Cinema-Communications: The Dawson Game

May 10th, 2017

Cinema-Communications department

The Dawson Game, Launching May 10, in the lower atrium of Dawson College.

“Education is not a preparation for life; education is life itself” – John Dewey

In the Cinema and Communications Integrating Activity class, students are taking Dewy at his word by launching an educational augmented reality game. With a population of over 10,000, Dawson is like a small city and like an actual city, it can sometimes be difficult to navigate, and not every student gets to experience it in all its complexity. So our game’s ultimate goal is to orient students, faculty and others, allowing them to discover their college through the use of QR codes, informative videos, brain teasing puzzles and amusing riddles. This student-driven project will enlist the participation of CRLT, CLL, DSU, the registrar, academic advising, PARC, the library, and other interested parties. Additionally, this project will have the legacy of leaving the future Dawson community a fun and informative game.

Project Update

In summarizing The Dawson Game event held May 10, 2017, here is a quote from a student who was one of the principal organizers: “The moment our music was playing, wheel was spinning, and a smile appeared on each participants faces was the moment I realized … HOLY BALONY we did it.” A few hundred Dawson Students and faculty participated in the Dawson Game. Here are some of the highlights ( and student comments) on the activity:1. Having participants spin the wheel.They really liked the fact that their game began according to where their spin landed. It got them excited and surprised! One group of friends was very big so I made them split into two teams and each team began at a different location so they raced to see who completed our game first!2. Food and PrizesI wasn’t such a fan of how we presented our food and prizes, I feel like we lacked in presentation, however, when the people saw our prizes food, that was a big deciding factor of if they should or shouldn’t take time to play.3. 3B13 -Film StationWhen the participants returned, they mentioned their favourite stations and this one was amongst their favourites. I think the fact that they had to sit and actually think and work as a team was really exciting.4. CLL -Selfie StationParticipants enjoyed this station as well since their selfie was taken with our phones and then posted on our social media for them and others to see! It made this station flow very smoothly and fun PLUS helped us publicize our game.5. S.P.A.C.E -Virtual RealityParticipants flipped that we actually included real augmented reality and asked us how we made that work.6. P.A.R.CThey loved trying to scan this QR code located very high. It was a challenge that only could have been completed by working together!

Last Modified: November 2, 2017