Hello all,

A new downloadable classroom activity is now available. The activity utilizes the puzzle game, Papers, Please. The activities provided range from Novice to Advanced and utilize a variety of important language and social functions such as identifying context clues to understand a narrative, conversing with NPC’s, and making morally-charged decisions. The game is available in English, Italian, polish, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, French, German, and Spanish. Papers, Please is available on Steam (PC/Mac/Linux) for $9.99, iPad (iOS) for $7.99, and PS Vita (PlayStation Store) for $9.99.

Papers, Please is set in the fictional country Arstotzka in 1982. In the game, players act as immigration inspector for a contested border. The game continually presents players with new moral choices, and allows them to then explore the impacts of each choice. Note, however, that the game does contain non-sexual nudity and graphic, pixelated violence. Therefore, we feel that it may be better suited to high school age students. Overall, game-play takes at least four hours.

We encourage you to check out the new activities and let us know what you think!

Happy gaming!

-The Games2Teach Team

Hello all,

A new publication has been added to the Publications page. “ARIS in the Classroom” is a teacher resource designed to provide guidance on the integration and implementation of ARIS in the classroom.

ARIS (Augmented Reality Interactive Storytelling Engine) is an open-source platform used to create and play mobile place-based games. The platform is user-friendly with features such as geo-tagged locations, location locks, and conversations. While it is easy to use, its ability to create complex game interactions gives ARIS the potential to facilitate game-enhanced learning in any classroom.

The provided document specifically provides background on the integration of digital games in the language classroom, frameworks for classroom integration of ARIS, and example activities using ARIS.

Well, what are you waiting for? Go check it out and get building!

-The Games2Teach Team

The Center for Applied Second Language Studies (CASLS) is excited to announce a new resource for educators and researchers interested in place and experience-based language learning. This resource, a tool for evaluating learning experiences that employ this approach to language learning, is available for free on the PEBLL website at https://pebll.uoregon.edu/documents/PEBLL-EvaluationTool-v4-06-03-2017.pdf.

Educators and researchers who access the tool will be able to read about five central criteria for evaluating all place-based language learning experiences: interactivity, contextuality, engagement, cognitive challenge, and technological affordances. Each criterion is defined and explained through a summary of relevant, contemporary research.

We hope that you will download the tool and use it to evaluate some of the curated place-based language learning experiences that are available to educators on the site. Happy exploring!

Hello all,

There is a new classroom activity now available for download: Quandary for the Language Classroom. This resource is a set of intermediate-level activities surrounding the game Quandary.

The game involves decision-making surrounding a series of moral and social dilemmas. Learners must solve in-game issues by collaborating and interacting with the game characters, and try to keep peace within the futuristic society of the Planet Braxos. Quandary is a free game that can be played in-browser on the web, on iPads, and on Android tablets. Even more thrilling, however, is the number of languages it supports. If your device is set to the target language, then the game can be played in English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.

The activities we’ve created utilize a variety of modes to augment typical game play. Learners will not only play through the game, but they will also be asked to analyze the language being used, collaborate with peers, and think critically about their own community.

Go check out the new classroom activity for yourself!

-The Games2Teach Team