The flip-side to the Digital Aliens? session… Our students are digital natives, but not consciously aware of how to learn from, leverage or be critical of the technology they’ve grown up with. Often they perceive only the social and entertainment value of the web, mobile devices and digital services. What techniques can we use to engage students in a meaningful dialogue about the power and pitfalls of technology?

SoMoLo — social, mobile, local — is all the rage for tech startups trying to integrate the power of social networking, the mobility of our devices and the locales in our daily lives. In addition, the idea of gamification — infusing game mechanics into reality — seems to be present in many different contemporary contexts. What is the crossover into the humanities classroom? In this discussion, we can share ideas about mobile and/or gaming projects and the benefits to student engagement as a practical follow-up to the ARIS Video Games workshop.