and exploit resources... Read More →

Matthew Farber

Assistant Professor, University of Northern Colorado

Matthew Farber, EdD is an Assistant Professor of Educational Technology in the Technology, Innovation, and Pedagogy program at the University of Northern Colorado. He is an Edutopia blogger, a Certified BrainPOP Educator, and he is in the iCivics Educator Network. Look for his first... Read More →

Mike Farley

High School Teacher and Director of ChangeGamer, University of Toronto Schools and ChangeGamer

Mike Farley has been teaching middle and high school Geography and Social Studies for 15 years in Toronto. He has been using digital games with his students for 13 years and founded ChangeGamer.ca to bring together teachers and academics who are excited about the use of games in education... Read More →

Heather Hibner

School Administrator, Elizabeth Forward School District

Heather was a high school English teacher and gaming teacher. She is now a secondary administrator with experience in innovative instructional technology implementation and curricular redesign. Heather has been in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology... Read More →

Tammie Schrader

Computer Science Coordinator, Northeast Washington Education Service District 101

Tammie Schrader is the Regional Computer Science and Science Coordinator for the NEWESD 101. Prior to this, Schrader taught science and CTE classes to middle school students in Cheney, Washington. She teaches science methods courses at Whitworth and Gonzaga University. Schrader worked... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
Room 104

Games for Learning Summit

2:05pm EDT

G4C Live Pitch Event

The Pitch Event invites select game creators to present their in-progress games in to a live panel of judges, audience, and potential partners and funders. This year's Pitch Event focuses on games that creatively respond to current political events to encourage civic engagement.

Moderators

Ira Fay

CEO, Fay Games

Ira Fay is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Game Design at Hampshire College (ranked top 10 nationally for game design by Princeton Review) and is the CEO of Fay Games, a studio primarily focused on games for educational impact. He previously co-founded the Game Design... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 2:05pm - 3:00pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

2:15pm EDT

Panel - Brain Training Games: Fact, Fiction, or Somewhere in Between?

The debate rages over the effectiveness of brain training games. Are they the secret sauce for a strong mind or just marketing hype? The real answer is somewhere in between. Dive into the reality of brain training games and come prepared with your own questions at this panel discussion.

Moderators

Amy Sterling

Executive Director, Eyewire

Amy Robinson Sterling is an expert in crowd sourcing. She is the Executive Director of EyeWire, a game to map the brain played by a quarter million people worldwide. Sterling is an international speaker and has advised The White House OSTP and US Congress. She is a leading catalyst... Read More →

Speakers

Aaron Seitz

UCR Brain Game Center for Mental Fitness and Well-being

Lance Vikaros

Director of Game Systems Design, Lumosity

Lance Vikaros, Ed.D., has been designing, developing and teaching others how to build educational software since 1992, for groups like Scholastic, Lexia Learning, Intel, the MIT Media Lab and now Lumosity. Recently he completed an educational doctorate degree specialized in educational... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 2:15pm - 3:00pm EDT
Room 105

Neurogaming & Health

3:00pm EDT

Speed Networking

One of our most popular events, Speed Networking is a high-energy, fast-paced opportunity to meet a new person from our community every 5 minutes! Enjoy the chance to network with executives from Epic Games, the Entertainment Software Association, Ubisoft, and other leaders in the game world and experts in social change.

Monday July 31, 2017 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Rooms 204 and 205

3:00pm EDT

Civics & Social Issues Microtalk Salon

In every corner of the globe, creative minds are devising games to address and educate about an incredible range of social and political issues, from drone warfare and homelessness to substance abuse, government surveillance and more. Join us to hear over a dozen developers to talk about their work and their games in a lightning round of five-minute microtalks. (Games by these developers will also be playable in Tuesday’s Microtalk Showcase.)

Speakers

Min Seok Do

CEO, GamBridzy

I believe a game can change the world. Degrees : Social Entrepreneur MBA at KAIST College of business, South Korea, 2017 Master's degree of Serious Game at KAIST Graduated school of Culture and Technology, South Korea, 2015 Bachelor's degree of Electrical Engineering at Kyungpook... Read More →

Kelli Dunlap

Psychologist

Kelli N. Dunlap, Psy.D. is a psychologist and game designer. She uses games to reduce mental health stigma and increase awareness and empathy for psychiatric conditions. Dr. Dunlap has collaboratively developed games for organizations including the National Institute for Mental Health... Read More →

Elin Festøy

Producer, Teknopilot

Festøy is a digital media producer working with film and games, with a long career as a digital technology editor and journalist. She has master degrees in literature, leadership and digital communication. Her love of digital media started with computer science studies in Germany... Read More →

Marina Guiomar

Museum Educator, Evaluation, Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

With Drone technology progressing beyond strictly military applications towards a more ubiquitous presence in everyday lives, via consumer, commercial, and civil opportunities, this panel addresses the goals, expectations, and effects of the Live-Action Social Game Cash or Crash... Read More →

Elizabeth Maler

Co-founder, Accidental Queens

Elizabeth is the co-founder of Accidental Queens, and co-author of the game A Normal Lost Phone. This game is about exploring the intimacy of an unknown person whose phone was found by the player. Through the interface of a mobile phone, the player must discover what happened to its... Read More →

Hilmi Quraishi

Co-Founder & Director Social Initiatives, ZMQ Development

Hilmi Quraishi is the Co-Founder of ZMQ - a Technology for Development social enterprise based in India. He is a pioneer in using mobile phones to reach out to grass-root communities. As a technovator, social entrepreneur and educational technologist, Hilmi specializes in developing... Read More →

Subhi Quraishi

CEO, ZMQ Development

Subhi Quraishi is the CEO of ZMQ, a Technology for Development Social Enterprise based in India. He is a T4D expert and a serial social entrepreneur. He is an Applied Mathematician and Computer Science expert by qualification. He has established a social game initiative under ZMQ... Read More →

Leslie Robinson

Founder & CEO, Trance4mation Games

Leslie is a therapist and is the inventor of the Keep It Real Game, the Warrior Spirit Mission Homefront Veteran Reintegration game, the Recharge Beyond the Bars Communication Games for the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated, and the In the Line of Duty transformational Police... Read More →

Jed Segovia

Parsons The New School for Design

Jed Q. Segovia is a US-born Filipino cartoonist and designer. He received his Bachelor's in Fine Art, Major in Information Design from Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Class of 2007, and a Masters in Fine Arts, Design & Technology, from Parsons the New School... Read More →

Lee Sheldon

Professor of Practice, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Lee Sheldon is a professional game writer and designer; a professor in Interactive Media & Game Development at Worcester Polytechnic Institute; and author of The Multiplayer Classroom: Designing Coursework as a Game (2011) and Character Development and Storytelling for Games (Second... Read More →

Felipe Marlon Soares

CEO, PushStart Studio

Felipe is a geek, programmer, producer and economist. With deep knowledge and extensive experience with new technologies for Games, Tv Shows and Web content. He is one of the co-founders of PushStart Studio, a Brazilian interactive studio that works from visual concept to production... Read More →

Greg Trefry

Partner & Game Designer, Gigantic Mechanic

Greg Trefry designs games and playful experiences for cities, museums, non-profits, TV networks, amusement parks and just for fun. His studio, Gigantic Mechanic has designed and produced award winning games covering a range of social issues from politics to immigration. Greg has spoken... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Starr Foundation

Civics & Social Issues

4:00pm EDT

Come out and Vote: How Play and Fun Improves Voter Participation

This is what Election Day in America once looked like: Crowds, neighbors, bands, parades, games. It was fun. And voting rates hovered in the 80% range. There is a lot about the 19th Century that needs to stay in the past, but there is no reason we cannot bring play and fun back to voting. This presentation will share the effectiveness of bringing play to voting and how attendees can help revive this national tradition.

Speakers

Nicholas Fortugno

CCO/Co-Founder, Playmatics

Nick Fortugno is a designer of digital and real-world games and co-founder of the game company Playmatics. Fortugno has been a designer, writer, and project manager on dozens of games, serving as lead designer on the downloadable blockbuster Diner Dash, award-winning serious game... Read More →

Edna Ishayik

Director of Civic Engagement Initiatives, Civic Nation

Edna came to the civic engagement field after eight years in campaigns followed by seven as a freelance food and travel journalist. At Civic Nation she oversees four projects aimed at improving participation in American democracy.

Monday July 31, 2017 4:00pm - 4:15pm EDT
Room 105

Civics & Social Issues

4:00pm EDT

Industry Circle Town Hall

Games for Change is celebrating its 14th conference this year, but how close are we to transforming from a movement to a self-sustaining industry?

In this interactive Town Hall will provide an overview of what we have accomplished, and what is left to achieve to build the games for change community into a sustainable industry.

Representatives of companies on the vanguard of building the impact games sector will highlight their efforts in supporting this transformation. And Q&A with the audience will open the session up to an important community-wide investigation of where we are as a field and what we still need to do to grow the industry and ensure that the good work that harnesses positive power of games continues to flourish for years to come.

Speakers

Michael Angst

CEO, E-Line Media

Michael is the co-founder and CEO of E-Line Media, a mission-based venture that harnesses the power of games to help people understand and shape the world. Michael has spent his career as an operating executive and private equity investor in healthcare and education, focused on how... Read More →

Manolo Diaz

CEO, Yogome

Computer Systems Engineer from the University Tec de Monterrey in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. 500 Startups Alumni, Summer 2012 (Incubator in Silicon Valley). Endeavor entrepreneur since 2013. Founder of Code Heroes, a Yogome initiative to teach 8-15 year old children in Mexico and... Read More →

Jennifer Javornik

Vice President of Sales, Filament Games

Jennifer Javornik is the Vice President of Sales for Filament Games where she works with companies, organizations, and individuals to explore how they can increase efficacy and engagement through digital learning games, simulations, virtual and augmented reality. She is also Co-Director... Read More →

Jesse Schell

CEO, Schell Games

André Thomas

CEO, Triseum LLC

André Thomas' passion for game-based learning resonates inside and outside of the classroom. With more than 20 years in CGI production, he has worked on legendary video games, live action feature films and commercials. He served as Head of Graphics for EA Sports Football (including... Read More →

Devin Young

Co-founder and President, Classcraft

Based in New York City, Devin is the co-founder and President of Classcraft. Classcraft is redefining the classroom experience by transforming classroom management into a game. With over 2.5 million users worldwide, Classcraft empowers students to work together in fun, new ways and... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

4:00pm EDT

Mini-Talk Series - Developing Games for Informal Learning Spaces

Informal spaces often provide more flexibility to combine play and learning than a formal classroom. This series will feature case studies from innovative developers reaching kids outside of school. Learn about new models from experts at WGBH, New York Hall of Science, New York Public Library, American Museum of Natural History and Girl Scouts of the USA.

