Explore the importance of gaming in public libraries and how to run successful table top programs for all ages with Ryan LaFerney, librarian from the Indianapolis Public Library.
Description:
This event explores table-top programming within public libraries. We will look at table-top programming for youth/families, teens, and adults. Appropriate games will be recommended and ideas for programming will be exchanged. Come prepared to share your experiences with table-top gaming in libraries.
Teaching & Modeling Psychosocial Skills in the Classroom by Applying Game Theory
Summary:
Learn how to apply ways we play boardgames and how these skills transfer to strengthen bonds with students to create a more inclusive, exploratory, and ethical enviornment for students.
Description:
Michael Southers is a practicing professional counselor that has presented at Gencon in the past as well as at the American Academy of Psychotherapists. He is an avid gamer that loves watching gaming groups play Gloomhaven and other cooperative boardgames on youtube to watch the gameplay and interpersonal dynamics. He at least thinks he's a cool guy. Since 2000, Michael has worked as an educator in multiple environements. In this workshop, learn about how to improve psychosocial dynamics and skills with your students. These techniques work with students of all ranges from elementary to graduate school students.
Would your students benefit from a class that incorporates expository writing, math, problem-solving, creativity and social skills practice? Here's how we adapted game design for our population.
Description:
Students love playing games in class, but what if they could MAKE the games? In game design class, students can practice a variety of literacy, math, and language skills in a truly engaging format. We'll share experiences from our classroom, and tips and tricks for yours.
The Benefits of Board Games on Speech, Language, and Communication
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Join this presentation to explore how board games can enhance speech, language, and communication skills, foster social interaction and boost motivation. Learn while having fun!
Description:
Discover the incredible world of board games and how they can impact children's speech, language, and communication skills. Join us as a registered Speech-Language Pathologist discusses the power of board games! As children engage in gaming, they naturally practice communication, expressing their thoughts, and engaging in conversations with fellow players. Through these interactions, they sharpen their articulation, expand vocabulary, learn to actively listen, and respond effectively. Beyond language skills, board games also foster social interaction, creating opportunities for connection, collaborate, and bond. They learn such skills as turn-taking and sharing. What makes board games truly remarkable is their adaptability for children with speech and language challenges. Gamification techniques can be used to create tailored experiences that address specific communication goals.
The Board Game Cafe Model: Not Quite Retail, Not Quite Restaurant
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Learn about the board game cafe model, which offers games to play in-store for a fee (and sells food and drink, too!). A great chance to connect with others who fit into this not-quite-retail niche.
Description:
Do you run or work in a board game cafe, and are looking for an opportunity to connect with other professionals in this space? Are you curious about starting your own board game cafe, or expanding your existing offerings in that direction? Have you heard about board game cafes, but aren't quite sure how they actually work? Is this concept brand new to you? Whatever your experience level, Megan and Steven Edmonds from The Bard and Bear Games Cafe in Hamilton, Ontario are eager to share their expertise with you. We'll go over the basic board game cafe model and its variations, share our own experiences opening and running a board game cafe, answer your questions, and provide a forum for those of us in this not-quite-retail niche to connect with one another during Trade Day.
The British Are Coming: Using TTRPGs to Teach History
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How can educators bridge the game table and the classroom? Join a panel of designers and educators in discussion on the trials and triumphs of gaming as education.
Description:
What are the best practices, challenges, pitfalls, and rewards of using tabletop roleplaying to help students learn history, think critically, and build curiosity? Join Patrick Mooney (Lead Designer of Nations & Cannons), professional educator Mollie Brewsaugh, and others in discussion about the trials and triumphs of gaming as education.
The Myth of Innocent Play: Colonialism and Board Games
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Using games from different historical periods, this talk considers how colonial myths are at play in representation, theme, goals and mechanics.
Description:
Board games have long held socio-cultural importance, and only in recent years has the community begun to unpack what were once considered neutral or innocent playthings. Increasingly, our innocent playthings reveal a darker side of play where a tendency towards colonial rationales, nationalistic fervor, and white supremacism have passed through the design of games. Revealing years of research that culminated in the 2023 book Playing Oppression, his talk will show how games have long acted as a form of enculturationthe process by which people learn the traditional dynamics, behaviors, worldviews, and values of a given society. Covering a four hundred year span, this talk will shed light on how enculturation in the West has operated in board games through representation, theme, mechanics, player positioning, and game goals, and will offer hopeful strategies on ways to avoid them.
The Teachers Cheat Code: Shortcut Learning Objectives With The MDA Framework
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Ensure your classroom activities, exercises, and games meet your class goals and learning objectives.
Description:
Together, well help think through your students needs using the Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics game-design framework. Youll leave with ideas and options on how to tweak existing games or make your own that will absolutely hit the mark in your class.
Learn about starting, running, and the outcomes of a therapeutic tabletop gaming group at a community college.
Description:
Therapeutic tabletop gaming uses RPGs as a way to challenge players and broaden their perspectives. Through the game, students work on achieving personal goals like problem-solving, communication, building coping skills and conflict resolution skills. We have found that people learn and grow while theyre having fun. While the speaker is a counselor and approaches therapeutic gaming from a mental health perspective, this presentation can be relevant to any educator that wants to use RPGs as a way to benefit their students.