Release Date: October 25,2019

Educators can get ideas for game-ifying classrooms at Akron Art Museum workshop

Educators can take advantage of some unique approaches to encouraging learning and students’ connection to the curriculum at a workshop that presents ways to ‘”game-ify” teaching. The Akron Art Museum presents Game-ify Your Classroom on Saturday, Nov. 9 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. as a special, Energize for Educators event associated with the exhibition Open World: Video Games & Contemporary Art. The workshop will feature keynote speaker J. Collins, who is the Computer Science Teacher and Robotics Coach at Hathaway Brown School. All participants will receive professional development paperwork to submit to their LPDCs.

Inspired by Open World, participants will explore how games of all kinds can help students develop meaningful, long-lasting connections to classroom lessons. After Collins’ talk, museum educators will present numerous games and game approaches to transform all subjects, from physics to storytelling, into playful learning opportunities.

In addition to their role at Hathaway Brown School, Collins is the Ohio eSports Triathlon Tournament Organizer, a partnership between Cleveland-area schools and the Cleveland Public Library designed to bring inclusive, regional SEL (Social and Emotional Learning)-focused esports tournaments to Northeast Ohio. Collins previously led game-based education and Ed Tech policy initiatives at the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Learning and Digital Access and later at the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology.

Registration for the workshop is $10 and includes discounted gallery admission and a ticket for a drink in the museum café. Register online at http://bit.ly/Game-ifyYourClass.