University of Wisconsin Hosts GLS Conference

The University of Wisconsin at Madison and the Academic ADL Co-Lab are sponsoring the first Games Learning Society conference, to be held from June 23-24, 2005. The site for the conference will be the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Monona Terrace, which will hold poster presentations, interactive game demos, and a variety of session formats, including symposia, presentations, roundtable discussions, and debates. The goal of the conference is to bring together academics, designers, and educators to talk about how videogames can affect and complement learning, culture, and education. The technical aspect of game design as well as the social implications of gaming culture will be subjects for discussion, as well as the learning potential in videogames. Speakers at the convention will include Sasha Barab, John Seely Brown, Edward Castronova, Doug Church, James Gee, Henry Jenkins, Jesper Juul, Jay Lemke, Kurt Squire, and Eric Zimmerman, with the possibility of more additions to the roster as the conference's date draws nearer. Attendance will be limited to 200 participants, and those interested in attending can begin online registration at the conference website beginning on March 1st.