Moderators

Michelle Miller

Co-Founder, Games and Learning

Michelle Miller is the Co-Founder and President of Games and Learning, an information platform dedicated to improving kids’ lives through news, analysis and industry leadership for developers and investors. She first developed the initiative during her tenure as Managing Director... Read More →

Speakers

Ciara Bush

UX Researcher, Girl Scouts of the USA

Ciara Bush is the lead UX Researcher at Girl Scouts of the USA. Much like the girls she researches, she is a lifelong learner who is excited by the challenge of creating engaging digital experiences for her customers. She has a knack for building empathy and extracting actionable... Read More →

Barry Joseph

Associate Director for Digital Learning, American Museum of Natural History

Barry Joseph is the Associate Director for Digital Learning at the American Museum of Natural History. No, really! He sometimes has a hard time believing it himself, what with the T.rex just down the hall and all that. And what an exciting time to explore the intersection of digital... Read More →

Thomas Knowlton

School Outreach Librarian, New York Public Library

Thomas Knowlton is a School Outreach Librarian for MyLibraryNYC at New York Public Library. He holds a Master of Arts in Comparative Literature from the University of Georgia and a Master of Library and Information Studies from Rutgers State University.

Bill Shribman

Senior Executive Producer & Director of Digital Partnerships, WGBH

Bill Shribman is a Senior Executive Producer at WGBH in Boston where he leads the kid's digital team producing of apps, websites, and AR for PBS, NASA and others. These high traffic projects have won a Prix Jeunesse, two Emmys, and the George Foster Peabody Award. He is the creator... Read More →

Laycca Umer

Research Assistant/Program Coordinator, New York Hall of Science

Laycca has a B.S. in Childhood Education/Psychology and a M.S. in TESOL from CUNY City College. She has worked in formal and informal learning environments since 2012, and is passionate about finding solutions for underserved and underrepresented populations to have access to equitable... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
Room 104

Games for Learning Summit

4:15pm EDT

Panel: How G4C’s Migration Challenge led Developers to Think about a Global Problem

What happens when we ask designers to respond to migration? Join us for a multifaced look into G4C's recent Migration Design Challenge. Roundtable panel discussion will feature judge, finalists and winning team who will share their experiences participating in the event and their development activities.

Moderators

Emily Treat

VP Production Services, Games for Change

Speakers

Jeanne Batalova

Senior Policy Analyst, Migration Policy Institute

Jeanne Batalova is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Migration Policy Institute. Her research focuses on the impacts of immigrants on society and labor markets; social and economic mobility of immigrant-origin youth and young adults; and the policies and practices regulating immigration... Read More →

Debra Everett-Lane

ELF Productions

Debra Everett-Lane bridges the worlds of design and education as Director of Content & Activity Design at ESI Design. She has extensive experience creating games, exhibits, activities, and programs, and is also the lead designer of Come Out & Play Family Day, an offshoot of the larger... Read More →

Konstantin Kaiser

Game Designer, planpolitik

I have a masters in political sciences, love video games and pen and paper role playing. I started to develop face to face political simulation games 8 years ago. Then my bosses gave me the oppportunity to bring this method to the online world by hiring coders and web designers... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 4:15pm - 5:00pm EDT
Room 105

Civics & Social Issues

5:15pm EDT

Keynote - 3 Big Things We Got Wrong: How Humans Decide; How to Change Minds; and How to Craft Narratives that Fire Neurons with Chris Graves

On the heels of his two totally sold out talks at SXSW, Christopher Graves takes us on a romp through historic, accidental discoveries that reveal what everyone working to change behavior should do differently to be more effective.

Speakers

Christopher Graves

President & Founder, Ogilvy Center for Behavioral Science

Christopher Graves was named President of the Ogilvy Center for Behavior Science in 2017 after serving 12 years as Global Chairman, Global CEO, and Regional (APAC) CEO for Ogilvy Public Relations. He also served as a member of the Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide Board and Executive Committee... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 5:15pm - 5:45pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

Neurogaming & Health Keynote

5:15pm EDT

A Neurogaming Poster Session with Engaged Learning Network

Poster session featuring 11 research projects from the Engaging Learning Network. Come view and discuss visually distilled neuroscience research relating to games, virtual reality and engagement. Meet with ELN working group researchers to get a briefing on the current state of the science. Refreshments will be served.

Monday July 31, 2017 5:15pm - 7:00pm EDT
Starr Foundation

Neurogaming & Health

5:45pm EDT

Keynote - Games of Life: Exploring the Arts and Humanities Through Play with Tracy Fullerton

What can we learn of life by creating games that celebrate the arts and humanities? Designer Tracy Fullerton talks about the development of “Walden, a game” as well as the potential for arts and humanities focused games to celebrate the complexities of human experience and to show us the “finer fruits” of life.

Speakers

Tracy Fullerton

Professor and Director, USC Game Innovation Lab

Tracy Fullerton is an award winning experimental game designer and director of the Game Innovation Lab at the USC School of Cinematic Arts where she holds the Electronic Arts Endowed Chair in Interactive Entertainment. Her game credits include Cloud, flOw, Darfur is Dying, and The... Read More →

Monday July 31, 2017 5:45pm - 6:15pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

Civics & Social Issues Keynote

6:15pm EDT

Games for Change Awards

Each year we recognize the most impactful, innovative, and engaging social impact games of the year at our Games for Change Awards ceremony. See this year's nominees here.

We are pleased to present the following awards, with Anjali Bhimani (voice of Symmetra in Overwatch, actress) as our host!

Best Gameplay
Most Innovative
Most Significant Impact
Best Learning Game
Vanguard Award
G4C + Mashable People's Choice Award
Lifetime of Play Award (game designer Bernie DeKoven)

Monday July 31, 2017 6:15pm - 7:00pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

9:00am EDT

Day 2 Welcome

Speakers

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Tuesday August 1, 2017 9:00am - 9:15am EDT
Tishman Auditorium

9:15am EDT

Keynote - Gaming the System: The Political Potential of Play with Colleen Macklin

Tennis. Cards Against Humanity. Stardew Valley. What do they have in common? You’ll have to come to this talk to find out! Depending on your politics, this could be a feel-good romp through a brief history of games that have changed our world for the better, or a march towards of a dystopian future. You decide! Covered: games and systems, play and protest, utopia and dystopia.

Speakers

Colleen Macklin

Professor, Parsons School of Design

Tuesday August 1, 2017 9:15am - 9:45am EDT
Tishman Auditorium

Civics & Social Issues Keynote

9:45am EDT

Keynote - Educational Games and the 'Invisible Learning' Opportunity: An Investor's View on the Opportunities and Challenges Facing the Dynamic Game-based Learning Market with Jason Horne

Despite few break-out commercial successes to date, gravitational shifts within the game-based learning sector have the potential to create new scaled opportunities. Capital is increasingly flowing into game-based learning, and into the broader market for educational technologies as the sector embraces innovation like never before. From an investors point of view, where is the market today, how big and attractive is the opportunity, and what land mines should those in the sector be aware of?

Speakers

Jason Horne

Principal, GSV Acceleration

Based in New York, Jason Horne is a Principal at GSV Acceleration, a venture capital fund investing in the most dynamic entrepreneurs and companies leveraging technology in the global $4.9 trillion education and talent technology sectors. GSV’s premier portfolio of Learning and... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 9:45am - 10:15am EDT
Tishman Auditorium

Games for Learning Summit Keynote

10:15am EDT

Keynote - The Case for Evidence-Based Design with Mary Flanagan

How do we think about games for change in 2017 given that the world feels like it's drastically changed to a decidedly less pro-social focus? In this talk Flanagan makes the case that game design for social change requires research if it intends to make a difference. How can a game's impact be better understood? What does evidence based design look throughout the lifecycle of a project?

Speakers

Mary Flanagan

Director, Tiltfactor Lab, Dartmouth College

Mary Flanagan is the founding director of the research laboratory and design studio TILTFACTOR, the founder of the publishing company RESONYM, and the Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of Digital Humanities at Dartmouth College. She is a cross-disciplinary designer, systems... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 10:15am - 10:45am EDT
Tishman Auditorium

Civics & Social Issues Keynote

11:00am EDT

Yesterday’s Tomorrow: Motivating Millennials to Save Money through Gaming

How do you motivate someone to change their behavior to impact positive long-term change? One way is to encourage people to “game for good” by designing a game that changes people’s perceptions and behaviors around a social cause. In this presentation, the Ad Council’s digital team will share challenges and lessons learned from a G4C design challenge to encourage millennials to adopt better saving habits.

Speakers

Kat English

Director of Digital, Ad Council

Kat serves as a Director of Digital at the Ad Council, where she manages digital products and experiences for more than 20 national public service engagement campaigns. Kat also spearheads the Ad Council’s Game for Good program, an effort to engage the gaming community to benefit... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 11:00am - 11:15am EDT
Starr Foundation

Civics & Social Issues

11:00am EDT

Narrating Chronic Pain—Using Video Games to Tell Aspirational Stories

Serious, persuasive, and empathy games have all become synonymous with giving players opportunities to co-create alternative narrative spaces, gaining the ability to engage with stories that are challenging yet aspirational, enhancing experiential understandings and appreciations of real world experience through play. This talk discusses the science of narrative and how one can leverage the positive benefits of gaming to change and transform the stories we tell ourselves and other people.

Speakers

Rhonda Moore

Medical Anthropologist, US Department of Health and Human Services

Rhonda is a medical anthropologist and social scientist who combines anthropological methods, narrative, clinical neuroscience and gaming to better understand the experience and meaning of chronic pain and suffering in vulnerable populations. Rhonda received a Ph.D. in Cultural and... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 11:00am - 11:20am EDT
Room 104

Neurogaming & Health

11:00am EDT

Panel - Industry Insights: A Conversation with Craig Hagen, EA and Alan Lewis, Take-Two Interactive

In this session, we will hear from games veterans, Craig Hagen, EA and Alan Lewis Take-Two Interactive as they discuss the state of the industry from their perspective at AAA games studios. Moderator Anastasia Staten, ESA Foundation will lead a conversation about policy, workforce development, innovation and the changing digital landscape.

Moderators

Anastasia Staten

Executive Director, ESA Foundation

Anastasia has nearly 20 years of experience spanning nonprofit management, fundraising, communications, and politics. She is currently serving as the Executive Director of the ESA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the video game industry. Previously, she served in leadership positions... Read More →

Speakers

Craig Hagen

Global Head of Government Affairs, Electronic Arts Inc

Global head of government affairs, Craig Hagen, is responsible for the management of all government relations and public affairs for Electronic Arts Inc. This includes EA’s interaction with federal and state or provincial governments on a wide range of policy issues. Craig works... Read More →

Alan Lewis

Vice President, Corporate Communications & Public Affairs, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.

