We are delighted to announce our three keynote speakers including Prof. Dr. Ola Ahlqvist – the co-editor of the first book on geogames, game designer Jarory de Jesus and Prof. Dr. Douglas A. Gentile – an award-winning research scientist, educator, author exploring positive and negative effects of mass media on children. We are delighted for them joining our Geogames Community!
Prof. Dr. Ola Ahlqvist
Ola Ahlqvist is Professor of Geography at The Ohio State University. He worked professionally with local and regional environmental planning in Finland and Sweden in the early 1990’s. After completing a PhD in Geography at Stockholm University in 2001 followed by post-doctoral training at Penn State University he joined the Geography Department at The Ohio State University in 2005. His research interest span three broad areas: 1) semantic uncertainty and formal ontology in analysis of geographic information, 2) how online maps, social media, and games combine to offer novel forms of social-environmental simulation, and decision making. 3) the scholarship of engagement in GIS and experiential learning. In 2018, Springer published “Geogames and Geoplay”, co-edited by Ola Ahlqvist and Christoph Schlieder, the first comprehensive collection of leading work on Game-based Approaches to the Analysis of Geo-Information. Ahlqvist currently serves full-time as the Associate Vice Provost for the Office of Academic Enrichment and the Executive Director for the University Honors and Scholars Center at Ohio State.
Keynote on May 4: Two decades of GeoGames and GeoPlay
In this personal perspective, I offer my reflections on the emergence of GeoGames from the early days of Web 2.0, online maps, and games, to the present day. As part of my retrospective, I will discuss the use of design-based research as a method for developing educational experiences in the area of Geographic Information Science & Technology (GIS&T), and how design-based research approaches can provide important insights about learning mechanisms and processes.
Jarory de Jesus
Jarory de Jesus is a game developer who specializes in narrative design, implementation, and programming. As a developer he’s worked on properties such as Madden, Marvel, and Star Wars as both a Narrative and Technical Designer. Jarory is also a community organizer for Black in Gaming (BiG) and a member of the Latinx in Gaming community as well as President of the board for Global Game Jam. His current studio, Coquito Games, is the culmination of his years of experience and passion for telling stories from under-represented voices. See more: https://www.jarorydejesus.com/
Prof. Dr. Douglas A. Gentile
Dr. Gentile is an award-winning research scientist, educator, author, and is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Iowa State University. His experience includes over 35 years conducting research with children and adults. Dr. Gentile received his doctorate in child psychology from the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota. He has authored over 160 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles, including studies on the positive and negative effects of mass media on children in several countries. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Psychological Association (APA), the Association for Psychological Science (APS), the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI), and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP). He was honored with the Distinguished Lifetime Contributions Award to Media Psychology and Technology by the American Psychological Association, and he was named one of the Top 300 Professors in the United States by the Princeton Review. Dr. Gentile runs the Media Research Lab at Iowa State University where he conducts research on media’s impact on children and adults.
In addition to his academic work, Venerable Douglas Myeong’il Gentile is a Zen monk and teacher in an American tradition with Korean and Vietnamese lineage roots.
Keynote on May 6: Can people really be “addicted” to
video games? The state of the science
Objectives: After participating in this activity, learners should be able to:
- Define gaming disorder and be able to discriminate it from high engagement
- Understand some of the risk factors for developing gaming disorder
- Recognize some of the outcomes of gaming disorder
- Have a nuanced view about whether gaming disorder is a primary or secondary problem
Geogames Lab 