Dr. Jena Kiekel, Assistant Professor at University of St. Thomas is asking for respondents for a survey on a research project on school climate around the subject of school violence. It is estimated that it will take 10 - 15 minutes to complete the survey.

Join us for ISTE Games and Sim Network's monthly webinar on Ethics & Games with Sherry Jones over Google Hangout https://youtu.be/DJjHO5TZIqg. This month we will look at To The Moon.

This indie game received a 10/10 score on STEAM. It is K-12 friendly and takes 4. 5 hours to play. The game is so good that users have translated the game into Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Italian, French, Russian, Polish, Catalan, Slovakian, and many more languages. See this page on the community's fervor for this little game:
http://freebirdgames.com/forum/index.php?board=55.0


To The MOON - Ethics and Games Webinar by kaezenovka, on Flickr

We are in the process of finalizing our leadership team. We didn't want to miss anyone, so If you are interested, we want to invite you to collaborate with us. Our vision for next year is to continue to build the network, increase the knowledge base on games and simulations in learning, and advocate for the use of games and simulations to foster deeper learning, engagement, and inclusiveness in education.

In the leadership group, we play games and simulations, talk about games and simulations, consider instructional strategies that can be used to frame games and simulations discussions, and then figure out how to use them in our F2F and online classrooms. These slides are from an introduction presentation about our network that we offered earlier this year. We are a chatty group, but we do most of our chatting synchronously on Google Hangouts and Discord.

We are willing to try out new technologies and are always looking at virtual reality and augmented reality applications. At the same time, we continually look for great interactive fictions and board games that can be used for educational purposes.

We are game designers and we love it all - mechanics, dynamics, aesthetics, and narratives. If you are just starting to learn about games and simulations - that’s fine. We’re looking for enthusiastic collaborators, not experts. We are all learning while we are doing this.

During the year, we create professional development webinars and material on a monthly basis. We have two or three book clubs a year. We participate as a network in online events in digital games and virtual worlds. We also try to send out the Virtual Connected Educator email blast at least once a week.

Fair warning: April through June are our busiest months and we go all hands on deck for everything during this time. During the rest of the year, we expect leadership to participate in or facilitate at least one professional development event per quarter. We also expect you to help us with outreach efforts by broadcasting our events via emails and social media to at least one large group. You can be really creative about who that large group is.

If you are interested, please take a look at our form https://goo.gl/forms/nta2MR5Lf2vpTE6h1 and fill it out if you would like to join us. If you are a member of ISTE, we are looking for an outside group of collaborators and advisors too!

LitFest by Que Jinn, on Flickr

Fantasy Faire by Que Jinn, on Flickr

This Sunday May 6 at 9 am ET/7 am MT , ISTE Games & Sims Network will do a 30 minute livestream on our Top 5 Fave Builds at 2018 Fantasy Faire and Why!
Join us for the livestream http://bit.ly/FFTop5

5 Fave Sims from ISTE Games & Sims Network by Que Jinn, on Flickr

This is a great opportunity to see what can be done in a Virtual World and it’s free. You just need to download Second Life.
https://fantasyfairesl.wordpress.com/2018/04/27/fantasy-faire-open-until-may-7/

Cynthia Calongne and friends gave us a peek at the Faire and the events during a livestream last week. Recording Link https://youtu.be/rIklmTRbyb4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIklmTRbyb4&feature=youtu.be

Fantasy Festival Livestream by kaezenovka, on Flickr

For the monthly Ethics & Games webinar from the ISTE Games & Sims Network, Sherry Jones @autnes led us through the Vanishing of Ethan Carter. The game won the Best Game Innovation Award at 2015 British Academy Games Award (BAFTA).

The visuals in the game are beautiful, the plot twist is mind-blowing and Sherry as a philosophy instructor is able to bring in Spinoza’s Ethics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqNTECMDIJQ&feature=youtu.be

Recording Link https://youtu.be/AqNTECMDIJQ

Ethics and Games: The Vanishing of Ethan Carter by kaezenovka, on Flickr