Alan Lewis has more than 20 years of expertise within the interactive entertainment industry. Since 2008, he has served as VP of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs for Take-Two. He is responsible for overseeing the Company’s corporate communications initiatives and media... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 11:00am - 11:30am EDT
Tishman Auditorium

11:00am EDT

Mini-Talk Series - Highlights from the Latest Game-Based Learning Research

There is no lack of evidence for game-based learning, but important studies can often be overlooked. This series will offer highlights from researchers studying key aspects of games in the classroom and at home. Learn from reports about teachers’ perceptions of digital games, data capture through gameplay, principles for educational game development and video gaming as part of family routines. Researchers will answer questions from the audience to help apply their findings to specific challenges.

Moderators

Karen Schrier

Assistant Professor/Director of Games, Marist College

Karen Schrier is a full-time faculty member and Director of the Games program at Marist College. Prior to Marist, she spent over a decade producing media at places such as Scholastic, Nickelodeon and BrainPOP. She is the editor of the book series, Learning, Education & Games, published... Read More →

Speakers

Yun-Jo An

Associate Professor, University of West Georgia

Yun-Jo An is an Associate Professor of Instructional Technology in the Department of Educational Technology and Foundations at the University of West Georgia. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Instructional Systems Technology from Indiana University Bloomington (IUB). Her... Read More →

Jennifer Dalsen

Gear Learning, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Jennifer Dalsen is a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her research focuses on the development of scientific language and argumentation through gameplay. She aims to capture student learning through multiple channels, including discourse and clickstream data... Read More →

Jennifer Miller

Assistant Professor, Illinois Institute of Technology

Jennifer L. Miller is an assistant professor and director of Undergraduate Programs in the Department of Psychology at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on language development and her articles have appeared in journals including Infancy, Infant Behavior... Read More →

Sinem Siyahhan

Assistant Professor, California State University

Sinem Siyahhan is an Assistant Professor of Learning Sciences and Educational Technology, and the Director of the Game Design Program at California State University San Marcos. She is also the owner of the Play2Connect LLC, a company that designs games and game-based experiences for... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT
Room 105

Games for Learning Summit

11:15am EDT

The Secret Process for Making Games that Matter

Jesse Schell, author of The Art of Game Design, and Barbara Chamberlin, head of the Learning Games Lab, are collaborating on a project to find best practices for creating educational and transformational games. In this talk they describe what they have discovered about translating how players need to change into games they love to play.

Speakers

Barbara Chamberlin

Game Designer, Professor, NMSU Learning Games Lab

Jesse Schell

CEO, Schell Games

Tuesday August 1, 2017 11:15am - 11:35am EDT
Starr Foundation

Games for Learning Summit

11:30am EDT

Panel - A Conversation with Federal Funders and Artists

A session with leading public media funders to discuss the goals, considerations, and potential of games for change.

Moderators

Sara Cornish

Senior Director, Programs & Strategy, Games for Change

Speakers

Jax Deluca

Media Arts Director, National Endowment for the Arts

Jax Deluca became Director of Media Arts at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in January 2016. In this position, she manages the NEA’s grantmaking activities for arts organizations across the country working in media arts, which includes film, video, audio, internet-based... Read More →

David Miller

Program Director, National Institutes of Health

Dr. David Miller is a Program Director at the NIH’s National Cancer Institute where he manages a broad portfolio of biomedical software and computational modeling research grants in areas including data visualization, science games, interactive media, and crowdsourcing methodologies... Read More →

Marc Ruppel

Lead, Digital Projects for the Public / Senior Program Officer, National Endowment for the Humanities

Dr. Marc Ruppel is a Senior Program Officer at the National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Public Programs, where he specializes in game, digital media and transmedia storytelling. Before joining the Endowment, Marc worked on several transmedia/digital-experiential learning... Read More →

Amy Sterling

Executive Director, Eyewire

Margaret Wallace

Chief Executive Officer, Playmatics

Margaret Wallace Chief Executive Officer Playmatics -- www.playmatics.com Margaret Wallace is Chief Executive Officer of Playmatics, award-winning creators of digital and real-world games, products and other interactive experiences. She was named one of Forbes “12 Women in Gaming... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 11:30am - 12:15pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

11:35am EDT

Design Lessons from 3 Years at GlassLab

GlassLab was an unprecedented Bill & Melinda Gates and MacArthur Foundation collaborative mission to bring AAA game design together with cutting-edge assessment and data science. This session collects and disseminates learning from that project, emphasizing future-facing topics such as game and learning design collaboration, games as digital maker tools and reversing the player-as-consumer paradigm, approaching game systems design as facilitating, formative assessment, and mapping the future learning game frontier.

Speakers

Erin Hoffman-John

CEO, Sense of Wonder

Erin Hoffman-John is the Chief Designer and CEO of Sense of Wonder, an independent mobile developer of “smart fun” games, and an Assistant Teaching Professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Silicon Valley campus. Prior to these roles, she led game design at GlassLab, a three-year... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 11:35am - 11:55am EDT
Starr Foundation

Games for Learning Summit

11:45am EDT

The Power, Cost and Limits of Adaptivity in Neurogaming

Adaptivity promises a personal digital tutor for every device. It is at the heart of intelligent tutoring systems and found across neurogaming platforms. Adaptivity refers to how educational games and activities adapt their levelof challenge and personalized instruction to meet the changing educational needs of a player, as they play. This talk presents examples from Dr. Vikaros’s work with Lumosity, Agnitus and Lexia Learning to explain and compare different types of adaptive systems, while providing a summary of current research and a glimpse into the future of what is soon to come.

Speakers

Lance Vikaros

Director of Game Systems Design, Lumosity

Tuesday August 1, 2017 11:45am - 12:00pm EDT
Room 104

Neurogaming & Health

12:00pm EDT

An Active Learning Game for Better Sound Localization Using Augmented Reality (AR)

An active learning game has been developed to examine if a person can reduce localization errors from cognitive training using an augmented reality (AR) device. For each trial a user will indicate the perceived location of the target sound source, then the actual location will be shown along with the user’s estimated location. The training is in multiple difficulty levels. The presentation introduces technical details and the results from the on-going pilot study.

Speakers

Sungyoung Kim

Assistant Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology

SUNGYOUNG KIM IS AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN THE DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL, COMPUTER, AND TELECOMMUNICATION ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY AT RIT. His research interests include enjoyable auditory environment based on a multichannel audio system, virtual reality audio, auditory training, cross-cultural... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 12:00pm - 12:15pm EDT
Room 104

Neurogaming & Health

12:00pm EDT

Games on a Budget: Change for Change

Making games is expensive! What's a scrappy non-profit or activist to do? Make games on the cheap! Not every game needs to be an elaborate video game. You can get incredible engagement and results from paper games, role-playing or even a gym game. In this workshop, we'll look at successful games for change made on the cheap & lay out best practices for how to get the most effective play for the buck.

Speakers

Greg Trefry

Partner & Game Designer, Gigantic Mechanic

Tuesday August 1, 2017 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Starr Foundation

Civics & Social Issues

12:00pm EDT

Panel - Pick Me! Win More Fans With These Lessons from Platform Providers

What do educators, afterschool providers and consumers want when they look for game-based learning products? Discover what Noodle Markets, First Book and Samsung know about how audiences browse, evaluate and select the content they purchase. This panel will explore insights from user data and the latest market research to help inform strategies for planning and distributing learning games.

Moderators

Michelle Miller

Co-Founder, Games and Learning

Speakers

Ted Brodheim

Vice President, Vertical Business, Samsung Business

From 2007 to 2011, Ted served as Chief Information Officer for the New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE). His responsibilities included the instructional and administrative technology needs of the largest school district in the United States. With a $125 million operating... Read More →

Nicole Neal

CEO, Noodle Markets

Nicole is CEO of Noodle Markets, a company that brings vendors and educators together to increase efficiency and transparency in K–12 purchasing. Prior to joining the company, Nicole served in leadership positions at CORE Education Consulting and Solutions, Pearson Education, and... Read More →

Jane Robinson

CFO/CSO, First Book

Jane is CFO/CSO at First Book, a social enterprise focused on equity in education. Its models are built to be revenue-generating and bring a new market and collaborative disruption to publishers and other content creators. Jane led the team in writing the business plan for the central... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Room 105

Games for Learning Summit

12:15pm EDT

From Proteins to Planets: The First Year of Project Discovery

Project Discovery is the first implementation of a new approach in citizen science - the seamless integration of real science and videogames. This is what we call Massively Multiplayer Online Science. Come and hear about how the players of EVE Online submitted 30 million classifications of protein locations and how they will discover the next exoplanet.

Speakers

Bergur Finnbogason

Senior Development Manager, CCP Games

After graduating from London Metropolitan University with a MA in Architecture of rapid change and scarce resources, Bergur went on a path to explore the possibility of architecture and urban planning in the digitally built world of World of Darkness. The aim was to build a familiar... Read More →

Attila Szantner

CEO & co-founder, Massively Multiplayer Online Science

Attila feels very lucky to have combined his two passions with Massively Multiplayer Online Science: citizen science and games. He is based in the beautiful small village of Gryon, Switzerland, where he founded MMOS with Bernard Revaz. For almost two decades, he has worked in IT in... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 12:15pm - 12:45pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

Neurogaming & Health

12:45pm EDT

Civics & Social Issues Microtalk Showcase

Join us for lunch and an opportunity to play, experience, and discuss games made by developers who spoke about their work in Monday’s Civics & Social Issues Microtalk Salon—over a dozen projects from around the world, tackling issues from drone warfare and homelessness to substance abuse, government surveillance and more.

Speakers

Min Seok Do

CEO, GamBridzy

Kelli Dunlap

Psychologist

Elin Festøy

Producer, Teknopilot

Elizabeth Maler

Co-founder, Accidental Queens

Hilmi Quraishi

Co-Founder & Director Social Initiatives, ZMQ Development

Subhi Quraishi

CEO, ZMQ Development

Leslie Robinson

Founder & CEO, Trance4mation Games

Jed Segovia

Parsons The New School for Design

Lee Sheldon

Professor of Practice, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Felipe Marlon Soares

CEO, PushStart Studio

Tuesday August 1, 2017 12:45pm - 1:45pm EDT
5th Floor

Civics & Social Issues

12:45pm EDT

Playtesting and Prototyping Games for the Classroom: Putting Students and Teachers at the Center of Playful Learning

Want to see if teachers and students “get” your game? Join STEM start-up PlayMada for a fun, hands-on session to learn how they conduct useful, focused playtests designed to get to the heart of what best serves the needs of teachers and students. Attendees will observe a live student playtest and leave with knowledge that will help them craft a personalized plan to improve their own educational games.

