Well, it’s getting to be that time again — the Games+Learning+Society 6.0 conference has been officially announced, with a call for papers posted to the official conference website. (Looks like this year’s elfgirl colors are a pretty pink, green, and aqua?) Here’s a blurb from the conference coordinator on this year’s focus and line-up of excellent keynotes:

Games+Learning+Society Conference 6.0

June 9-11, 2010 Madison, WI

The time has never been more right for the Games+Learning+Society Conference! The world is finally beginning to catch on: Great videogames can be great learning tools. This yearʼs conference will further the work we started six years ago, exploring the impact of games and game culture on learning and society.
Conference highlights include: keynotes by leaders in both academics and industry; interactive workshops on game research and game design; both individual and symposia presentation sessions; “chat nʼ frags” and hands-on gameplay in the arcade; an evening poster session over cocktails & hors d’oeuvres; an evening machinima festival in the playhouse theatre; fireside chats that enable thorough, cozy conversations among VIP speakers and attendees; and our signature Thursday night dinner and marquee presentation.

Confirmed Speakers include: Henry Jenkins, James Paul Gee, Drew Davidson, Allan Collins, David Wiley, Kurt Squire, Reed Stevens, and Rich Lemarchand.

We encourage the submission of traditional paper sessions as well as innovative talk formats which focus on game design, game culture, and games’ potential for learning and society more broadly.

Submissions are due online by February 1, 2010. Complete submission guidelines can be found on the submissions site at http://glsconference.org.

The Games+Learning+Society (GLS) Conference is sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. For information on how to sponsor this event, contact the conference coordinator at gls(at)seanmichaeldargan(dot)com.
### Sean Michael Dargan GLS Conference Coordinator http://glsconference.org

I’ve been a student staff member and poster session coordinator at the previous few GLS conferences, and they are without a doubt the premiere venue for innovative games and learning research. This year’s line-up sounds even more exciting than last year’s, which was excellent, and the move from the (IMHO, boring) Monona Terrace to the (IMHO, funky and awesome) University of Wisconsin Memorial Union injected a twist of unique fun that made last year’s conference the best one I’d attended. June is the perfect time to hang out on the Terrace, drinking complimentary beer and eating bratwurst with games and learning scholars from around the world.

I’m really looking forward to this year’s conference; it’s good enough that I’ll be showing up even if I don’t get a paper accepted!