NASA issued an RFP to create a Massive Multiplayer Online Game for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). The RFF can be found here: http://ipp.gsfc.nasa.gov/mmo/MMO_RFP.pdf

With Project Manager of NASA Learning Technologies, Daniel Laughlin, Ph.D., we will take an intimate view of what NASA has in mind, why it is choosing to create a digital game, and this particular form of game was chosen, what they want to achieve, and what the plans are going forward.

More about Dr. Laughlin and NASA's Learning Technology Project:
Dr. Daniel Laughlin received his Ph.D. in Education from American University in 2001. His area of focus was information technology in education and he did research in cognitive science experimenting with methods to explicitly teach critical and scientific thinking skills. Before joining the Goddard Earth Science and Technology Center in 2002, Dr. Laughlin taught for fourteen years at a number of institutions including American, Loyola and Villanova Universities. From 1997 to 2002, he taught pre-service and in-service teachers to use computers and the Internet in their own classroom.

Dr. Laughlin is currently the NASA Learning Technologies Project manager at Goddard Space Flight Center. NLT supports the research and development of cutting-edge educational tools that combine NASA mission content with innovative technology and best teaching practices. The office has sponsored the development of tools that have been featured on the covers of science and technology magazines and receive international recognition for their contributions to learning. NLT is primarily focused on the research and development of educational immersive synthetic environments and leads the games research effort for NASA's Education Office. Dr. Laughlin's research interests include information technology management, cognitive science, educational technologies and the use of computer and video games as educational tools. He is co-author of the NASA eEducation Roadmap: Research Challenges in the Design of Persistent Immersive Synthetic Environments for Education & Training (2007).

We look forward to seeing you!

Location Details:
Garvey Schubert Barer
1000 Potomac St., N.W.
Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20007

Offices are located in Georgetown just off K/Water street (underneath the Whitehurst Freeway), west of Wisconsin Ave. By 6:00 or so there should be ample street metered parking (free after 6:30 I believe). Be careful to follow parking signs exactly, cars have to be BACKED into spaces. Pull in frontways, and you're guaranteed to get a ticked. Don't pay the meter when you have to, guaranteed to get a ticket. Garage parking is available, but only until 8:00 p.m. when the garage closes for the night.
Nearest metro stops are Foggy Bottom (about a 15 minute walk), or Rosslyn (about a 10 minute walk across the key bridge). If the weather is nice, and you're taking metro, use Rosslyn, the walk into the heart of Georgetown if very pretty.

Fantasy gaming is a $2 billion dollar industry that has greatly affected the way sports games are covered. Not only have they brought statistical analysis to users, but they have also greatly increased engagement. This model has now been employed across many non-sports categories including entertainment, politics, and news.

Join Andrew Lee, Co-founder, Publi.us, and creator of Fantasy Congress, as he discusses the world of fantasy gaming, new startups in fantasy, and trends within the industry. As a group we will dig deep and explore also what it takes to produce a fantasy games, some Dos and Don'ts, when best to use this genre as opposed to other genres, and other related questions.

We look forward to seeing you!

Location Details:
Garvey Schubert Barer
1000 Potomac St., N.W.
Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20007

Offices are located in Georgetown just off K/Water street (underneath the Whitehurst Freeway), west of Wisconsin Ave. By 6:00 or so there should be ample street metered parking (free after 6:30 I believe). Be careful to follow parking signs exactly, cars have to be BACKED into spaces. Pull in frontways, and you're guaranteed to get a ticked. Don't pay the meter when you have to, guaranteed to get a ticket. Garage parking is available, but only until 8:00 p.m. when the garage closes for the night.
Nearest metro stops are Foggy Bottom (about a 15 minute walk), or Rosslyn (about a 10 minute walk across the key bridge). If the weather is nice, and you're taking metro, use Rosslyn, the walk into the heart of Georgetown if very pretty.

Welcome to the Games Gateway!

We have a great opportunity to develop a serious games community here in the Mid-Atlantic region, so I thought I would kick things off.

My hope is that this and subsequent monthly events will bring together game designers, developers, graphic artists, storytellers, educators, marketers, organizations, agencies, companies...just about everyone who is interested in the serious games sector. I have included mobile and entertainment games as well because we have a small community here and much to learn and share across genres so I prefer to be as inclusive as possible.

We have the good fortune to have our first event hosted and sponsored by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Date: December 6, 2007

Our topic:

What happens when teenagers curate museum content in the virtual world of Second Life? What possibilities does this technology offer for educational outreach and project development?

David Klevan, Education Manager for Technology and Distance Learning at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, will discuss these and other issues as we tour an in-world exhibition designed by teenagers working with the Holocaust Museum. David will explain the process through which he and his partners at Global Kids in New York City prepared a group of Washington, DC teens to select a topic, identify assets in the museum's collections, and curate their virtual exhibition.

Agenda:
8:15am Registration & Networking with light breakfast
8:45am David Klevan's presentation, and Q&A
9:30am Discussion about future steps for the Games Gateway: what you want it to be, timing, locations, and etc.
10:00am Wrap-up

The Museum is kindly also providing coffee/tea, and muffins/pastries.

Please RSVP to Limor at Limor@keystonetechgroup.com or 703.907.4043.

Visit: http://keystonetechgroup.typepad.com/games_gateway/

Location:
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW
Washington, DC 20024-2126
Main telephone: (202) 488-0400

Metro:
Smithsonian (Orange/Blue). Exit at Independence Avenue. Walk on block West to 14th Street. Cross 14th Street and turn left (South).

Parking:
There is a paid parking lot at 12th and C St., SW ( two blocks east of the Museum) which costs approximately $4 per hour, and hourly metered parking along Independence Ave . There is also metered parking on some of the side streets (ie, C Street SW, etc.) which may not be restricted during rush hour. Finally, three-hour free parking is available on Madison (north of the Mall) and Jefferson (south of the Mall) drives, Expect competition for those spaces.

We look forward to seeing you!

Please pass this invitation on to anyone you think may be interested.