Supporting Culture with Creative and Participative Digital Media Learning Activities

Matt Gullett, Kelly Czarnecki, Craig Davis. "Supporting Culture with Creative and Participative Digital Media Learning Activities." We can not only support gaming, but can also enrich creativity by easily creating a game lab.

Matt Gullett
Library Laboratory -- Game lab, the one place where it coalesces. Creating, rather than merely consuming games.

• Mentor at-risk youth. Youth Digital Arts Cyber School has most of the tools, but costs money. Public Library of Charlotte Mecklenberg County Game Zome shows that libraries can successfully draw patrons to programs, why not have them test CAPCOM games, etc.

Recreational gaming is a public good. Matt Gullett is working on best practices, environment for successful gaming in public libraries.

Kelly Czarnecki
Animation Station filled with great, free, tools that can travel to branches-- iMovie, garageband, iCananimate, etc.
Studio i -- for making movies, music, animation, games for free. MIT Scratch has great free tools.
Post -- YouTube, MySpace, library website all great "outlets" for work. Lake Theater?

Craig Davis
Youth Digital Arts Cyber School
If kids could create video games, would they?
If technophobic libraries could easily offer game development program, would they?

Rethink as interactive digital art or storytelling.
Kids develop math, science, narrative skills, can make dreams come true, like Ben's Game, which a Leukemia sufferer designed to help kids with cancer "fight back."

• Participatory culture with no age heirarchy. People win money for design.
• Digital painting courses. Can become working artists and print and sell them.
• Digital music. Create legal music for use in films.
• Two room studio. Award-winning animation.
• Gamemaker is being used at Broward County Public Library. Seems free and very, very good.

Idea: GAME LAB DAY – Have kids create video games!!