Speakers

Natasha Desai

Director of Math Pedagogy, CanFigureIt

Lovingly known as "Ms. Panda" to her former students, Natasha has worked in formal and informal learning environments since 2007. She is passionate about finding meaningful ways to integrate technology in the 'traditional' classroom experience, working closely with educators to design... Read More →

Edward Wang

Science Pedagogy Director, PlayMada

As Science Pedagogy Director for PlayMada, Edward helps to conceptualize, design and develop new educational games to give high school students a deepened understanding of key scientific concepts in a fun and engaging way. As a former NYC public school teacher of 18 years, he is passionate... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 12:45pm - 1:45pm EDT
Starr Foundation

Games for Learning Summit

1:45pm EDT

Engagement for Change: Improving News Media through Game Design

How can game design thinking address the issue of sustained engagement? Based on more than two years of work with game design veterans, reporters and media professionals, we offer lessons learned for solving problems plaguing news and social impact. We share a brand new concept for employing game design to create engagement design and demonstrate our projects that have successfully increased audience engagement. These include Factitious, a game about identifying fake news, Commuter Challenge, an empathy game created with Washington DC's NPR Affiliate, and a playful take on trivia quizzes produced for Polygon and Vox Media Storytelling Studio.

Speakers

Maggie Farley

Fellow, American University

Maggie Farley wants you to know how to tell real news from fake. She has combined her experience from 15 years as an award-winning foreign correspondent for the Los Angeles Times with designing games and curricula for learning and news engagement. As a fellow in American University's... Read More →

Lindsay Grace

Founding Director and Associate Professor, American University Game Lab

Lindsay is associate professor and founding director of the American University Game Lab and Studio. Widely published on games, his work has been featured on Al Jazeera, several National Public Radio Affiliates and awarded by a variety of organizations. He has showcased his game designs... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 1:45pm - 2:00pm EDT
Room 105

Civics & Social Issues

1:45pm EDT

Government Grants for Health & Science Games

This talk will provide an overview of federal government funding opportunities for games development. Emphasis will be placed on addressing some of the most common challenges faced when developing biomedical and health research games, including partnering with biomedical researchers, recognizing and protecting private health information in a game, and navigating the grants submission process.

Speakers

David Miller

Program Director, National Institutes of Health

Tuesday August 1, 2017 1:45pm - 2:00pm EDT
Room 104

Neurogaming & Health

1:45pm EDT

Well Played: Walden, a Game

What makes a game good? or bad? or better? Building on the Well Played books and journal and the success of lives sessions, we will explore a game at the festival to help analyze the gameplay experience and open up a discussion around the unique positive social impact games can have. The goal is to help develop and define a literacy of games as well as a sense of their value as an experience.

Moderators

Drew Davidson

Director & Teaching Professor, Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center

Drew Davidson is a professor, producer and player of interactive media. His background spans academic, industry and professional worlds and he is interested in stories and transformational experiences across texts, comics, games and other media. He explores the art, design and science... Read More →

Speakers

Tracy Fullerton

Professor and Director, USC Game Innovation Lab

Richard Lemarchand

Associate Professor, USC Games

Richard Lemarchand is a game designer, an educator and a consultant. Working at Naughty Dog he led or co-led the design of all three PlayStation 3 games in the Uncharted series. He also helped to create the game series Gex and Soul Reaver at Crystal Dynamics. He is now an Associate... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 1:45pm - 2:30pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

1:45pm EDT

Panel - From Player to Maker: Lessons Learned from Young Creators

Challenges, workshops, afterschool programs and formal curricula increasingly prove that game making is a key to unlock STEM skills and learning. But what inspires and equips today’s game players to become tomorrow’s game makers? Learn how diverse initiatives motivate young creators across geography, gender and culture, and what lessons educators and developers can apply to their own work.

Moderators

Leah Gilliam

VP, Strategy & Innovation, Girls Who Code

Leah Gilliam has channeled her life-long fascination with systems and how things work into a diverse career with a focus on how people participate and invent through technology. As the Vice President for Strategy & Innovation at Girls Who Code, Gilliam leverages her experience working... Read More →

Speakers

Tracy Gray

Founder and President, The Sankofa Global Project

Tracy Gray holds dual Master of Science Degrees in Early Childhood and General Education. As an entrepreneur and education consultant, Tracy has devoted her career to building effective S.T.E.A.M. initiatives. In her commitment to advance 21st century learning competency skills, Tracy... Read More →

Austin Olney

Digital Media Specialist, White Plains Public Library

Austin Olney is a Digital Media Specialist at the White Plains Public Library, teaching patrons to be digitally literate and providing them with technology skills necessary for the modern world. Using the library’s teen space as a backdrop, he presents students with a hands-on approach... Read More →

Josh Weisgrau

Program Director, Maker Learning, Digital Promise Global

Josh is the Program Director for Maker Learning at Digital Promise. In that capacity he directs the global Learning Studios network and other maker learning work in the organization including the Maker Promise partnership with Maker Ed. Prior to joining Digital Promise, Josh helped... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 1:45pm - 2:30pm EDT
Starr Foundation

Games for Learning Summit

2:00pm EDT

Player Centered Design: Reframing the World through Play

Educational Games and Games for Change are powerful forces for helping people understand the world, but sometimes there’s a disconnect between the play and the topic it attempts to address. But play itself is a powerful tool for uncovering new insights about complex topics. Building on the proven methods of user-centered design thinking, Mohini and Ben will present their “player centric design” model they’ve used at Antidote Games to increase understanding in over 2 dozen countries worldwide.

Speakers

Mohini Dutta

Narrative Designer, Antidote Games

Mohini Dutta is the cofounder of Antidote, a creative play consultancy. At Antidote, she works with non-profits, journalists, and scientists to find playful methods of communication to increase understanding. She also teaches at Parsons School of Design in the Design and Technology... Read More →

Ben Norskov

Systems Designer, Antidote Games

Ben Norskov is the cofounder of Antidote, a creative play consultancy. At Antidote, he works with non-profits, journalists, and scientists to find playful methods of communication to increase understanding. He also teaches at Parsons School of Design in the Design and Technology... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 2:00pm - 2:10pm EDT
Room 105

Civics & Social Issues

2:00pm EDT

Leveling Up Demographics: A Data Dive into Who Plays What Games and Why to Broaden Your Audience and Empower Your Impact

The fifty-year-old women sitting to your right on the train is probably playing a pretty different game than the fourteen-year-old on your left. Why? What can we learn from the diversity of play? Understanding how to build better experiences specifically for your audience is key to more inclusive design and reaching goals with your users. Tell us about how you play and learn how to create the ideal resonance for your audience.

Speakers

Marguerite Dibble

Founder / CEO, gametheory

Marguerite Dibble is the CEO of GameTheory, a company that uses game design toolkits and mindsets to tackle challenging real-world problems. GameTheory has worked to provide unique game-based solutions across healthcare, energy, and finance, creating products and techniques that exist... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 2:00pm - 2:15pm EDT
Room 104

Neurogaming & Health

2:00pm EDT

Meet the Experts

Experts from the many areas that support the games for change sector will be available for free 15-minute consultations. Attendees can sign up at the registration desk in the main lobby.

Speakers

Brian Alspach

Executive Vice President, E-Line Media

Brian is a member of the founding executive team at E-Line Media, a game developer and publisher that harnesses the power of games to help youth thrive in a complex, rapidly-changing, digitally-connected world. He is currently leading the design of E-Line's hands-on youth learning... Read More →

Jax Deluca

Media Arts Director, National Endowment for the Arts

Sandra Jacobo

Director of Education, Yogome, Inc.

Sandra is an experienced content strategist and researcher with over 8 years of experience developing interactive content for emerging new technologies. Products have included digital games, books, interactive bilingual curriculum, and a wearable fitness tracker for kids. She is committed... Read More →

David Miller

Program Director, National Institutes of Health

Marc Ruppel

Lead, Digital Projects for the Public / Senior Program Officer, National Endowment for the Humanities

Jesse Schell

CEO, Schell Games

Dan White

CEO, Filament Games

Devin Young

Co-founder and President, Classcraft

Tuesday August 1, 2017 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
7th Floor Teacher's Lounge

2:15pm EDT

Improving Scientific Discovery Games with Data

Scientific Discovery Games have shown the potential of involving the general public in scientific research and contributed to scientific discoveries. One example is Foldit, a game where players can help scientists understand proteins. However, for these types of games, onboarding and retaining players often remains a challenge. In this talk, I will discuss work using gameplay data to evaluate design decisions and potentially improve aspects of games that are applied to solving real-world problems.

Speakers

Seth Cooper

Assistant Professor, Northeastern University

Seth Cooper is an Assistant Professor in the College of Computer and Information Science at Northeastern University. He earned his PhD in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington. Seth is interested in using video games to solve difficult real-world problems... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 2:15pm - 2:30pm EDT
Room 104

Neurogaming & Health

2:15pm EDT

Panel - All of the Above: Building Learning Games for Both Home and School

Can a game-based learning product successfully reach teachers and parents, or are the two markets as different as apples and oranges? Leaders from Speakaboos, Minecraft and Lightneer will reveal their innovative techniques for bridging both home and school. Learn from the successes and failures in the edtech and consumer worlds.

Moderators

Tony Wan

Managing Editor, EdSurge

Tony Wan is Managing Editor at EdSurge where he frets over stories, semantics and snappy headlines. He was named one of Forbes’ “30 Under 30” in Education in 2014. Prior to joining EdSurge he co-founded a short-lived startup that developed a game best described as “Zelda with... Read More →

Speakers

Lauri Järvilehto

CEO, Lightneer

Lauri Järvilehto is the CEO and Co-Founder of Lightneer, setting out to bring high quality learning to everybody everywhere and scaling the inclusivity of Finnish education globally. Lauri is a learning enthusiast, serial entrepreneur and a Sherlock Holmes fan. He has a PhD in theoretical... Read More →

Brandon Pittser

Director of Marketing & Licensing, Filament Games

As Director of Marketing & Licensing at Filament Games, Brandon applies his passion for games and learning to their content marketing practice and overall marketing strategy. He thrives on creating and sustaining a meaningful conversation with educators and developers about game-based... Read More →

Neal Shenoy

CEO & Co-Founder, BEGiN

Neal Shenoy is CEO & Co-Founder of BEGiN, the company behind the award-winning Speakaboos and Homer subscription services. BEGiN's mission is to motivate young children to become lifelong learners through a love of reading that serves as a gateway to learning to read effectively... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 2:15pm - 3:00pm EDT
Room 105

Games for Learning Summit

2:30pm EDT

VR Hacking:  from Innovation to Preservation

In this session, we discuss how the team at Isobar is fulfilling on the promise of VR, and it's implications on the education of future generations.

