Jamie Brooker is Co-founder & Chief Creative Officer at Kahoot!, one of the world’s fastest growing learning brands. Used by millions each day in over 180 countries, Kahoot!’s free game-based platform makes it easy to create, play and share fun learning games for any subject, in any language, on any device, for all ages! On a mission to make learning something everyone wants to connect with, Jamie leads Kahoot!’s product team in creating meaningful experiences which capture the hearts and...

EdGamer is back, on a new site, and hosted IlliniCloud! We have a ton to share, but will hold most of this news back so we can talk with our three guests from Playful Learning and GLS. Our guests are Remi Holden, Beth King, and Conor O’Malley. They will share why this conference is the best Games and Learning conference in the world! Tune-in and level-up! Show Host: Zack Gilbert Show Guest: Beth King Show Guest: Remi Holden Show Guest: Conor O’Malley Show Contributor/Producer: Gerry...

Dr. Seann Dikkers is an assistant professor in the Educational Technology division of the Patton College of Education at Ohio University. Formerly Dr. Dikkers served fourteen years as a middle school teacher, high school principal, and education consultant. Now he researches, writes, and shares the usefulness of digital media for teaching and learning as the founder and director of Gaming Matter. His newly released book TeacherCraft: How Teachers Learn to Use Minecraft in their Classroom will...

The current education policies and expectations are overwhelming teachers. Innovative instruction, including Games and Learning, could be left behind. Gerry and Zack will discuss this topic and the current educational games news on this week’s EdGamer. Tune-in and level-up! Please go to the Show Notes for all of our links. Here’s our Show Notes Show Host: Zack Gilbert Show Contributor/Producer: Gerry James Contact us with any questions or comments- [email protected] EdGamer artwork...

“Gamify Your Classroom: A Field Guide to Game-Based Learning” by Matthew Farber is now available. It is a practical textbook about how to implement game-based learning and gamification techniques to everyday teaching. It is a survey of best practices aggregated from interviews with experts-in-the-field. Each chapter concludes with practical lesson plan ideas, games to play (both digital and tabletop), and links to research further.  The book also draws on Matt’s experiences implementing games...

In EdGamer 148 we are joined by Bob De Schutter (MA, PhD). Bob is a C. Michael Armstrong Professor at the College of Education, Health & Society and the Armstrong Institute for Interactive Media Studies of Miami University (Oxford, OH). His interdisciplinary research and teaching interests include game design, the older audience of digital games, and the use of digital games for non-entertainment purposes. Bob has also created his own software to study the effectiveness of the gameful...

In EdGamer 147 we are joined by two amazing educators, Katya Hott and Kathy Yu Burek. Katya is a User Testing Lead, Project Manager at BrainPOP. Kathy manages and designs key aspects of Classroom, Inc.’s learning games and programs to provide engaging learning experiences. They are going to share their expertise of going from the classroom to the edtech/edgame industry. They believe that teachers are an integral part of edtech development. Tune-in and level-up! Please go to the Show Notes...

Barry Joseph is the Associate Director For Digital Learning, Youth Initiatives, at the American Museum of Natural History. Located within the Education Department, Youth Initiatives, Barry brings a dozen years working in youth development and nearly twenty years working in new media to support the AMNH to advance its mission. And what is the Museum’s mission? “To discover, interpret, and disseminate information about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe through a wide-ranging...

Kristin Brynteson is the Assistant Director of the P-20 Center at Northern Illinois University. The Center for P-20 Engagement collaborates with internal and external partners to provide leadership and promote innovation by fostering interdisciplinary learning communities and initiatives which increase educational success. One of their projects is STEM Read, Coordinated by Gillian King-Cargile. Gillian King-Cargile has a bachelor’s degree in film production and an MFA in creative writing. She...

Dan Magaha, Director of Operations at GameSalad, is joining us for EdGamer 144. GameSalad’s Creator platform allows game developers to rapidly design, publish, and distribute sophisticated games for iOS, Android, and HTML5, while eliminating the need to code. Tune-in and level-up! Please go to the Show Notes for all of our links. Here’s our Show Notes Show Host: Zack Gilbert Show Guest: Dan Magaha Show Guest/Producer: Steve Isaacs Show Contributor/Producer: Gerry James Contact us...

Community Manager of Pursuitery, Evan Jones, will join us for EdGamer 143. Pursuitery is building a friendly and supportive online space for people to connect with others who share their interests and want to level up their expertise together. It’s a place where people can hang out, mess around, and geek out. Tune-in and level-up! Please go to the Show Notes for all of our links. Here’s our Show Notes   Show Host: Zack Gilbert Show Guest: Evan Jones Show Contributor/Producer: Gerry...

