06 Jul John Williamson in the Dark Sky® Alqueva for two talks about the use of video games for stem education

Registration: alqueva.darksky@gmail.com
Please indicate the name(s) and in the subject Talk of 7 July

From 9.00 AM to 10.30 AM
Talk on “Using Video Games to Connect With Youth/ Students”. Audience: science monitors/ teachers/ Dark Sky® Alqueva members

Contends: Quick overview of me, my games, my travel; Games are the greatest art form, and with Virtual Reality will only get better; Everyone plays games, statistically average gamer is your mom; Games are global; Making Games is a great way to keep kids interested in STEM and not just by programmers, but artists, musicians, writers; Games are a great way to connect young women to hands on STEM; Teaching Video Game Making is possible, at any grade level, with free assets; Companies continue to clamor for more STEM graduates, video games classes are a great way to keep students interested in STEM; Quick Overview of some Free resources, lesson plans, etc., from Microsoft and others; Your students are Playing Games (and watching people play games) and Playing Games is a great way to learn about the world and connect with them on their terms.

From 11.00 AM to 12.30 AM
Talk on “You can make your own video game”. Audience: high school/ secondary school students attending the summer activities/ programs

Contends: Quick overview of me, my games, my travel; Games are the greatest art form, and with Virtual Reality will only get better; Everyone plays games, statistically average gamer is your mom; Games are global, Women in gaming; It has never been easier and more affordable to make games (you can even make games with just your phone);
Overview of three, free, top game making tools:

o Scratch: https://scratch.mit.edu/
o GameMaker: www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker
o Unity : unity3d.com

Jobs in Game Making (artist, programmers, producers, designers); Places to learn about game making; Quick coverage financial realities of making a game (you should make them out of passion); Portuguese Game Studios

About John Williamson: is an advocate for STEM education, who champions the use of video games to keep students – especially girls and other underrepresented groups – interested in STEM subjects. He often speaks alongside his 13-year-old daughter, who also serves as a role model for young girls. Williamson also demonstrates how audience members can create their own tools and games. He can discuss and provide examples of how video games are being used to treat everything from PTSD to phobias to burn victims, as well as show how educational games can help explain gerrymandering, climate change, difficulties encountered by civilians in combat zones, economic inequality, and other topics. Williamson is also an expert on the evolution of Virtual Reality, which he predicts will be one of the biggest news events of 2016.

This action is organized in cooperation with United States of America Embassy with the support of Reguengos de Monsaraz Municipality.