Speakers

Kevin-Ken Kempis

Creative Consultant / Professional Nerd, Isobar

As a creative technologist with a strong design background, Kevin leads day-to-day creative initiatives within the Isobar NYC office and the Isobar NowLab. Since age 11 he’s had his hand in print, motion/broadcast, digital, experiential and now VR/AR projects for brands such as... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 2:30pm - 2:45pm EDT
Room 104

Neurogaming & Health

2:30pm EDT

Playing Outwards: Critical Games in Context

Games for change are often hyped as magical objects with inherent powers: the power to teach something, to change behaviors, to foster empathy, to encourage action. The hope is to leverage their digital reproducibility to reach a massive user base and automatically perform the work of social change. Starting from Molleindustria's recent projects, I'll expand the scope of critical gamemaking beyond the fetishized content and toward the politics of game platforms, play spaces, and gamers.

Speakers

Paolo Pedercini

molleindustria

Paolo Pedercini is a game developer, artist and educator. He teaches digital media production and experimental game design at the School of Art at Carnegie Mellon University. Since 2003 he works under the project name “Molleindustria” producing provocative games addressing issues... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 2:30pm - 3:00pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

Civics & Social Issues

3:00pm EDT

Axon - A Social Media Showdown in Space, A Live VR Game

Fake News! As our lives become increasingly overwhelmed by shared media, how do we handle it all? Project Axon is a live crowd-gaming experience using virtual reality to explore competitive social media. The game was created by a team of students at Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center.

Speakers

Dave Culyba

Assistant Teaching Professor, Carnegie Mellon University

Tuesday August 1, 2017 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Starr Foundation

4:00pm EDT

Xbox Fitness: A Success Story. How One Psychiatrist Used this Game to Lose and Maintain Significant Weight Loss

A psychiatrist used psychological principles and Xbox Fitness to lose over 60 pounds in 10 months and maintain most of this weight loss for years. His experience with this physically intense Kinect 2.0 game and data on the physical intensity and perceived exertion from hundreds of hours of active play of over 60 active video games will be presented. Suggestions will be made on incorporating lessons learned from this project into active virtual reality games.

Speakers

Paul Ballas

Founder, Tiro Enterprises, LLC

Paul Ballas is a board certified child and adult psychiatrist and founder of Tiro Enterprises, a start up company with a mission of developing user experience metrics for active and VR games. He has won awards and fellowships from the American Medical Association, the American Academy... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT
Room 104

Neurogaming & Health

4:00pm EDT

What do 'Fake News' and Video Games Have in Common? Exploration of Some Human Mind Limitations and their Impact on our Behavior and our Society.

In the age of "fake news", educating children and helping citizens to recognize cognitive biases and logical fallacies have become more important than ever. This talk proposes to analyze the most common limitations of the human mind, explore how we can easily fall prey to biases in our everyday life, and give insights on how to (maybe) avoid them. It will cover what this means for games, learning experiences, and social media literacy.

Speakers

Celia Hodent

Director of User Experience, Epic Games

Celia Hodent is director of user experience at Epic Games and holds a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology. Initially specializing in the development of intelligence, Celia stepped aside from academic research in 2005 to work with an educational toy manufacturer, VTech. Celia joined Ubisoft... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 4:00pm - 4:15pm EDT
Room 105

Civics & Social Issues

4:00pm EDT

Minecraft Edu Hackjam Outcomes Presentations

Learn how K12 teachers can use Minecraft to teach core content. Come get a firsthand look at brand new lessons created by teachers in the Minecraft Education Curriculum Hackjam, which takes place on July 30th.

Speakers

Sara Cornish

Senior Director, Programs & Strategy, Games for Change

Bron Stuckey

Innovative Educational Ideas

Global Consultant Specialist in Game Play, Game Inspired Learning, Communities of Practice and Learning Communities. Bron cut her teeth in games for learning long before Minecraft exploded into the world through her 10 years with the highly successful Arizona State University Quest... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 4:00pm - 4:30pm EDT
Starr Foundation

Games for Learning Summit

4:00pm EDT

Panel - The Women of Overwatch: The Journey of Bringing Strong Female Characters to Life

Join the voice actresses who play Symestra, Sombra and Mercy from the blockbuster game “Overwatch” as well as Senior Casting Director and Voice Director at Blizzard, Andrea Toyais in a conversation about the process of bringing strong female characters came to life. Moderated by Nika Nour, Director, Federal Government Affairs, Entertainment Software Association.

Moderators

Nika Nour

Director, Federal Government Affairs, Entertainment Software Association

Nika Nour is the Director of Federal Government Affairs for the Entertainment Software Association and an Internet Association Alum. As a triathlete and avid Batman fan, she strives to bridge technology policy issues and Capitol Hill. Currently she focuses on pursuing meaningful changes... Read More →

Speakers

Anjali Bhimani

Voice of Symmetra in Overwatch, Actress

Anjali Bhimani is known to gaming fans as the voice of Symmetra in Overwatch and Nisha in Fallout 4. On television, fans know her as Nina Patel on Modern Family and Wendy on Cassandra French’s Finishing School, and from appearances on such shows as Silicon Valley, Criminal Minds... Read More →

Lucie Pohl

Voice of Mercy in Overwatch, Actress

Lucie Pohl is a German-born-NYC-raised actor, comedian and writer. She is the voice of Mercy on Blizzard's Overwatch and has appeared in Homeland (Showtime), Red Dwarf XI (Amazon), Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (Warner Bros.) and over 25 international Film & TV productions... Read More →

Carolina Ravassa

Voice of Sombra in Overwatch, Actress

Born in Cali, Colombia, Carolina Ravassa has appeared on The Affair opposite Dominic West and produced, directed, and starred in the Web series Hispanglosaxon. She is known for her voice work in the video games, Overwatch (Sombra), Grand Theft Auto V (Taliana Martinez) and Max Payne... Read More →

Andrea Toyias

Senior Casting & Voice Director, Blizzard Entertainment

Andrea Toyias is the Senior Casting & Voice Director at Blizzard Entertainment where she enjoys bringing a wide-range of characters to life in games such as World of WarCraft, Diablo, StarCraft, Hearthstone and most recently, Blizzard's newest exciting title Overwatch. She spends... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

4:10pm EDT

How Uncertainty can be Used to Improve Learning

Game designers typically use uncertainty for heightening emotions or to reduce confusion.In this talk I will show how uncertainty can be used to influence learning. I will show how our brain works in world that revolves around uncertainty. In this world learning is needed to reduce uncertainty. I will present experiments that manipulate uncertainty and influence learning outcomes. This new lens suggests a different perspective on how games can be constructed to improve learning outcomes.

Speakers

Russell Cohen Hoffing

UC Riverside

Russell Cohen Hoffing is a Ph.D. candidate at UC Riverside. Here he works at the Brain Game Center devoting his time towards making a brain training games to improve self-control.

Tuesday August 1, 2017 4:10pm - 4:20pm EDT
Room 104

Neurogaming & Health

4:15pm EDT

After 'Reality' - Can a Game About Media-Making Save Democracy?

After six years of running an ARG inside USC's School of Cinematic Arts to promote media-making and collaboration, some surprising lessons about motivation and engagement (and even more surprising demographics) suggested some flawed assumptions being made about millennial civic engagement and their troubling low voter turnout. Lead designer Jesse Vigil outlines a new initiative to adapt key game mechanics and apply these lessons in a new intervention for the good of the republic.

Speakers

Jesse Vigil

Faculty/Game Innovation Lab Research Lead, USC School of Cinematic Arts Interactive Media & Games Division

Jesse Vigil is a published writer, game designer, and producer of award-winning film, television and games. He is the co-founder of Los Angeles-based production company Psychic Bunny and faculty at the USC School of Cinematic Arts Interactive Media and Games Division, where he teaches... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 4:15pm - 4:30pm EDT
Room 105

Civics & Social Issues

4:20pm EDT

Linking Rhythm Processing and Reading Development Young Children Using an Interactive Self-guided App

Some studies have reported a link between reading-related skills and musical rhythmic abilities, highlighting the potential of music-based intervention methods for reading development.

A tablet-based rhythm-assessment app was developed and deployed in kindergarten classrooms in New England with a battery of pre-literacy assessments. Results from over a hundred children indicate a significant positive association between rhythm discrimination and early literacy skills. The potential application of the app in cross-cultural and neuroscience research will be discussed.

Speakers

Ola Ozernov-Palchik

Tufts University

Ola Ozernov-Palchik, M.S., is a fourth-year doctoral student in the interdisciplinary cognitive science and applied child development program at Tufts University. Ola conducts research at MIT and Boston Children's Hospital on the cognitive and neural mechanisms of reading development... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 4:20pm - 4:30pm EDT
Room 104

Neurogaming & Health

4:30pm EDT

The 5 Rules of Virtual Humans

This talk will provide an overview of what game designers should consider when building and designing virtual humans for engagement in cognitive and health related games. The principles will be based on research in the areas of neuroscience and cognition and include elements such as realism of the VH, voice/tone, features such as memory/emotions/personality, and dialogue. Examples from the field (good and bad) will be provided.

Speakers

Vincent Thomasino

CTO, Kognito

Vince has always loved to build things -- from baubles to hardware and software. His passion for tinkering is the underpinning of his commitment to continuous innovation. At Kognito, Vince is applying that same desire to lead the company's technology strategy, bringing fresh ideas... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 4:30pm - 4:40pm EDT
Room 104

Neurogaming & Health

4:30pm EDT

Measuring Impact

This talk offers a window into the tools that nonprofits use to clarify and measure the social impact of their work, and the particular challenges artists face in the midst of this increasingly important topic.

Speakers

Anjali Deshmukh

Independent Artist and Nonprofit Consultant

Anjali is an independent artist and analogue game or interaction designer, and a community engagement professional working for mission-driven organizations. Anjali holds an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and is a Fulbright Scholar in Fine Arts. She was named an Award... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 4:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
Room 105

Civics & Social Issues

4:30pm EDT

Pre-Production Frameworks: Tools for Teams to Create Better Design, Development, and Evaluation of Games for Change

Pre-production frameworks are critical tools for teams seeking to develop games focused on targeted outcomes, such as behavior change or knowledge acquisition, and are fundamental to setting the stage for the design, development, and evaluation of games. Dr. Kimberly Hieftje (Yale Center for Health & Learning Games/play2PREVENT Lab at Yale) and Sabrina Culyba (Schell Games) will talk about the pre-production processes they’ve developed and are using to guide the development of several serious game projects.

