
Session Information
Title | Structured Signifiers and Infinite Games: Serious Play for Lifelong Learning |
Presenter(s) |
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Time | Thursday, October 18, 9:30a-10:30a |
Location | Ballroom |
Format | Keynote |
Description | What is a badge? Is it a certification? Is it a mile marker? Is it some form of currency? Perhaps it is just a badge? Badges are all of these things and none of them. They are structured signifiers that have the potential to transform the way we learn skills and record experiences. The 'badge-o-sphere' is currently a chaotic and disconnected space but it is rapidly beginning to congeal into a unified repository for actionable analytics. We will discuss how badges are evolving and how Microsoft is exploring their potential. This is not the first time that Microsoft has gotten involved in serious games. We will review the history of serious games at Microsoft and share some non-intuitive conclusions that we have arrived at via our ongoing research collaborations with the Games for Learning Institute and other organizations. Finally we will explore the potential for a unified game layer for lifelong learning and its potential to weave our disparate work processes into a single, infinite game. |