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ESAF grantee World Wide Workshop will recognize student game designers at the New York City Globey Awards Ceremony on June 25. Held at The Young Women's Leadership School of Astoria, the event will award outstanding female high school girls who learned to design, code, and publish original educational games through Globaloria – World Wide Workshop’s social-learning network where students develop digital literacy, STEM knowledge, and global citizenship through game design. Click here for more information. |
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In July, be on the lookout for a 2013 “Nite to Unite – for Kids” save the date! We hope you will be able to join us this year in San Francisco for our annual black tie gala. |
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The Federation of American Scientists, an ESAF grantee, is looking for teachers to test the beta version of its newest learning game, Immune Defense. Interested teachers can sign up here. |
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The Entertainment Software Association Foundation (ESAF) kicked off 2013 with the launch of two programs that bring technology and educational opportunities to communities across America.
The Entertainment Software Association Foundation (ESAF) is gearing up for summer and excited to participate in E3 2013! From June 11-13, ESAF will be at the world’s premier trade show for computer and video games to talk about our programs and our grantees’ great work.
Over the last few months, our 2013 grantees have also been active, and this edition of the ESAF newsletter highlights the inspiring work of two organizations: the Museum of the Moving Image and George Mason University. We also reconnect with former ESAF grantee, The Animation Project, to learn about its achievements since receiving a grant in 2009.
As always, thank you for supporting our programs and helping ESAF have a positive impact on America’s youth. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for all ESAF news and updates.
With warm regards,
Jenny Lai
Vice President, ESA Foundation |
Grantee Spotlight: George Mason University
On July 8, George Mason University’s (GMU) Game Design @ Mason After-school program kicks off its summer session for middle and high school students in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Supported by ESAF, the program teaches underserved students game design techniques, programming, and mobile application development while bolstering their performance in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects.
In addition to STEM skills, students develop strong leadership abilities through the program’s Leadership Development Model, which enables high-achieving students to become mentors for new students entering the program. After serving as mentors for several years, students can further their leadership and game design skills by becoming assistant instructors in the program. Their continued involvement creates valuable opportunities for peer-to-peer interactions and helps inspire younger students in the program to learn and eventually teach game design.
By using innovative technology like video games and digital media, GMU’s Game Design @ Mason After-school program motivates students to pursue careers in STEM-focused fields while teaching valuable real-world programming, design, and leadership skills.
To learn more about the program, visit http://gamedesign.gmu.edu.
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"The game-design program at Mason is really focused on increasing the numbers of traditionally underserved students – as well as students of color – in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics."
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Dr. Kevin Clark, Ph.D.
Director of the Center for Digital Media Innovation and Diversity, GMU |
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Grantee Spotlight: Museum of the Moving Image
In 1989, the Museum of the Moving Image became the first museum in the world to showcase the cultural value and interactivity of video games through a groundbreaking exhibition of arcade games. Today, the Museum maintains a year-round exhibit of playable arcade and console games and periodically presents special game-focused programs and exhibitions.
With ESAF’s support, the Museum recently featured the exhibition Spacewar! Video Games Blast Off to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Spacewar!, one of the earliest precursors of modern video games. In addition to showcasing a model of a PDP-1 computer running a playable simulation of Spacewar!, the interactive exhibition enabled visitors to play 20 games across a variety of platforms and genres. By playing each game, visitors could draw connections and contrasts between modern video games and Spacewar!, underscoring its influence on today’s titles.
Now that Spacewar! Video Games Blast Off has closed, the Museum of the Moving Image plans to build an even larger collection of computer and video games that visitors can play. It also continues to leverage its current collection to interest young students in game design and technology through after-school programs, workshops, design jams, and a week-long camp. Held each August for children age 9 and older, the camp provides students with firsthand experience developing video games, and teaches them valuable computer programing and design mechanics. Click here
for more information on the Museum of the Moving Image’s summer video game camp.
"But the ‘Spacewar!’ show is noteworthy because it goes beyond a grab-bag, check-this-out approach — ‘Waiter, there are video games in my art museum’ — and focuses on how video games were influenced by the medium’s first successful creation: Spacewar!, developed by a group of M.I.T. students and researchers and introduced to the world in 1962."
— Chris Suellentrop, The New York Times |
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Past Grantee Spotlight: The Animation Project
ESAF recently connected with former grantees to learn about their latest achievements and how they are positively impacting the lives of children across America. This month, we spoke with The Animation Project (TAP), an organization that uses digital art and animation to reach and engage at-risk youth in cultivating self-expression, improving self-esteem, and enhancing social and emotional coping skills.
Since its founding in 2008, TAP has worked with more than 1,100 youth in its signature 3D Computer Animation Therapy Group. Open to both males and females aged 12 to 24, this hands-on program requires students to work together in groups to produce an original computer-animated video. Students learn animation techniques, but also develop social skills by collaborating with their peers and making decisions as a group.
ESAF awarded a grant to TAP in 2009 to conduct a pilot study of its programming. The study’s positive findings were instrumental in helping TAP communicate the benefits of its 3D Computer Animation Therapy Group for at-risk youth. Today, TAP works with the New York City Department of Probation and the New York City Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services to help impart valuable social and professional skills to 300 court-involved youth on annual basis.
Click here for more information about TAP. |
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