Speakers

Sabrina Haskell Culyba

Principal Designer, Schell Games

Sabrina Culyba is a Principal Designer at Schell Games, an independent game studio in Pittsburgh that specializes in creating transformational and innovative, interactive experiences. She has worked on a wide range of entertainment & technology experiences, including mobile games... Read More →

Kimberly Hieftje

Deputy Director, Yale Center for Health & Learning Games, play2PREVENT Lab

Dr. Hieftje's interests primarily focus on health promotion and behavior change through the use of videogames. She is an Associate Research Scientist at the Yale School of Medicine and Deputy Director of the Yale Center for Health & Learning Games and play2PREVENT Lab. Dr. Hieftje... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 4:30pm - 5:00pm EDT
Starr Foundation

Games for Learning Summit

4:40pm EDT

Fit Brains: A Summary of Eight Years in Brain Training

Fit Brains has existed in a wide variety of forms throughout the years. From a flash portal, to the app store, to clinical studies. Maurice Grela will discuss its various forms and what they taught us about the overlap between neuroscience and serious games.

Speakers

Maurice Grela

Game Designer, Rosetta Stone (formerly)

Maurice Grela is a game developer who circulates between Toronto and Vancouver. His work experience includes game design, quality assurance testing, art direction, voice acting direction, technical art, research, and modding of existing games. He has explored a wide spectrum of game... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 4:40pm - 4:50pm EDT
Room 104

Neurogaming & Health

4:50pm EDT

Exploring the Feasibility of Video Games for Cognitive Assessment

The session describes the authors ongoing research into the application of video games in cognitive assessment. The session will present the authors findings from developing a prototype that assesses working memory, language and critical thinking. A discussion will feature on the current availability of game design frameworks for mental health care. Finally, a potential direction to design video games for cognitive assessment will be presented to the audience.

Speakers

Michael Saiger

University of Strathclyde

Ba (Hon) in Games Design and Production Management. MPhil student in Digital Health and Wellness. With academic and industry experience I aim to research the development of games into new markets and genres. The current interest is the development of application for people with... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 4:50pm - 5:00pm EDT
Room 104

Neurogaming & Health

5:15pm EDT

Keynote - Unity Education: Democratizing Learning, Creativity, and Impact with Jessica Lindl

Since 2004, Unity Technologies has focused on democratizing development. Now, on the precipice of the 4th Industrial Revolution, creativity is the critical competency required to succeed. Unity is expanding it's reach from democratizing development to democratizing creativity, opportunity and impact for all. How will you join us?

Speakers

Jessica Lindl

Global Head of Education, Unity Technologies

Jessica is the Global Head of Education at Unity Technologies with a vision of democratizing creativity for all learners. She has spent over 15 years overseeing companies and teams that design, develop, and distribute deeply impactful learning games to the global education market... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 5:15pm - 5:45pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

Games for Learning Summit Keynote

5:45pm EDT

Keynote - Into The Future : A World Without Edges with Graeme Devine

Speakers

Graeme Devine

Chief Game Wizard, Magic Leap

Graeme is a veteran game developer with more than 30 years of experience across multiple platforms, technologies, and major titles. Starting at age 16 working at Atari, Graeme has helped bring numerous games to life, including Pole Position, The 7th Guest, The 11th Hour, Quake III... Read More →

Tuesday August 1, 2017 5:45pm - 6:15pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

Civics & Social Issues Keynote

6:15pm EDT

Gaming in the Real World

Gaming the Real World is the first feature documentary film about video games changing the real world. It follows three game developers, Mojang - the creators of Minecraft, Paradox Interactive - publishers of Cities: Skylines and indie-game developer José Sanches in their struggle to make their games being more than just a game, but also an effective tool in planning our future cities and democratizing the planning process.

Director Anders Eklund has followed these three game companies navigating the space where urban planning and gaming meet. How will our cities look in 20 - 100 years time?

Can games change the world?

Tuesday August 1, 2017 6:15pm - 8:30pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

9:00am EDT

Welcome to the VR for Change Summit

Speakers

Erik Martin

Senior Education Program Manager and VR for Change Curator, Unity

Erik Martin is Senior Education Program Manager at Unity, the leading development platform for games and XR, where he works to democratize creativity and empower learners with skills to help build the future. Erik previously served as a Policy Advisor at the White House, Office... Read More →

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Wednesday August 2, 2017 9:00am - 9:15am EDT
Tishman Auditorium

VR for Change Summit

9:15am EDT

Keynote - A Call to Action for VR for Change with Megan Smith

Speakers

Megan Smith

3rd U.S. CTO, Entrepreneur, Engineer

Megan Smith was the third U.S. Chief Technology Officer of the United States and advisor to President Obama. She helped guide the Obama Administration's expansive technology policies and initiatives. Previous to assuming her role at the White House, Smith served as VP of Google[x... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 9:15am - 9:30am EDT
Tishman Auditorium

VR for Change Summit Keynote

9:30am EDT

Keynote - Technology Can Transform the Way People Access Reproductive Health Care and Information with Dawn Laguens

Planned Parenthood illustrates that virtual reality can impact empathy and technology has revolutionized the way people access information and sexual and reproductive health care.

Speakers

Dawn Laguens

Executive Vice President & Chief Brand and Experience Officer, Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Dawn Laguens led the successful campaign to defeat the Pence amendment, a hugely unpopular congressional effort that would have eliminated funding for Planned Parenthood's preventive health care services that millions of people rely on. Since then she has shaped the organization’s... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 9:30am - 10:00am EDT
Tishman Auditorium

VR for Change Summit Keynote

10:00am EDT

Keynote - The Promise of Virtual Reality and the Brain with Adam Gazzaley

A fundamental and global challenge is the development of effective approaches to enhance cognition in both the healthy and impaired. For the healthy, this is a core mission of our educational system and for the cognitively impaired this is the primary goal of our mental health medical system. Unfortunately, neither of these systems have yet to effectively meet this challenge. Dr. Gazzaley will share his vision of how emerging virtual reality technology can be used to achieve meaningful and sustainable cognitive enhancement, with the ultimate aim of improving our quality of life.

Speakers

Adam Gazzaley

Founder & Executive Director, Neuroscape

Adam Gazzaley, M.D., Ph.D. is Professor in Neurology, Physiology and Psychiatry at the UC San Francisco, and the Founder & Executive Director of Neuroscape, a translational neuroscience center engaged in technology development and scientific research of novel brain assessments and... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 10:00am - 10:20am EDT
Tishman Auditorium

VR for Change Summit Keynote

10:30am EDT

Keynote - Portals: Walk Through The Internet with Amar C. Bakshi

In this session, we will walk through a Portal experience, in which people from different backgrounds meet in a constructed environment for dialogues, collaboration, and play across forms of distance. We will also examine contact theory, the political and policy implications of this technology, and previous activations. We will explore the distinction between a relatively "low-tech" experience – one in which participants are unencumbered by a headset – with VR, AR, and MR experiences.

Speakers

Amar C. Bakshi

Founder & Creative Director, Shared_Studios

Amar C. Bakshi is an artist whose work focuses on how to integrate technology into environments and across pronounced distance to create new forms of digital-physical public spaces that challenge and subvert existing norms. In particular, he works to connect members of diverse communities... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 10:30am - 10:50am EDT
Tishman Auditorium

VR for Change Summit Keynote

10:30am EDT

VR for Change: Can VR Experiences Reduce Prejudice and Promote Empathy?

Virtual Reality experiences are being created with the goal of promoting social welfare and empathy toward others. However, there is actually very little known about the immediate and long term effects of these experiences. This session will review past research in this area and explore the relationship between empathy and VR by providing empirical data showing instances where VR experiences have and have not resulted in positive outcomes.

Speakers

Fernanda Herrera

PhD Candidate, Stanford University

Fernanda Herrera holds a BS in Psychology from the University of Texas in Austin and is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Communication at Stanford University. Fernanda's research interests focus on the psychosocial effects of new media and technology as well as the cognitions... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 10:30am - 11:00am EDT
Room 105

VR for Change Summit

10:50am EDT

Is Immersive Storytelling Journalism's Future?

Speakers

Irving Washington

Executive Director, Online News Association

Wednesday August 2, 2017 10:50am - 11:10am EDT
Tishman Auditorium

VR for Change Summit

11:00am EDT

Lessons Learned From Making 'Injustice'

What if you could talk to characters in VR and change the story’s outcome? In the award-winning VR experience “Injustice”, Users witness an act of racial discrimination, leaving them to make moral/ethical decisions on the spot. In this session, Jaehee Cho (Director) and Ralph Vituccio (Carnegie Mellon University Professor) will share lessons learned developing the project, including playtest and design challenges and how VR impacts social change.

Speakers

Jaehee Cho

Creative Director, Stitchbridge

Jaehee Cho is an enthusiastic game designer, passionate about telling interesting and unique stories in various media. Beginning his career in film and photography, his work has expanded beyond traditional, using new technology such as interactive technology and virtual reality. He... Read More →

Ralph Vituccio

Associate Professor, Entertainment Technology Center

Ralph Vituccio is an Associate Teaching Professor at the Entertainment Technology Center, Carnegie Mellon University. His interactive projects on racism, sexual assault and conflict management have won numerous national media awards. As an independent artist, his documentaries have... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 11:00am - 11:30am EDT
Room 105

VR for Change Summit

11:00am EDT

Speed Networking: VR for Change

One of our most popular events, Speed Networking is a high-energy, fast-paced opportunity to meet a new person from our community every 5 minutes! Enjoy the chance to network with executives from Samsung, Filament Games, the Newseum, and other leaders in the game world and experts in social change.

Wednesday August 2, 2017 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT
Cafeteria

VR for Change Summit

11:10am EDT

Intimacy over Empathy: The Future of VR

Ryan and Amy Green will share insights from their explorations in VR, including bringing their award-winning game That Dragon, Cancer into VR and their ideas about how the medium can move and change hearts and minds.