Kelly East and Adam Hott, from HudsonAlpha, will join us to discuss the use of data within games to help developers and drive classroom instruction. HudsonAlpha’s free online educational activity, Touching Triton, provides an opportunity for teachers and students to have an engaging conversation about the complex nature of common disease in one class period. This Web-based activity builds understanding of common complex disease risk, influenced by factors from family history, environment and...

This week on EdGamer 141 we discuss the influence of Robin Williams. Gerry and Zack will look at how this amazing person made an impact on them as educators. We will look at Robin’s personal life and also the impact some of his movies had in the field of education. We will even discuss the connections to the Games and Learning field. Tune-in and level-up….nanoo nanoo! Please go to the Show Notes for all of our links.… Read the rest

This week on EdGamer 140 we are joined by a very special guest, Lindsey Tropf, founder/CEO of Immersed Games. Lindsey is currently working on Tyto Online, an educational MMORPG. Join us as we chat about her Kickstarter and this intriguing new game. Tune-in and level-up! Please go to the Show Notes for all of our links. Here’s our Show Notes   Show Host: Zack Gilbert Show Guest: Lindsey Tropf Show Contributor/Producer: Gerry James Contact us with any questions or comments-...

This week on EdGamer 139 we were joined by Remi Holden, Rex Beaber, and Caro Williams (from GLS10) to discuss all the amazing events that took place this past June in Madison, Wisconsin. The GLS Conference, held annually in Madison, provides a forum for games researchers, game designers, and educators from around the world to share results from research and game design efforts. Tune-in and level-up! Please go to the Show Notes for all of our links.… Read the rest

This week on EdGamer 138 we are joined by Remi Holden and Rex Beaber, Co-Chairs for Playful Learning at GLS10. They will discuss all the activities for this year’s GLS10 Conference in Madison, Wisconsin. The GLS Conference, held annually in Madison, provides a forum for games researchers, game designers, and educators from around the world to share results from research and game design efforts. This year’s conference is June 11-13, 2014, and pre-conference activities centered around Playful...

This week on EdGamer 137 we are joined by Lucien Vattel and Matt Clausen They are sharing some big news out of their company GameDesk. Lucien is the CEO and Matt is the Chief Creative Officer. Matt is the project lead on Marvel ‘s Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N., which is interactive education exhibit. Gerry and Zack discuss this project and many other projects that are happening at GameDesk. If you are into Games and Learning then you need to know about this innovative company.… Read the rest

This week on EdGamer 136 we are joined by John Keilman a reporter with the Chicago Tribune. John wrote a piece on Minecraft in our schools and this article appeared on the front page. It is nice to see a positive education article get some spotlight! He interviewed many important people (including Zack) about Minecraft’s use and potential. Join us for another insightful episode of EdGamer. Tune-in and level-up! John’s Minecraft article from the Chicago Tribune Chicago Tribune – Video game...

This week on EdGamer 135 we are joined by Steve Isaacs the brains behind EdTechBridge. Listen in as Steve walks us through some of the concepts of his gaming and learning community. Also, his blurby puts Zack’s blurby to shame…tune-in and level-up! Please go to the Show Notes for all of our links. Here’s our Show Notes   Show Host: Zack Gilbert Show Guest: Steve Isaacs Show Contributor/Producer: Gerry James Contact us with any questions or comments- [email protected] EdGamer...

This week on EdGamer 134, Gerry is missing, but we have added Kate Reilly from E-Line Media and Historia. Kate is sharing information on the beta for Historia and what this interactive simulation can do for you in your classroom. We also discuss a great article on Minecraft integration and a new Kickstarter for creating digital story games. There is so much to learn in this episode of EdGamer. Tune-in and level-up! Please go to the Show Notes for all of our links.… Read the rest

This week on EdGamer 133 we celebrate International Tabletop Day! Join us as we take a look at events happening all over the globe in honor of this game based holiday. We also take a look at the new Amazon Fire TV and its gaming possibilities. As always, we bring you all the latest news and notes from the gaming and learning world. Tune-in and level-up! Please go to the Show Notes for all of our links.… Read the rest

This week on EdGamer 131.132 we catch up on a lot of Games and Learning news. If you are looking for EdGamer 131 it is out there, but according to Zack it will be referred to as a lost episode. In EdGamer 131.132 we discuss Zack’s visit to SXSWedu and a selfie with Nolan Bushnell who is working on a project called BrainRush. We also discuss Facebook’s purchase of Oculus Rift, a local Maker school, a Camelot Kickstarter, and a lot of Minecraft news.… Read the rest