Let Lisa Blair from Greenbush, KS be your K-12 tour guide through virtual worlds like Second Life in her Pre-Conference session** or immerse yourself in an amazing Mini-Academy with some of the country’s leading thinkers.

Teaching a Generation of Gamers: Exploring How Games & Simulations Impact Learning

Many of today’s students have spent hours mastering complex games. Simulations are widely used in other industries from pilot training to teaching medical procedures, yet K-12 educators and policy makers have been skeptical of their usefulness. This session offers an international perspective on the growth of educational games and simulations; highlights the latest projects funded by the National Science Foundation; explains how some educators are using consumer-based games to meet instructional objectives; and provides an introduction to the expanding field of commercially produced games specifically designed to teach core content like algebra. In addition, talk with educators who teach in Second Life, a virtual world, or discover how teaching students to design video games not only engages them, but develops important skills.

Join in a variety of lively Roundtable and BrainShare discussions about games and virtual worlds or sample a Workshop!

• Improving Math Scores: Egyptian Games and Applied Research
  Tool Factory, VT

**Be sure to register in advance for these events!