Speakers

Ryan Green

Co-Owner / Narrative Designer, Numinous Games

Ryan is an artist and videogame designer, currently focused on creating narrative VR experiences. Ryan currently serves as Head of Narrative for Numinous Games, a studio he co-founded. Numinous Games first title, That Dragon, Cancer, was created as a poetic memorial to Ryan and his... Read More →

Amy Green

Writer and Game Designer, Numinous Games

Amy Green was a contributing writer, narrative designer and voice actor for That Dragon, Cancer, a video game created about her son Joel’s battle with cancer. She continues to work for Numinous Games as a writer and game designer on the studio's current projects. In addition to... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 11:10am - 11:30am EDT
Tishman Auditorium

VR for Change Summit

11:30am EDT

Youth Voices in Virtual Reality

In Global Nomad Group’s Virtual Reality Lab and Digital Promise Global’s 360 Filmmakers Challenge, young people are creating media and cultivating curiosity to explore shared humanity. Join us to hear how students across the country and around the world are harnessing the power of 360 and VR to produce and share stories to develop empathy, global awareness, and inspire action.

Speakers

Grace Lau

Director of Virtual Reality, Global Nomads Group

Grace holds over a decade of experience in virtual exchange, global education, and youth programming. As the Director of Virtual Reality, she oversees Global Nomad Group's (GNG) VR Lab, harnessing the power of vr technology to develop a generation of empathetic, aware, and action... Read More →

Dimitri Moore

Video Producer & Digital Storytelling Coach, Digital Promise

Dimitri Moore has produced music videos, short narrative films, promo videos, training videos for Facebook and documentaries. He is the Video Producer and Digital Storytelling Coach for Digital Promise Global primarily focusing on facilitating the 360 Filmmakers Challenge supporting... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 11:30am - 12:00pm EDT
Room 105

VR for Change Summit

11:30am EDT

Panel - Forging the Cyberfeminist Multireality

Can we build a future for VR that is empowering and inclusive for women? What might that sort of future look like? What kinds of things need to be done now to get there?

Moderators

Cecilia D'Anastasio

Senior Reporter, Kotaku

Cecilia D'Anastasio is a senior reporter with Kotaku, where she writes about games, virtual worlds, digital labor and justice. Her reporting methods include embedding in virtual worlds and exploring the cultural tide pools that form around gaming and digital escapism.

Speakers

Sophia Dominguez

CEO/Co-founder, SVRF

Sophia Dominguez is the CEO & co-founder of SVRF, the first search and discovery engine for VR content. She also founded AllThingsVR, a weekly newsletter that highlights the best virtual reality news and content. Previously, she was the Entrepreneur in Residence at Rothenberg Ventures... Read More →

Clorama Dorvilias

UX Interaction Designer, Code for America

Clorama discovered VR in the summer of 2015 while researching technology to develop empathy to combat social bias for her MA thesis in London. She realized VR's potential to shape cognitive behavior and self-taught with Unity 3D to develop prototype demos for the Oculus DK2. Since... Read More →

Alice Lloyd George

Principal, RRE Ventures

Alice Lloyd George is a Principal at RRE in New York and helps the firm explore emerging technologies such as the blockchain, machine learning and computer vision, robotics, VR and AR, and NewSpace. She led the firm's investments in The Wave VR and 8i, where she is a board observer... Read More →

Zohar Kfir

Testimony

Zohar Kfir is a New York-based media artist working with experimental video, interactive art and VR. Her artistic practice employs non-linear narratives and traditional cinematic techniques and features expanded interactivity. Kfir has shown her work internationally in galleries... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 11:30am - 12:15pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

VR for Change Summit

1:30pm EDT

Journalism360: New Futures for Interactive News

The arrival of consumer-facing VR technologies makes truly immersive journalism experiences is an exciting possibility. However, realizing the potential of VR in journalism will require combining skill sets and expertise across industries that have rarely intersected. This "Collaboratoy" break out session will provide attendees an opportunity to match up with other VR for Change attendees and explore how insights from the games industry, news industry, research, public policy, and advocacy circles could create whole new kinds of journalists experiences, all in a rapid-fire hour of brainstorming.

Speakers

Heather Chaplin

Founding Director, Journalism+ Design at The New School

Heather Chaplin is the founding director of the Journalism + Design program at The New School and the author of Reckless Years: A Diary of Love and Madness (Simon & Schuster, 2017.) She covered videogames for many outlets including All Things Considered and The New York Times. She... Read More →

Mitch Gelman

CTO, The Newseum

Mitch Gelman is CTO at the Newseum, where he has guided the development of VR experiences around some of the Newseum's most exciting artifacts, including the Berlin Wall and the Unabomber's cabin. As a reporter at New York Newsday, he was part of a team that earned a Pulitzer Prize... Read More →

Lindsay Grace

Founding Director and Associate Professor, American University Game Lab

Ryan Green

Co-Owner / Narrative Designer, Numinous Games

Amy Green

Writer and Game Designer, Numinous Games

Samantha Quick

360 Editor, The New York Times

Samantha has been focused on the VR industry for over 2 years crafting interactivity into 360 videos and games. She is currently a video journalist at The New York Times where she edits and produces videos for The Daily 360.

Wednesday August 2, 2017 1:30pm - 2:15pm EDT
Cafeteria

VR for Change Summit

1:30pm EDT

Live Pitch Session: VR Brain Jam Showdown

This live pitch to a panel of ferocious, brilliant judges will feature selected teams from the VR and Neuroscience Game Jam, or “BrainJam”, that took place prior to the Festival. Judges will make or break dreams, weighing in on the creative new prototypes teams have developed.

Moderators

Gemma Busoni

COO, Discovr LBS

Gemma Busoni is a cofounder and COO at Discovr Labs, a VR startup that focuses on immersive educational experiences for K12, vocational, and professional verticals. Formerly, she founded a non-profit that brought CS education to inner-city schools, eventually merging with another... Read More →

Moran Cerf

Professor, Kellogg School of Management

Dave Culyba

Assistant Teaching Professor, Carnegie Mellon University

Fernanda Herrera

PhD Candidate, Stanford University

Aaron Norstad

Head of Product Development, Unity Technologies

Aaron Norstad is an experience specialist who has focused on bending technology innovations to allow the development of immersive and interactive media. Over the course of 20 years Aaron has launched tens of award winning products and games that have moved from physical to digital... Read More →

Aldis Sipolins

Head of Virtual Reality and Game Design, IBM Research

Aldis is a virtual reality evangelist and lifelong videogame nerd who combines cognitive neuroscience and game design to explore the limits of VR. Aldis received a Ph.D. in Psychology -Visual Cognition and Human Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2015... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 1:30pm - 2:15pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

VR for Change Summit

2:00pm EDT

How High School Students Are Learning to Build VR Content for the Web

Speakers

Jordan Budisantoso

Teacher, Computer Science, Washington Leadership Academy Public Charter School

Jordan Budisantoso is the founding Computer Science Teacher at Washington Leadership Academy, a public charter school in Washington, DC that offers a 4-year computer science and civic leadership education to all of its students. One of the exciting things his students are doing right... Read More →

Jamir Grier

Student, 10th grade, Washington Leadership Academy Public Charter School

Jamir is a rising 10th grader at Washington Leadership Academy a public charter school in DC that provides all its students a 4-year civic leadership and computer science education. Jamir's favorite subject is science. He is actively engaged as a boy scout and has dreams of working... Read More →

Jerome Foster II

Student, 10th grade, Founder & CEO of TAU VR, Washington Leadership Academy Public Charter School

Jerome Foster II is a rising 10th grader at Washington Leadership Academy a Public Charter School in DC that provides all its students a 4-year civic leadership and computer science education. Jerome started his own VR company called TAU VR (officially recognized by the city) and... Read More →

Khalilah Sutton

Student, 10th grade, Washington Leadership Academy Public Charter School

My name is Khalilah. I am a rising 10th grader at Washington Leadership Academy a public charter school in DC that provides all it's students a 4-year civic leadership and computer science education. My favorite subject in school is CS because she gets to explore "another dimension... Read More →

Dagmawit Zeleke

Student, 10th grade, Washington Leadership Academy Public Charter School

Dagmawit (or Tina) is a rising 10th grader at Washington Leadership Academy a public charter school in DC that provides all its students a 4-year civic leadership and computer science education. Her favorite subjects are history and computer science because she loves learning about... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 2:00pm - 2:30pm EDT
Room 105

VR for Change Summit

2:15pm EDT

Panel - Teleporting Audiences to Distant Horizons

One great promise of VR is that it can transport people to distant places they may never otherwise experience or even know about. Yet to do so, a few creative and entrepreneurial spirits must go there first. What does it take to make VR that teleports us to distant horizons?

Moderators

Adaora Udoji

Producer, The Boshia Group

Adaora is an award winning storyteller, producer, and investor at the intersection of media and new technology; currently focused on virtual and augmented reality. She is also an adjunct professor at NYU-ITP. Previously, she worked at Rothenberg Ventures focused on early-stage frontier... Read More →

Speakers

Svetlana Dragayeva

CEO, Fountain Digital Labs

Svetlana Dragayeva is an artist, producer and environmentalist. She unites conservation, education and art with innovative technologies to raise awareness, consciousness and facilitate global empathy and ecocentrism. She has won a BAFTA and two Webbys.

Malvina Martin

Executive Producer, Black Dot Films VR

Malvina Martin is a co-founder of BlackDotFilmsVR - a leading VR production company. As the launch content and production partner for National Geographic, BDF has produced over 20 films in the last 12 months for NG's VR partnerships with Facebook and HULU, achieving some of the most... Read More →

Max Salomon

Executive Producer, Black Dot Films VR

Max Salomon is the co-founder of Black Dot Films VR - a leading VR & 360 film production company. As the launch content and production partner for National Geographic, BDF has produced a pipeline of over 30 films in the last 12 months for NG's VR production partnerships with Facebook... Read More →

Mia Tramz

Managing Editor, LIFE VR, TIME Magazine

Mia Tramz is the Managing Editor of LIFE VR, Time Inc’s company wide virtual reality initiative. Since joining TIME as an Associate Photo Editor in 2013, Mia has embraced immersive digital storytelling in many forms, culminating with her involvement shaping the editorial voice of... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 2:15pm - 3:00pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

VR for Change Summit

2:30pm EDT

Why VR and Machine Learning are Good for Science

Human research has always struggled with ecological validity. Studying natural human cognition is hard to do in the lab, and applying lab findings to the real world can be tricky. Presence tricks your brain into thinking VR is real. This gives us a window into natural human cognition and behavior, especially when paired with brain imaging. Machine learning helps us to make sense of all that data.

