Maria Solomou
Biography
Maria Solomou is a 1st-year doctoral student in the Department of Learning Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington, working with advisor Sasha Barab and the Quest Atlantis group. She holds a BA in teacher education from the University of Cyprus and an MSc in education, technology, and society from the University of Bristol, UK. For her Master’s degree, she used the commercial computer game Age of Mythology to teach ancient Greek history to 6th graders and investigated the effects on their motivation, observed practices of collaboration and development of thinking skills during game play. Prior to joining the PhD program, she worked for a year in primary schools in Cyprus, using computer games during her teaching. Maria is a frequent gamer spending hours in front of the computer screen, trying to “beat ’em up”, “build it”, “find it”, and “solve it”. Her research interests lie in digital production and consumption of media within rich gaming environments and through meaningful narratives.