[game_edu] March 7th: Deadline Contributions on "Science Education and Interaction Design" 2014

[Dennis Reidsma]

Call for Contributions on "Science Education and Interaction Design"
Special Panel and Poster/Demonstration Session at INTETAIN 2014

Held in conjunction with INTETAIN 2014, 6th International Conference on 
Intelligent Technologies for Interactive Entertainment, that will take 
place in Chicago, United States, July 9-11, 2014. http://www.intetain.org/

Session Organizer: Janell Baxter, Assistant Professor, Interactive Arts 
and Media Department, Columbia College Chicago. jbaxter at colum.edu

Educators, scientists, game designers, human-computer interaction 
researchers, and interactive media researchers are invited to contribute 
to this event.

TOPICS
- Designing interactive and immersive experiences for education, and the 
impact on participants? understanding of authentic science investigations.
- Works incorporating new technologies that connect users to the nature 
and process of science
- Bridging the communication gap between the scientific, public, and 
education communities
- Tools for translating complex science for general public consumption

SUBMISSIONS
We invite submissions for a Special Session on Science Education and 
Interaction Design during the main INTETAIN 2014 conference. Papers have 
to follow the general publication guidelines for INTETAIN 2014 papers: 
seehttp://www.intetain.org/2014/show/authors-kit . Accepted papers will 
appear in the INTETAIN 2014 Spring proceedings. Authors have to register 
for the conference in order to have their papers included in the 
proceedings. In addition to the Special Session panel we plan to have a 
poster session during the conference to exhibit examples of science 
education interactive works. Workshop papers (maximum length 4 pages) 
should also follow the INTETAIN author guidelines. All papers will be 
peer-reviewed.

For submission information contact jbaxter at colum.edu.

IMPORTANT DATES
March 7th  2014: Deadline for Session and Panel papers
March 20th 2014: Acceptance notification
April 15th 2014: Camera-ready submission

BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Science is an amazingly creative, dynamic, and non-linear process, yet 
it is often presented to students and the public in a very complex, 
linear, and static way. Because of this, there is much misunderstanding 
and mistrust about science and the important role that it plays in 
society. With the on-going increase in technological developments, there 
are new opportunities for educators, scientists, game developers, and 
media specialists to collaborate on the development of experiences and 
tools that engage participants in interactive learning experiences that 
highlight the true process and nature of science.

Serious science games, interactive flow chart tools, data acquisition 
tools, and communication tools are being used for science engagement and 
instructions. For example, UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology, through 
funding from the National Science Foundation, developed an 
'Understanding Science' web resource that includes a model of the 
process of science (the Science Flow Chart). Organizations, such as the 
International Ocean Discovery Program, are collaborating with media 
experts to create science learning tools; a recent web and mobile game 
shows what can be learned from core samples collected from the deep 
ocean floor by the research drilling vessel Joides Resolution.

Never before have we had an opportunity to create such immersive 
educational tools. As we continue to move forward in developing such 
resources, important questions need to be part of the conversation that 
guide development; what technologies are available? How do new 
technologies offer opportunities to engage participants in science 
process? How do these tools help communicate both science content and 
process? How do these tools impact participant?s perception about 
science? Can presenting science in a fun way still be considered 
rigorous for 'real' science education?

Accepted papers will be published in the Proceedings and eligible for 
publication in a special journal edition dedicated to the conference. 
Published authors are required by EAI to register for the conference.