Cards, Dice and Boards: Supporting and Shaping Curriculum With Games

Recorded on Thursday, March 17, 2016, this webcast highlights a presentation and discussion with Lauren Hays and Mark Hayse, co-directors of the library-based Center for Games & Learning (CGL) at MidAmerica Nazarene The CGL, a recipient of a 2014 IMLS-funding initiative, curates a collection of 300+ tabletop games for learning 21st Century Skills.

21st Century leadership demands expertise in skills such as communication, collaboration, problem solving, flexibility, creativity, innovation, and information literacy. Tabletop games function as powerful learning engines when they require players to practice these skills.

The presenters will address these questions in the session:

• Why librarian-educators should be paying more attention to games and gamification?
• What is the role of librarians in gamification and game-based curriculum?
• What methods should librarians use to select games for curricular support?
• How can librarians leverage games in their own instruction?

Speakers

Lauren Hays is the Instructional and Research Librarian at MidAmerica Nazarene University. She holds an MLS from Emporia State University, and an MS in Educational Technology and a Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching and Learning both from the University of Central Missouri. In 2014 and 2015, she served as the Principal Investigator on an IMLS Sparks! Ignition Grant to create a library-based Center for Games & Learning. Her research interests include the scholarship of teaching and learning, information literacy, and educational technology. She was awarded the 2015 New Professional Award from the Kansas Library Association.

Mark Hayse holds an MA in Religious Education, and a PhD in Educational Studies. His dissertation topic was “Religious Architecture in Videogames: Perspectives from Curriculum Theory and Religious Education.” He is the Faculty and Staff Development Coordinator and the Director of the Honors Program at MidAmerica Nazarene University. In 2007, he was awarded the Alpha Chi Donald Metz Award – Faculty Member of the Year for Distinctive Academic Contributions. Mark has written numerous scholarly publications on games and gaming and regularly presents on these topics. He has spent 20 years in youth work, with an ongoing emphasis on games and recreation, and has researched how games can be used in education.

Listen to the Recording.