Webinar

**9/20/12 webinar announcement** Please join us Thursday September 20 at 9 PM ET for the second installment of the G.A.M.E. “It Takes A Guild – A Guild of Educators” webinar series. This episode will feature an interview with Marianne Malmstrom regarding how she successfully guided the integration of the popular game Minecraft into the activities and curriculum of most grades at The Elisabeth Morrow School. You can access the webinar at the G.A.M.E. and Games Based Learning MOOC Youtube Channel @http://www.youtube.com/user/gamesmooc.

Simply explained, Minecraft is a game where players have complete freedom to create a self-imagined digital world out of virtual blocks. What Marianne found during research and curricular integration of the game is that it allows students to independently develop self-directed collaborative learning activities and projects that have far exceeded her initial expectations. You won’t want to miss this powerful story of how careful investigation and planning led to a significant enrichment of the learning environment and rendered impressive educational benefits. As Marianne says, “The heart of ‘21st Century Learning’ is not about the tools, it is all about learning //how// to learn. Helping our students become proficient and independent lifelong learners is central to their success in navigating through uncharted change.”

Marianne Malmstrom is a recognized leader in the use of virtual environments and digital multimedia resources in education. A technology teacher at **The Elisabeth Morrow School**, she has 30 years experience as a classroom teacher and administrator. In 2011, Marianne was selected by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) as part of its //Teachers of the Future// Program. Over the past ten years, Marianne has worked with colleagues to develop a school-wide multimedia program that has received international recognition including awards from both WNET’s //Celebration of Teaching & Learning// and Flat Classroom Project’s //NetGen Project//.

This G.A.M.E. interview will be conducted by Laurence Cocco, Director of Educational Technology for the New Jersey Department of Education.

The Games Based Learning MOOC YouTube Channel @http://www.youtube.com/user/gamesmooc will be monitored for questions during the webinar and there will be a backchannel for discussion at the ISTE SIGVE Diner in the virtual environment //Second Life// at @http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eduisland%209/69/57/22/.

“It Takes A Guild – A Guild of Educators” is an educator-centric webinar series of interviews and panel discussions featuring practitioners who have successfully implemented games into their classrooms and learning environments. As a G.A.M.E. (Gamers Advancing Meaningful Education - @http://g.a.m.e.shivtr.com/ ) program, its mission is to help all stakeholders see and understand the deeper learning, community, creativity and entrepreneurship that is possible in online games.

The first webinar in this series, broadcast on August 16, can be viewed at @http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aby1mzt2mjo&feature=plcp.

Along with the Games Based Learning MOOC, G.A.M.E. holds a weekly game based learning chat on twitter every Wednesday at 9 pm ET. To join us, use the hashtag #gamemooc at www.tweetchat.com and feel free to follow along with the discussion.