DiGRA 2018: Games for Learning

On Thursday December 20, 2018, the Dutch DiGRA Chapter (DiGRA.nl) - the forum for game research in the Netherlands - has organized an academic symposium that was hosted by the Utrecht Center for Game Research. The theme of this symposium was Games for Learning.

Four speakers were invited to speak about their research in this interdisciplinary field. The first speaker (Wouter Boendermaker, Utrecht) gave an inspiring talk about how applied games may be used to (re)train cognition in adolescents. Tjitske Faber (Erasmus MC) continued by a discussion of self-regulated learning in a game environment - particularly focused on training complex clinical skills.  Erik van der Spek (Eindhoven University of Technology) spoke about learning in the magic circle, and showcased some impressive playful installations for fostering player empathy. Finally, Herre van Oostendorp (Utrecht University) presented a thorough analysis of adaptivity and its challenges in applied games.

The Dutch DiGRA Chapter was particularly pleased which the high quality of these talks, and the high attendance numbers of the symposium - more than forty people visited Utrecht University for this meeting despite the nearing Christmas holiday.