Mark Ollila, the new director of the Endless Games and Learning Lab at ASU, says everyone is a gamer — including Arizona State University President Michael Crow.
“I think he’d be a perfect character in ‘Stranger Things,’ as one of those kids playing Dungeons & Dragons,” Ollila said
In a public conversation in April about gaming and education at the ASU+GSV Summit, Crow and Endless founder Matt Dalio announced the creation of the Endless Games and Learning Lab, a new era in education that merges cutting-edge technology, engaging game environments and universally accessible high-intensity learning experiences. The Endless Lab is a part of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts and physically within the Media and Immersive eXperience (MIX) Center in Mesa, Arizona.
“That’s what (President Crow) talked about, playing D&D for three days straight and how gaming impacted him,” Ollila said.
“The Endless Games and Learning Lab represents a whole new era in education,” Crow said. “By merging cutting-edge technology and engaging game environments, the Endless Lab will redefine the future of games, learning and opportunity, and empower individuals and communities around the world.”
The Endless Lab, made possible by a $5 million gift from Endless Network, draws its inspiration from John Dewey’s philosophy that education should be organized around a learner’s everyday experiences, rather than being imposed “from above and from outside.”
“Endless Network empowers the next generation to succeed in the digital economy,” Dalio said. “We share ASU’s commitment to harnessing the transformative power of game design to advance learning across multiple disciplines. Endless Lab has the potential to enable millions of students to become creators through scalable game-based learning experiences.”
The Endless Lab advances ASU’s pursuit of what it terms “Realm 5 learning” — massively distributed, universally accessible, high-intensity and personalized learning solutions for all people.
By connecting the full-scale research and learning assets of ASU to a range of partners and platforms where youth spend time playing and making games, the Endless Lab will catalyze a worldwide ecosystem that fosters both professional development and academic growth for learners of any age around the planet.
“Almost half a billion global youth between the ages of 15 and 30 are not in school or are unemployed,” Crow said. “Existing systems of education don’t meet learners where they are. As educators, we must find ways to build personalized learning and work pathways that are integrated into the interests, habits and lives of young people.
“This requires new educational technology, new models of mentorship and peer learning, new ways to assess knowledge, skills and competencies, and new curricular designs.”
As a seasoned executive with a career spanning over two decades in the computer gaming, nanotechnology, internet, software and media technology industries, Ollila understands the power of games and is excited to return to academia to harness that power for education.