In Focus
In response to COVID-19, the mEducation Alliance transformed its annual in-person Symposia event into a series of virtual webinars. These webinars aligned with the overall 2020 Symposia theme of Play and Technology for Lifelong Learning. The first two webinars of this series were Going Global: Adapting High-Quality EdTech Games for Low-Resource Settings (June 2020) and Coding Global: A Digital Literacy Partners Forum (July 2020). Both webinars covered various interventions that could address the continuity of learning during the pandemic. Play Every Day, the largest 2020 symposia event (September 2020), is featured in the section below.
Play Every Day
Play Every Day was the largest of the three 2020 mEducation Alliance virtual symposia events covering three days and including over 80 presenters and 500 active participants from 25 countries. Each day began with opening remarks from an mEducation Alliance staff team member and then included keynote presenters. These remarks were then followed by the formal program of concurrent morning and afternoon sessions each aligned with one of the event’s sub-themes. Some sessions were organized as roundtable discussions and others as interactive workshops in which attendees could complete various activities with session moderators. The event also provided attendees with the opportunity to virtually network with each other and visit exhibitor booths, just as if they were at a physical event!
For more information about Play Every Day, you can browse the event program which includes the full agenda, abstracts, and bios of all the presenters. Below you can find links to all the recordings from the event and quotes from some of our participants. As a special bonus, please check-out our mEducation Alliance Play Every Day playlist for many of the presenters’ pre-recorded session videos.
Event Web Pages
- Adapting Games for Offline Learning (Part 1 & 2)
- Capturing Powerful Student Learning Moments During Play (US-based game developer demos)
- Game Development in Low Resource Settings
- Games and Play for Inclusive Education
- Gaming for Youth Engagement and Teacher Training
- The LEGO Foundation Hosted Sessions
- Measuring Skills Acquired Through Technology and Play
- Play-based Learning for Math and Science (Part 1 & 2)
- Play Every Day Main Stage – Opening Remarks and Closing Keynotes
- Play Every Day Special Session Videos
- Play, Games and Tech for Education During a Crisis (Part 1 & 2)
- Social Emotional Learning and Early Years Learning (Part 1& 2)
Presenter Quotes
“The future of education is clearly mobile. mEducation Alliance’s virtual event successfully brought into spotlight some of the amazing global EdTech and mobile learning initiatives around the world. I hope this initiates efforts towards global scaling and adoption by those who dare to dream of a futuristic education ecosystem that supports all learners and furthers the societal and economic progress of nations. Kudos to the entire team at mEducation Alliance for showing the world what is possible with mobile technology.”
Surinder Sharma, CEO & Co-Founder, Smart Kidz Club, Inc.
“The mEducation Alliance symposium is always one of the key highlights of the calendar year, for me. It’s always great to renew friendships and form new ones. I am grateful to everyone who worked extra hard this year, under challenging circumstances, to help make this year’s symposium the worthy event it was.”
Kenneth Lim, Research Scientist, National Institute of Education, Singapore
“There are days and weeks when our burden seems so heavy. Working globally, we see only the massive problems of communication and of resources that hamper our efforts at bringing technology and modern education to the hard-to-reach areas of the globe. The Play EveryDay conference was a real tonic, a real boost. We met people from all over with fresh new ideas for involving children, teachers, and governments in new educational initiatives. Perhaps more important, we felt like a global team attacking a global problem. I return to the work with renewed enthusiasm.”
Mark Saul, Senior Scientist, Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival (JRMF)
Also a huge thank you to all of our Play Every Day Sponsors for contributing to the event!
