Harnessing the Future...Schools and Computer Games Summit

A one day forum showcasing powerful opportunities for schools to engage with computer games.

Organised By

Level One Co Sponsors		Delegate Sponsor	Delegate Sponsor

Presented by:
The Academy of Interactive Entertainment Ltd and Australian Centre for the Moving Image
In association with:
The Australian Game Developers Conference

Date:
Wednesday, 30 November 2005.
Venue:
Australian Centre for the Moving Image
Federation Square, Flinders Street, Melbourne

Most School Students Play Video Games - Most School Teachers Do Not.

And though this will change over the next fifteen years the challenge for many primary and secondary schools now is how to be comfortable with games, how to harness their motivational appeal and how to help their communities to understand this very powerful medium.

The Electronic Games industry is now a multi-billion dollar industry world-wide with revenues rivaling those of film box-office. In Australia, the industry is well respected and growing yet there is still a generational divide and much mythology surrounding games.

There has been a proliferation of higher and vocational education providers offering Electronic Games courses over the last few years but no corresponding increase in games study in schools. A great deal of negative publicity and media stereotyping has, understandably, caused many schools to be wary of the whole electronic games area. Indeed there is still an attitude in some schools that video games are ‘the enemy‘. Yet, increasingly, video games are a powerful learning tool and interactivity a preferred learning method amongst primary and secondary school students. It is also important to note that skills learned in the programming and 3D art and design paths of games development are increasingly portable, providing enabling skills transferable to a growing number of industry areas

The Schools and Computer Games Summit will be a highly practical day involving teachers, careers advisors, game developers, educational leaders and researchers.

It will focus on strategies to enable teachers to introduce video game studies into the curriculum. It will look at video games as an emerging new medium and how it can be critically explored and examined. The day will also cover how students can start thinking about game development by making games themselves.

By the end of the day, participants will go away with:

• A knowledge of games, the games industries and career opportunities for students.
• An appreciation of what is needed to introduce games into the curriculum.
• An understanding of how to use games and interactive entertainment as a stimulus for rich tasks across the curriculum.
• An awareness of how games are already being used in many fields of study including other Australian schools.

Who should attend?
Education decision makers, principals, education managers, careers advisors, teachers of media, art, I.T., multimedia, curriculum developers, researchers, parents and anyone with an interest in this area.

View the Program here.

Cost
The cost to attend the Summit is $120.00 including GST per person.
This price includes refreshments breaks, lunch and cocktails.

For further information please contact:
David Giles - Head of School AIE Melbourne
(03) 9820 8201 /
Or
Ian Gibson - Head of School AIE Canberra
(02) 6162 5131 /

Click here to view reference and background links.