Games-based Video Webinar Series?

by Chris Baker 3 months ago

Hey everyone!

I'm working on all sorts of things related to our terrific WISELearn Group (including distilling our acronym/slang list into something more usable; exploring more resources to add; planning an upcoming presentation about collections, etc.)... more on that to come soon!

That said, I wanted to ask everyone in this group: what are your thoughts on offering a video/webinar series related to games-based library services? 

  • I could begin booking certain leaders to offer presentations about specific games-based services or opportunities. I could try to offer one monthly, or every other month. We could even record them and add them here as future-facing resources! Does this sound appealing to anyone?

If so, what recommendations or requests would you have for topics about games-based library services? What would help you in your work, or what do you want to learn more about?

  • Andddd - if anyone has ideas about offering presentations themselves, let me know! I could add you to a presenter shortlist! This is a chance to show your leadership in the games-and-libraries space!

Thanks everyone, for your thoughts/insights!

~Chris

Laura Turpin 3 months ago

I'd be interested in a games-related webinar series. How big a variety of presenters do you think you could get? Library folks who have done Cool Things(TM), education experts talking about why games are a good learning tool/current research in the area, people from the game provider side of things, a youth esports expert, someone who specializes in using TTRPGs as an SEL tool, someone who uses games to make learning "boring" or "unpalatable" subjects easier, how to support people who already game in your library...

Chris Baker 3 months ago

Yes to ALL of the above, Laura! There are a number of people I'd plan to tap that are already specialists in WI with Games + Libraries; folks that have offered wildly successful games-based programs, or have valuable tips/tricks for board game collections, etc.

I think we could get a very nice variety of different webinars/presentations! I'm interested to hear if anyone in this group would want to offer themselves up as a possible presenter, too. :D

Thanks,

~Chris

Simon Baumgart 3 months ago

This!

I'd be interested about using games to study/improve media literacy, using games to drive STEM learning or just finding way to gamify and make education more exciting. Alot of this tends to skew to talking about younger ages, so I'd also be really interested in engaging adults, whether that means getting adults to play, or just to see the value in what their kids are doing.

Chris Baker 3 months ago

Ooooh I really like the idea of hosting someone to talk about gaming as a means of improving media literacy; excellent suggestions, Simon. I'll start exploring my connections to see if someone would specifically like to speak to this with our group...

Not sure on the exact timeline for getting this series going (my plate is quite full), but it's something I aspire to start as soon as possible in the future. Possibly some time after Play Make Learn 2024 in July!

~Chris