The Teach, Play, Learn Conference

2021 Keynote Speaker

This year's Keynote speaker is Dr. Scott Nicholson:

Escape the Routine: Creating Engaging Escape Games for your Classroom

Escape Rooms have grown in popularity over the last five years, and teachers have looked to replicate these puzzle-based activities in their classrooms.  In doing so, however, they have found that there are challenges in using a traditional escape room model in a classroom.   Dr. Scott Nicholson, professor of Game Design at Wilfrid Laurier University in Brantford, Ontario, Canada and lead author of Unlocking the Potential of Puzzle-Based Learning (2021), has explored different structures for escape games that build off of the model of escape rooms but are better for a classroom setting.  During this presentation, attendees will learn about these different models and explore a narrative-first approach to the design of these interactive games that avoids the "worksheets and padlocks" model currently prevalent in educational escape room design.

About the Conference

The Teach, Play, Learn conference brings together stakeholders interested in exploring how games and play can be effective tools for learning. The goals of the conference are to:

  • generate awareness and interest in the changing technologies and pedagogies in the quickly evolving area of educational games and playful learning.
  • demonstrate benefits of using games as part of classroom education.
  • showcase practical solutions for the design and implementation of games in the educational context.