It’s no secret that a lot of kids would rather play the latest videogames than do homework. But many academics don’t think that’s such a bad thing. Indeed, the fourth annual Games Learning Society Conference will host hundreds of professors, graduate students, game designers and teachers interested in engaging kids who can’t get enough of Civilization, Rock Band and, yes, even Grand Theft Auto. The conference is July 10 and 11 at Monona Terrace.
“The whole concept of the field is we’re trying to get kids to learn something, anything at all levels,” says Sean Michael Dargan, who coordinates the conference for the UW-Madison School of Education and the Academic ADL Co-lab.