The Engagement Lab @ Emerson College is an applied research lab at Emerson College, which develops and studies the effects of games as they apply to civic engagement.
Games
Hub2
Hub2 is a game and urban planning tool that uses Second Life to create a virtual representation of real physical space in the world, and uses that space to let people discuss and implement ideas to improve the space. would give ideas to what they wanted to put in the world and where, and their ideas would be designed and placed into the virtual world.
Developed from the research done on Hub2, Participatory Chinatown is a 3-D game designed for use in the master planning process in Boston's Chinatown. It has been officially been recognized as part of the 2010 Chinatown Master Plan. Participatory Chinatown won the Games For Change award Games for Change in 2011 for Best Direct Impact Game.
Civic Seed an online learning game in partnership with Tufts University. Through an RPG interface, the game educates and certifies incoming freshmen to civically engage with the partner communities of Tufts.
Student Involvement
As a lab housed at Emerson College, it is also a resource for graduate and undergraduate students interested in developing games and other playful projects. Students assist in lab projects and contribute self-directed student projects.
Research
Initiatives
Play and Civic Leaning
This initiative looks into the how games can create an informal learning environment for young people and adults. It also focuses on how games can be used with civic learning and participation.
Networked Citizenship
The research for this initiative is gathered from the lab's games and tools, and is focused on exploring the transformation in the definition and qualities of citizens in a digital and networked world. It explores play, connectivity, and attention to civic life in regards to how these qualities affect feelings of trust and efficacy.
Youth and Civic Media
This initiative is a multi-project research effort dedicated to analyzing how games and social media allow youth to be connected to civic engagement in new ways and how much of an impact this engagement makes. Research is gathered from the lab's multiple games across numerous cities.
The Design Action Research for Government Project is in partnership with the Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics in Boston. Its goal is to advance the capability of local governments to become more involved with technological innovations in regards to civic engagement. Its mission is to create the framework for the public to be more involved with city-level innovations and the creation and study of public life. DARG is a model for collaboration between universities and governments. "Ultimately, DARG aims to transform common practices of government innovation from a model of top-down intervention and evaluation to one of participatory design and research."
Publications
Books
Gordon, E. and de Souza e Silva, A.. Net Locality: . New York: Wiley-Blackwell.
Gordon, E. and Baldwin-Philippi, J.. ": Creating Opportunities for Local Engagement Through Digital Games"
Gordon, E.. "," Journal of Digital and Media Literacy, February 1.
Gupta, J., Bouvier, J., and Gordon, E.. "." An Evaluation of Digital Gaming Platforms on Civic Capacity and Collective Action in the Boston Public School District.
Harry, D., Gordon, E., Schmandt, C.. "." Proceedings of Community Supported Cooperative Work, Seattle, WA.
Gordon, E. and Schirra, S. "."Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Communities & Technologies, Brisbane, Australia.
