All Sessions

This year ALAPlay combines gaming, comics, costumes, and your favorite Time Lords (and ladies)! We invite attendees to dress up in the style of the Doctors, Companions, aliens, and artifacts of Doctor Who OR with the gleaming gears, goggles, corsets and hats of the steampunk aesthetic. Feel free to combine the two (as fans know, Doctor Who has built in quite a bit of steampunk flair to its (?) universe over the years.) We welcome all kinds of costumes, from the simple to the more elaborate: we'd love to see fans takes on a Tardis dress or perhaps a Dalek hat. There are some excellent gender swapping opportunities out there as well -- why not a Time Lady instead of a Time Lord?

The point is to have fun! Games and activities will be provided by the Games and Gaming Round Table (GameRT) while the costumed fun will be led by the Graphic Novel Member Initiative Group.

Did we mention there will be prizes? Because there will. All attendees can enter our raffle at the door for exciting prize packs from a variety of publishers.

Oh, and this year we're kicking off a conference ribbon game called These Aren't the Droids You're Looking for (http://ala12.scheduler.ala.org/node/4292). To play, you'll need to come to ALAplay to get your game packet and ribbon.

Research shows that adults who play tend to be more creative and curious in their approach to learning and work. The panel of speakers will share their research findings about the benefits of play and give an overview of current library play programs offered at their respective academic libraries. This presentation will also provide an opportunity to try some play activities yourself!

Come hear two fascinating presentations and participate in a special game of Interactive Fiction.

Exploring Stories through Interactive Fiction
Remember ZORK? Text-based interactive fiction is a game genre that has existed for decades, but has not been heavily used in libraries. Interactive Fiction is still going strong today, and allows players to explore stories and to create their own interactive stories. Libraries looking to support traditional literacy with gaming activities can look to Interactive Fiction at the core of an easily justifiable and low-cost gaming program. Join Scott Nicholson, associate professor from the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University and experts from the Interactive Fiction domain to learn about how to use and create Interactive Fiction in both digital and analog forms for your library!

Lemon Tree
We like to bring an element of active learning, including fun and games, into our information literacy teaching when we can, whether that is using crosswords, treasure hunts, or light hearted videos, but we hadn’t before brought games, along with the technology and social nature of web 2.0, into the core of the library. We’re currently changing this and have introduced a social, online game based around using the library resources, developed for us by an external company (Running in the Halls).

Lemon Tree takes ideas of virtual rewards and inbuilt social networks and turns common interactions with the library into a game. Users are able to link Lemontree to their library record, winning points and badges by activities such as taking books out, leaving comments on books, and accessing our online resources. There are social elements built into Lemontree, but the system also pushes key acheivements to Facebook.

Andrew Walsh from the University of Huddersfield will cover some key elements of Lemontree, how they promoted the system, and early feedback from users.

Smart investing @ your library grantees are at the forefront of financial literacy programs that reach all economic and interest levels. Learn how they are creating models that use social media to capture attention, design games that appeal to kids, teens and adults, partner with social service agencies and market school programs to provide unbiased, financial education and resources. As more people need and want to learn how to manage their personal finances, these innovative libraries are leading the way.

In spring 2012, UW-Madison MERIT Library offered six instructional technology trainings to Madison Metropolitan School District schools including Sennett Middle School and Lincoln Elementary. As a new initiative, the trainings focused on equipping teachers to use technology to aid in the construction of knowledge. Trainings focused on using Google Applications including but not limited to Google Earth, Google Books, and Google Documents for peer review, self-graded quizzes, games, and more. In addition, library staff also provided training on using Interactive White Boards to create active and collaborative lesson plans that enhance knowledge and critical thinking skills.

At the inaugural meeting of the Game Making Interest Group, we will have a panel of librarians involved in game making at their libraries speak about the process of game creation. There will be time for discussion and questions after the panel discussion. During the last half of the meeting, the group will decide what direction the interest group should take and discuss future ideas.

Librarians at the University of Florida's Marston Science Library take a proactive role in educating Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) graduate students about Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). As part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Ethics Education in Science and Engineering (EESE) program, the science library received a two-year grant award to design and develop a video game that would engage STEM graduate students with research ethics. The Gaming Against Plagiarism (GAP) project completes development in spring 2012 and will be made available as an open source resource for STEM educators and librarians. This poster maps levels of the game directly to the pedagogical levels in Blooms Taxonomy to demonstrate how scaffolding basic concepts early on in game play can prepare students to face more complex challenges. Games-based learning environments lend themselves to this form of scaffolding, but the pedagogy also transfers well to traditional face-to-face and online information literacy instruction. Utilizing specific content and visual images from the game, this poster connects educational pedagogy to the game's intended learning outcomes. Furthermore, results of learning assessments within the game and pre/post tests evaluate the effectiveness of this medium as a teaching tool. The completed game will be available for audience members to play.

Joint business meeting of the ALA Virtual Communities and Libraries Member Initiative Group and the ACRL Virtual Worlds Interest Group. Discussion will focus on ongoing projects and future plans.

Ignite speakers present for exactly 5 minutes, accompanied by 20 slides. Each slide is displayed for 15 seconds, with slides advancing automatically. This is one of six Ignite sessions in this time slot.

Today's analog games are an information rich, dynamic resource that allow students to engage with the curriculum in an engaging and meaningful way. Small group game centers, whole class experiences, and game design are some of the ways in which students can interact with learning while addressing the need for authentic team building, social experiences.