Global thinking brings national recognition
Working and thinking across the world has seen Waiariki Institute of Technology academic Alan Fowler recognised at the
annual Computing and Information Technology, Education and Research in New Zealand awards.
The senior computing lecturer was awarded the 2013 CITRENZ Award for Collaborative Research during their recent
conference in Hamilton.
The collaborative research paper was an investigation into the growth and significance of the Global Game Jam for
Teaching and Learning. Mr Fowler who was recognised with a Waiariki Institute of Technology Chief Executive Award for
Research in 2012 worked with Foaad Khosmood from California Polytechnic State University, USA, Ali Arya from Carleton
University, Ottawa, Canada and Gorm Lai from Kotori Studios, London, United Kingdom on the project.
The paper was an investigation into the growth and significance of the Global Game Jam for Teaching and Learning
Here is the abstract from the paper-
The Global Game Jam (GGJ) is the world’s largest game development activity. Every year since 2009, thousands of computer
game enthusiasts participate in this forty-eight hour challenge to make games around the same theme. While game jams,
‘hackathons’, and game festivals existed before the GGJ, and continue to proliferate, the GGJ 2009 was perhaps the first
time such events were held in multiple physical spaces (23 countries) at the same time. In this paper, we track the
growth of GGJ using multiple dimensions, and discuss the potential for research and teaching through this popular
activity.
ENDS