BIOGRAPHY

For the past twelve years Jim Mathews has taught social studies, critical media studies, and video production at an alternative high school in Middleton, WI. He currently researches augmented reality gaming as a graduate student in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction (Educational Communications and Technology) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is especially interested in exploring how AR games can be used to support place-based and inquiry-based pedagogies. This summer Jim is co-designing a series of new AR games as part of the ARGH Project, a Star School grant project aimed at using AR games to teach math and literacy skills to middle school students.

ABSTRACT

Augmented Reality Games

With the development and adaptation of new technologies, the possibilities for embodied learning within real environments continue to expand. The use of hand held computers, wireless Internet, and global positioning systems are allowing students to explore contexts, which provide for a wide range of meanings and insights. Educators are now able to break out of the classroom, taking advantage of the vitality that only the real world can provide.

This workshop will focus its attention on technology being developed for learning in the area of Augmented Reality Gaming. It will discuss the integration of mobile devices into areas of simulation for exploring social interactivity, context sensitivity, connectivity and individuality. Presenters will provide a platform for how the layering of reality with virtual content can enhance and concentrate our interaction with the real world, allowing for meaningful play.