The Value of Playing Games: An Interview With Meng-Fen Grace Lin and Ariana Eichelberger

The upcoming EdMedia conference will be held from June 24-28 in Amsterdam. The program contains six workshops as part of the conference. Workshops are a great way to explore a concept, technology or practice in depth, network with other participants and receive a mix of scholarly overview and practical advice. To highlight why you should attend a workshop or consider organizing one yourself, AACE Review features selected presenters in a series of interviews.

Meng-Fen Grace Lin and Ariana Eichelberger are hosting a workshop on creativity and games. Their workshop will take place on Monday, June 24 from 9:30AM-1:00PM. We talked to them about reasons for attending EdMedia and the concept of their workshop entitled ‘Think Different! A Card Game to Inspire Creativity and Foster Multiple Perspectives’. In the interview for AACE Review, Meng-Fen Grace Lin and Ariana Eichelberger talks about why they are part of the AACE conference community, what participants will learn in their workshop, and what methods they are planning on using.

Is this your first time at EdMedia? What are you most looking forward to at this conference?

I have attended EdMedia several times and many more conferences organized by AACE. EdMedia to me is a conference that attracts the most international attendees, so I most looking forward to networking with international colleagues and learning from them on what’s going on in our field internationally.

Why did you decide to submit a workshop proposal?

I have done one workshop at ELearn, and it was gratifying to be able to exchange in such a profound way with other like-minded colleagues. This year, we have this idea of using image cards to inspire creativity and multiple perspectives. We tried some of the techniques at our faculty retreat and with great success. So we thought we ought to share this with a broader audience. Besides, we believe that this workshop is unique, which is an excellent addition to EdMedia.

What key insights do you hope your participants will take away from your workshop?

We all think that creativity is an important skill to have, and we all have this intellectual understanding of the importance of multiple perspectives. We hope through games; however, participants will have a deeper personal connection to these two concepts beyond rational comprehension. We think playing games is less threatening and can hopefully encourage us to step outside our comfort zone.

What methods will you use during the workshop?

We will use games with random image cards. We have designed several activities with these cards, with a mix of individual, small group, and large group activities, that will take participants step by step into the exploration of creativity and multiple perspectives.

Who should be coming to your workshop and why?

Anyone who has a curious mind, likes to play, wants to have fun, and loves to try something unusual. You won’t find this approach anywhere else as we designed it in-house.