XOXO Is For Educators

Story. 

Arcade.

Tabletop.

Film/Animation.

Conference.

Music.

XOXO is an arts and technology conference that curates examples of creativity and innovation that disrupt the status quo in social and professional contexts. It began in 2012 by two Andys, Andy Baio (of Upcoming, Kickstarter, and Waxy), and Andy McMillan of Build and The Manual, and has been held in Portland, OR.


Story

Our students, whether they're 2 or 22 years old, have encountered storytelling in various forms, and are learning both from these stories, as well as how to share their own via this multitude of avenues. At this year's XOXO, I attended a few of these marvelous examples of storytelling that I think serve as wonderful models for potential student projects:

Fray Cafe: "Before The Moth, before Risk!, before Mortified, before Snap Judgement, there was Fray Cafe. 5 minutes. One live microphone. Your stories." At this event, I heard stories told live about saving a new neighbor's life, the decision to go on antidepressants, and a near death experience while lost on a desert hiking trail. Imagine live (rehearsed) storytelling at school assemblies!

Reply All: "Stories about how people shape the internet, and the internet shapes people." I had the joy of witnessing PJ Vokt and Alex Goldman perform a live taping of an episode at XOXO for this podcast. I am in love with podcasts, and what a great medium for students to share new knowledge, process and reflect, and demonstrate understanding.


Arcade

Video games are now being played by equal numbers of people of all genders and ages. It was recently announced that the largest demographic of gamers is adult women. Our students play games, but, as president Obama said, today's youth should stop playing games and start making them.

Hyper Light Drifter: Heart Machine's highly-anticipated indie game was funded by a blockbuster Kickstarter project that raised over $645k from 25,150 backers in 2013. The fast-paced 2D action RPG was inspired by SNES classics, and creator Alex Preston’s congenital heart condition. Heart Machine designer/developer Teddy Deifenbach talked with me about what could attract middle school gamers: "The character has a heart condition, but kids might not get that. They'll connect to the adventure story, and enjoy exploring around the big game world." Using tools like Game Maker, Gamesalad, RPG Maker, Twine, and Scratch, students can design their own games (and learn some basic javascript along the way) that tell any story they like.

Tacoma: Fullbright's follow-up to Gone Home was debuted as a playable demo, where you get to explore an abandoned space station to solve the mystery of the missing crew. I spoke with Fullbright's Karla Zimonja, who is an active supporter of young people learning new narratives through video games. Tacoma is being designed using Unity, which is an app students can use for free.


 
Feminist Frequency: One aspect of video games that's important to address and think critically about is how inclusive the medium is for wide audiences. When students are crafting game narratives, it's important that they consider their audience, and strive for inclusivity. Anita Sarkeesian hosts and produces a webseries called Feminist Frequency that "explores the representations of women in pop culture narratives." These videos are meticulously crafted, exhaustively researched, and highly regarded in the industry as truly game-changing (no pun intendo) analyses on the history, current state, and future of the art. Sarkeesian spoke at XOXO about the evolution and reach of this series, and I'll share one video here that is appropriate for teens in the classroom:



There's so much more to share - perhaps in another post! What I enjoyed most from XOXO was being inspired by the ways these professionals are engaging with and reshaping our world. I aim to pass on this inspiration to my students, show them what sorts of 21st century career paths await, and guide them in gaining some skills that will start them on their path.