On Friday, September 8 at 11:00 a.m., Serious Games Meetup Group convened its first meetup of the Fall 2017 semester. Leah MacVie, PhD, showed us games she has employed in her classroom, and the ways she has encouraged future teachers to think about gaming as part of pedagogy. Games needn’t be complicated, tech-heavy, and big-budget activities – Professor MacVie and her students play and create “analog” paper and card games that enable learners to experience concepts as processes and activities. Students “play” as if they are leaders and thinkers trying to anticipate the impact of future developments – new technologies, climate change, political events – on organizations such as schools, or even whole societies.
Faculty from all three schools, together with associates from the Center for Professional Development played several games, which fostered lively discussion, demonstrating how students can acquire perspective and think critically about real-world problems while playing games.
