Session Description
Join us as we explore the design of an online learning game on Mars. Blue Mars is a Virtual Harmony simulation for playing extensible 3D immersive learning games. The concept is based on the Mars Expedition, our $25,000 grand prize winner in the Federal Virtual World Challenge. The first game blends space exploration, security puzzles, and moral, ethical, and survival challenges to develop critical thinking skills, contemplative practices, and values-based leadership. It features open source software, data from NASA, tributes to science fiction, and an extensible design. Blue Mars integrates data analytics, a Web ontology for classifying game behavior, feedback, and an AI mindset.
Presenter(s)
Cynthia Calongne
Cynthia Calongne, Colorado Technical University, Colorado Springs, CO, USACynthia Calongne is a Professor of Doctoral Studies at Colorado Technical University. Prior to teaching, she served as a software engineer for Air Force Space Command. Since 1995, she researched usability in virtual environments and pioneered 52 university classes held in virtual worlds. In 2017, she received the Thinkerer Award for lifetime achievement from the Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education, and her team won the $25,000 grand prize at Defense GameTech for their space simulation, the Mars Expedition Strategy Challenge. She collaborated with Will Wright’s team to design Bar Karma, a television series. Under her avatar, Lyr Lobo, she conducts research in virtual world simulation, education, and game design.
Session Type
45-Minute Interactive Session
Audience
All Audiences
A recording of this presentation is available.
Click the button to the right to access the session archive.
Access/download any related materials/handouts
from this session by clicking the button on the right.