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MIT be interesting. MIT be bad timing.

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Educators to storm E3 Expo / MIT department to host preshow Games in Education conference.
The staid Massachusetts Institute of Technology said today that it would host a three-day conference to take place immediately before the E3 Expo opens its doors. The event will take place at the same site as E3--the Los Angeles Convention Center. The conference will focus on games in education and is part of a larger MIT program called The Education Arcade initiative.

The conference will take place on May 9, 10, and 11 and will include panels that will address a number of topics that draw on education, academia, and pure game design. Session topics include the following: Are Games Educational?; From Simulation to Interaction; and, Fostering Games Literacy. Roundtables will also be a part of the program, featuring topics that will focus on educational, technical, creative, and market trends.

The conference is free and open to the public (aged 18 and older).
By Staff, GameSpot [POSTED: 11/18/03 01:11 PM]

No handy links in the article, but googling turns up a site about the Education Arcade, and a handy press release.

I have never seen a run-up to E3 yet that isn't full of hair pulling (one's own, as well as other victims) and of last-minute trauma.

Of course I'm very interested in what MIT's got to say on new media, especially that well-spoken Henry Jenkins. But the timing on this seems very ill-planned. Most developers are polishing their demo's. Most developers are driving or flying to L.A. the night before E3 with their latest build in their backpack/briefcase/codpiece. Would MIT hold a conference the week immediately prior to "finals week"? It doesn't seem likely. It's possible that the only people who will be able to attend are ones that aren't directly making games. That's not a complete fiasco; if MIT focuses on appealing to marketing/sales/random executive types, it could influence the direction of games. It's great to see a respected educational institution taking an interest in this field, and then attempting to influence it in turn.

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