tech week

Presentation: The Surprising Benefits of Video Game Play

Presented by Dr. Constance Steinkuehler
Saturday, 5/17/2025
11:00 - 12:00
Virtual Library

United States

Register

Games are more than just entertainment—they are engines of learning, connection and transformation. This presentation will explore the diverse impacts of games and play, from fostering literacy and scientific reasoning to enhancing emotional self-regulation, social connectedness and individual growth. Learn about the spread of game innovations and technologies to other sectors, their impact on human cognition and culture and learning and ways to make games a force for good. Join us for an interactive discussion of how games shape minds, strengthen friendships and create new possibilities for content learning and practical skills. Whether you're a player, educator or game designer, this presentation will help you make the most of play. Registration required.

Dr. Constance Steinkuehler is a Professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) where she researches cognition, culture and learning in the context of multiplayer videogames. She is the Co-Director of the Games+Learning+Society Center and she formerly served as Senior Policy Analyst in the Obama White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Her work has been featured in Science, Wired, USA Today, New York Times, LA Times, ABC, CBS, CNN, NPR and the BBC. Current projects include investigations of toxicity and extremism in online commercial games and game-based programs in incarcerated settings to foster inclusion, equanimity and social connectedness. 

Connect: UCI Faculty Profile

This event is part of SF Tech Week.

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This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

Attending Programs

All programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

Notice: This event may be filmed or photographed. By participating in this event, you consent to have your likeness used for the Library’s archival purposes and promotional materials. If you do not want to be photographed, please inform a staff person or the photographer. A sticker will be provided to help identify you so that we can avoid capturing your image.

Public Notice and Disclaimer

This program uses a third-party website link. By clicking on the third-party website link, you will leave SFPL's website and enter a website not operated by SFPL. This service may collect personally identifying information about you, such as name, username, email address, and password. This service will treat the information it collects about you pursuant to its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of each third-party website or service that you visit or use, including those third parties with whom you interact through our Library services. For more information about these third-party links, please see the section of SFPL’s Privacy Policy describing Links to Other Sites.

The views and opinions expressed in programs presented by groups unaffiliated with SFPL do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SFPL or the City.