Archived Event - 2020 Play Make Learn Conference

Thank you to those who joined us virtually on August 13th for the 2020 Play Make Learn Conference! Highlights included:

Live Keynote
Dr. Erica Halverson, professor at UW - Madison and author of upcoming book, How the Arts Can Save Education
Live Panel Discussion
What will teaching and learning look like in the fall (and beyond)?
Moderator: Rich Halverson
Panelists: Dean Diana Hess, Ted Hamm, Kris Gilmore, Tony Dugas, Kaleem Caire
Live Breakout Sessions
- Arts for Social and Emotional Learning: In-person, Virtual & Hybrid Classrooms
Yorel Lashley, Scott Edgar, Margot Toppen, Julie Palkowski, Lucy Wrenn
- Games in the Time of COVID-19
David McHugh, David Gagnon
- Learn How to be a Part of Our Maker Educator Studios!
Erica Halverson, Emily Schindler, Rebecca Millerjohn, Mike Cook, Bill Pariso, Peter Wardrip
- Tools and Practices of Personalization
Rich Halverson, Gerald Dryer, Jill Gurtner
James Paul Gee Game Design Award Presentation
Recorded Content Available On-Demand

RICH HALVERSON
Rich Halverson is a Professor in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis and the Associate Dean for Innovation and Partnerships at UW-Madison. He is a former high school teacher and administrator, and earned an MA in Philosophy and a PhD in the Learning Sciences from Northwestern University. He holds affiliate appointments in Educational Psychology and Curriculum and Instruction Departments, and is a Fellow at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery. Halverson leads Personalization in Practice, a study documenting how teachers, leaders, and students experience personalized learning in Wisconsin.

ERICA HALVERSON
Erica Halverson is a Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at UW-Madison. Erica has been a field leader in the learning sciences, creating a sub-field that focuses on how people learn in and through the arts. She has published numerous academic articles and book chapters and she is currently co-Editing a special issue of the Journal of the Learning Sciences tackling these issues and questions. Her first book, “How the Arts Can Save Education: An Actor-Turned-Professor Sets the Next Stage for Schools” will be published by Teachers College Press in 2021. At UW, she gets to teach a range of courses to undergraduates, graduate students, and teaching artists who want to improve their practice. She also works with students producing a range of art forms and reflecting on how those art forms are connected to big ideas in teaching and learning. In Spring 2020, Erica received the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award for her contributions to teaching on and off campus. Erica is a trained theater artist and co-founder of two theater organizations: PLaymakers Lab Theatre (in Chicago) and Whoopensocker (in Madison). A seasoned singer, actor & dancer, Erica performs regularly, working with the Children’s Theater of Madison, Music Theatre of Madison, Four Seasons Theatre, and Are We Delicious? while continuing to lead Whoopensocker.

DAVID GAGNON
David Gagnon is the program director of the Field Day Lab in the Wisconsin Center for Educational Research at University of Wisconsin, Madison. He directs a team of educational researchers, software engineers, artists and storytellers that explore the intersections of learning science and media design, specializing in mobile media, video games and simulation. David is also the Director of the ARIS project, a free and open tool that allows anyone to produce mobile games, stories and tours.

MIKE BEALL
Mike Beall is the Director of Gear Learning at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. He is a lifelong game enthusiast with a professional history as a game designer, producer, and artist working with the Learning Games Network and Games Learning Society at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Mike has led design and development for several game titles including Progenitor X, Tenacity, Crystals of Kaydor, Oztoc, and At Play in the Cosmos. In addition to direct involvement with design and development of Gear Learning games, Mike also works with outreach organizations and community centers where he partners with University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty and students to engage with the local communities to learn through playing games, participate in playtests, and inform the design of future games through focus groups.

PETER WARDRIP
Peter Wardrip is an Assistant Professor of STEAM Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He currently co-leads the Agency by Design Pittsburgh teacher learning community with Dr. Jeff Evancho. His research focuses on informal/formal learning collaborations, professional learning for educators, formative assessment and making as a learning process. Peter earned his PhD in Learning Sciences and Policy from University of Pittsburgh and is currently a visiting researcher with the University of Pittsburgh Center for Learning in Out of School Environments (UPCLOSE) and the Learning Media Design Center at Carnegie Mellon University. Peter enjoys playing soccer, euchre and drinking hot cocoa with his family.

YOREL LASHLEY
Yorel Lashley is the Director of Arts in the Office of Professional Learning and Community Education. He is a developmental psychologist interested in self-efficacy and social-emotional learning in arts, academic and integrated environments as well as a professional musician and Founder/Director of Drum Power. He also serves on the Madison Arts Commission. His work at PLACE leverages University of Wisconsin-Madison’s arts expertise and rich history from all ten departments in the School of Education to enrich broader communities.

DAVID MCHUGH
As DPI’s Games & Interactive Media Liaison, David is the point person for play/make/learn topics at the state level. Also part of the DPI’s Literacy & Mathematics team, David provides strategic planning for projects such as revising the state’s academic standards, running Wisconsin’s online library, and statewide OER initiatives. He has a background in ed-tech, including an MA in Library & Information Studies, and is working towards his PhD from UW-Madison on the design of interactive learning experiences (especially games).