“Collaboration is key! A multiplayer online education game in the Museum environment” by Faust, Steinbach, Witchey, Neff and Solary

Collaboration is a key issue in creating a climate for learning and invention using new technologies. The Cleveland Institute of Art, the only five year professional art school in the U.S., has created the Professional Partnership Program (PPP) which allows us to stimulate the right challenge in academic settings, as well as creating revenue. One of the most satisfying results of the PPP has been an exciting collaboration between students and partners in the fields of gaming and simulations.

In order to educate students for future challenges and complex tasks, education is moving beyond the traditional classroom setting. Educational games and simulations, like Dig-In, can be used in innovative ways to help students acquire a different kind of knowledge. In this forum we will illustrate how collaborations between profit / nonprofit and educational organizations can successfully impact how students learn about Egyptian Art.

We will demonstrate the process of conception, preproduction, production and postproduction of the Game created in such a collaborative effort. We will also give you an overview of the technology used in this production. We will discuss the challenges within such a setting.