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Institute of Play

New York, New York

Grants

2014 (1 year)
$350,000

The Institute of Play is a non-profit design studio staffed by a team of designers, strategists and learning practitioners who develop new models of learning and engagement. The Institute’s first project was to design and implement Quest to Learn, an innovative school model for middle- and high school students based on the principles of game design. This grant provides general operating support that will enable the Institute of Play to continue its work designing engaging learning experiences for youth that are aligned with the principles of Connected Learning, the Foundation’s framework for rethinking and supporting learning for the 21st century.

2013 (1 year)
$250,000

The Institute of Play promotes media literacy as a critical 21st century skill, and games as new environments for learning. With previous grant support, in 2009 the Institute opened the Quest to Learn school - an innovative school model that can be implemented as a whole school or individual elements of the model may be implemented in traditional schools - and the ChicagoQuest charter school in 2011. The institute will use this grant to test and share curricular guides, toolkits, and videos with the ChicagoQuest staff and with teachers across the country.

2012 (3 years)
$2,485,000

In collaboration with the Gates Foundation and Electronic Arts, the largest video game company in the world, the Institute of Play, a not-for-profit games, learning, and research organization, will use this grant to establish a Games, Assessment and Innovation Lab to create validated exemplars of game-based assessments and to help create a new model of partnership between the commercial game industry and public education. It also will develop assessments to be included in popular video games.

2011 (1 year 11 months)
$400,000

The Institute of Play promotes media literacy as a critical 21st century skill and games as a new learning environment. Its executive director is Katie Salen, a leading U.S. game designer who founded the Quest to Learn schools. Salen will work with designers from Filament to develop a suite of interactive video games that assess systems thinking: considering all the elements and relationships in a system, and knowing how to structure them more efficiently and effectively. The games will be pilot tested at the New York-based Quest to Learn and ChicagoQuest schools, and used in schools in seven states.

2011 (1 year)
$150,000

To extend the Gamestar Mechanic game to include new activities for parents and teachers, and a badge system for game design.

2011 (3 years)
$1,800,000

To develop the Quest to Learn schools in New York City and Chicago (over three years).

2009 (2 years)
$1,000,000

To develop the Quest to Learn School public school in New York City (over two years).

2008 (1 year)
$610,124

To complete the design and development of Gamestar Mechanic.