Speakers

Aldis Sipolins

Head of Virtual Reality and Game Design, IBM Research

Wednesday August 2, 2017 2:30pm - 3:00pm EDT
Room 105

VR for Change Summit

3:00pm EDT

A Call for Collaboration in Education with Seth Andrew

Speakers

Seth Andrew

Founder, REV: Revolutionary Education Ventures

Seth Andrew is the Global Director of Policy & Partnerships at Bridge International Academies, the world’s largest network of schools for families earning less than $2 per day. Previously, Seth served as the Senior Advisor for Education Technology in the Executive Office of the... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 3:00pm - 3:05pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

VR for Change Summit

3:30pm EDT

Biometric VR: 21st-Century Therapeutics

This sessions will discuss my work at Coresights - combining VR and biometric analysis to design virtual reality content aimed at therapies to decrease stress and anxiety.

Speakers

Jacqueline Assar

Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Coresights

Jacqueline Assar is an entrepreneur with a passion for immersive technologies. Jacqueline spearheads strategy and growth at Coresights, a startup that combines virtual and augmented reality technologies with biometric analysis. Coresights is a member of Play Labs, MIT's first accelerator... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 3:30pm - 3:45pm EDT
Room 105

VR for Change Summit

3:30pm EDT

Well Played: BLINDFOLD, by iNK Stories.

iNK Stories will share their latest VR experience, BLINDFOLD, on stage in a unique “Well Played” interactive session followed by a panel discussion. BLINDFOLD is set during the events of the Iranian Revolution in which the player embodies a photojournalist who is being held in Evin Prison and is charged with making propaganda against the state.

Moderators

Drew Davidson

Director & Teaching Professor, Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center

Speakers

Navid Khonsari

Founder/Creative Director, iNK Stories

Raised in Tehran, Navid Khonsari is the founder and creative director of iNK Stories, the New York City/LA studio that Fast Company calls an “innovation agent” -- where inspiration meets storytelling and technology. Known for having developed the cinematic look and feel for groundbreaking... Read More →

Courtney Radsch

Advocacy Director, Committee to Protect Journalists

Dr. Courtney Radsch is the Advocacy Director at the Committee to Protect Journalists. As a veteran journalist, researcher, and free expression advocate she writes and speaks frequently about the nexus of media, technology, and human rights. Dr. Radsch has worked as a journalist in... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 3:30pm - 4:15pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

VR for Change Summit

3:45pm EDT

Hacking the Magic Circle: USSR's Mixed Reality

What is the responsibility of immersive storytellers in a #alternativefacts era where reality is constantly getting mixed up for wrong reasons, across unpredictable contexts? To answer this question, we're going to look at the biggest magic circle ever drawn: the Soviet Union. CEO of Aconite (a mixed reality storytelling platform) and daughter of Soviet LARPers, Nadya Lev looks at large-scale narrative immersion through the lens of Russian propaganda, mass manipulation, and dissident culture.

Speakers

Nadya Lev

Co-Founder, Aconite

Nadya Lev is a multimedia artist and technologist. Together with her co-founder Star St. Germain, she is building Aconite, a mixed reality storytelling platform. Aconite defines a mixed reality story as an immersive experience that sits at the intersection of narrative, adventure... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 3:45pm - 4:00pm EDT
Room 105

VR for Change Summit

4:00pm EDT

Revitalizing Education with Hands-on-Learning in VR

How can VR help today's educational systems expand their resources and impact? In this session, we'll share examples of how Leap Motion hand tracking technology is used in today's classrooms to dissect cadavers, learn geophysics, & more. We'll learn how today's embodied technology is allowing us to finally make good on a time-tested edict of the Montessori classroom: "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."

Speakers

Rachel Sibley

VP, Leap Motion

Rachel believes tech can make humans not only more powerful, but also more humane. As VP Product Marketing at Leap Motion VP, the company that allows people to interact in the digital world with their bare hands, she leads go-to-market efforts to bring embodiment & physical interaction... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 4:00pm - 4:15pm EDT
Room 105

VR for Change Summit

4:00pm EDT

Seeing the Future in the Past: Exploring and Designing History in VR

While VR is often referred to as the the next stage in education, entertainment, and even medicine, the application of VR technologies to the past-- exploring history, literature, and cultures far removed from our present-- is, perhaps, one of the platform's most exciting modes. Exploring a range of historically-based VR projects, from a time-shifting model of the Giza pyramids, to a sunrise walk with Thoreau on the shores of Walden pond, to a first-person account of the incident that started the American Revolution, this roundtable will discuss the affordances and difficulties in meshing VR with the past, and the processes and design possibilities that suggest its most profound future. The discussion will be moderated by Marc Ruppel from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Speakers

Adam Blumenthal

Virtual Reality Artist-in-Residence, Brown University

Adam began VR R&D in 1990 and for 25+ years he's awaited the incubation of the technology. In the meantime Adam's been producing innovative digital media with many of the world’s best-known brands. For several years Adam was a digital strategy and production leader at preeminent... Read More →

Caitlin Burns

Vice Chair, Producers Guild of America, New Media Council

Currently Vice Chair of the Producers’ Guild of America New Media Council, and Head VR instructor for the New York Film Academy, Caitlin Burns has developed storyworlds ranging from global blockbuster feature films, television shows, AAA console games to 360° video, VR, AR, Mixed... Read More →

Katerina Cizek

MIT Co Creation Studio

Katerina Cizek leads the emergent Co-Creation Studio at MIT's Open Documentary Lab, which produces and researches collaborative methods in non-fiction media making. Katerina Cizek is a two-time Emmy-winning documentarian, and a pioneer in digital storytelling most notably as the director... Read More →

Tracy Fullerton

Professor and Director, USC Game Innovation Lab

Peter Manuelian

Philip J. King Professor of Egyptology, Harvard University

Peter Der Manuelian received his Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago in 1990. In 2009, he was appointed the “Philip J. King Professor of Egyptology” at Harvard University. He is director of the Harvard Semitic Museum, and also directs the Giza Project at Harvard... Read More →

Marc Ruppel

Lead, Digital Projects for the Public / Senior Program Officer, National Endowment for the Humanities

Wednesday August 2, 2017 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
Cafeteria

VR for Change Summit

4:15pm EDT

VR & Body Image: Living Life As An Eggplant

The talk discusses gay body images, body dissatisfactions, and sexual objectifications through the making of VR game, Perfect Eggplants Don't Exi-. In this game, players are encouraged to objectify their own bodies, and modify their body appearances to meet the game's arbitrary beauty standards.

Speakers

Mikei Huang

Designer/VR Dev, Parsons School of Design

Mikei is a designer and VR game developer focused on visual design and interaction design. He creates games that address current topics in gay culture, often using foods (eggplants, bananas) as innuendos in comedic tones. Mikei has worked with Electronic Arts, Panasonic, Viacom... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 4:15pm - 4:30pm EDT
Room 105

VR for Change Summit

4:15pm EDT

Panel - The Way Ahead for VR in Education

Can virtual, augmented, and mixed reality contribute meaningfully to the future of education? And if so, what specific areas of need could be addressed and how? How can VR technology contribute meaningfully to the future of education and opportunity for all? Immerse yourself in these questions with a panel that features education leaders and innovators who at the cutting edge of the XR and Education frontier.

Moderators

Kate Machtiger

Strategist, Luminary Labs

Kate is a Strategist at Luminary Labs, where she brings a multifaceted lens to solving problems and developing solutions, integrating a rigorous analytic approach with creativity and design sensibility. She has been recognized in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Education for her work... Read More →

Speakers

Gemma Busoni

COO, Discovr LBS

Nick DiCarlo

VP, Immersive Products and Virtual Reality, Samsung Electronics America

Nick DiCarlo leads Samsung’s VR efforts in the United States, including strategy across channels, hardware, services, sales and partnerships. Samsung sees virtual reality as a long‐term opportunity in a range of industries and will contribute by helping VR become more accessible... Read More →

Jessica Lindl

Global Head of Education, Unity Technologies

Albert Palacios

Education Program Specialist, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education

Albert Palacios leads the EdPrizes portfolio of open innovation prize competitions at the U.S. Department of Education which includes the EdSim Challenge for nextgen AR/VR and 3D simulations in education. In 2016, prizes were awarded to winners of the #ReachHigher Career App and... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 4:15pm - 5:00pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

VR for Change Summit

4:30pm EDT

Hacking VR for High School Computer Science

A lighting summary of take-aways from our journey rolling out VR to +300 high schools, testing a DIY viewer, and building a VR storytelling project. Facebook's Education Modernization team is focused on rapid prototyping of new technologies in learning environments, including virtual reality. In this talk, Hassan and Cody recap how Facebook approaches VR design for high school classrooms at scale to learn fundamental computer science skills while creating WebVR content.

Speakers

Hassan Karaouni

Engineering Manager, Facebook

Hassan’s favorite saying is “build the world you want to see” and he believes AR/VR are the best ways to do so. At Facebook, Hassan leads a team exploring how to modernize education with technology and focuses on applications of AR/VR. Hassan co-leads FusedVR, a weekly AR/VR... Read More →

Cody Karutz

Software Engineer, Facebook

Hailed by The New Yorker as, "a mellow, collegiate blond in jeans and flip-flops," Cody Karutz has over a decade of virtual reality content design experience. During his six years at Stanford University's Virtual Human Interaction Lab, he consulted with major leaders in the growing... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 4:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
Room 105

VR for Change Summit

5:15pm EDT

Keynote - From the Ice Cap to the Trading Floor: Immersive Journalism using VR and AR with James Pallot

A brief overview of how new techniques including room scale VR, AR, photogrammetry, and volumetric video capture allow journalists better to explain topics ranging from the melting of the Greenland Ice Cap to the movements of the U.S. stock market.

Speakers

James Pallot

Co-Founder, Emblematic Group

Jamie Pallot is a co-founder of Emblematic Group, pioneering producers of virtual and augmented reality. The company’s work has been shown at the Sundance, Tribeca, and SXSW festivals, with clients and partners including PBS Frontline, Google, The Wall Street Journal, and The New... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 5:15pm - 5:45pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

VR for Change Summit Keynote

5:45pm EDT

Keynote - Representing the Pain of Others with Gabo Arora

Images of atrocities have become commonplace via the small screens of the television and the computer, and the even smaller screens of mobile phones. Is the viewer's perception of reality eroded by the daily barrage of such images? What does it mean to care about the sufferings of people in faraway zones of conflict? This talk explores how VR, with its newfound immersive capabilities, can represent and shape our relationship to the pain of others.

Speakers

Gabo Arora

Founder & President, LightShed

Gabo Arora is an award-winning filmmaker and Founder & Creative Director of LightShed, a virtual reality and social impact start-up. His work focuses on new technologies that promote social causes and make decision-making processes more inclusive. Among these projects is a viral video... Read More →

Wednesday August 2, 2017 5:45pm - 6:15pm EDT
Tishman Auditorium

VR for Change Summit Keynote