D&D in Schools: Communal Storytelling in Classrooms
Session Description
Role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons are a wonderful way to provide opportunities for students to learn storytelling, collaboration and communication in a classroom environment. Through learning-by-doing, participants in this session will learn how to create and play a classroom role-playing game with students.
Presentation / Materials
Further Resources / Contact Information
Dan Ryder
Dan Ryder is a veteran classroom educator and learning facilitator at CRCS Overman, a grades 7-12 project-based, student-centered public charter school in downtown Skowhegan, Maine. While my role allows me to explore content from across the curriculum, I primarily guide learners through human-centered design challenges and foster their capacities for design thinking. I formerly served as Co-Founder and Education Director of the SUCCESS & INNOVATION CENTER at MT BLUE CAMPUS, an empathy-fueled maker space + mentoring space for all students and faculty here in rural Maine.
In addition to my daily classroom practice, I am the co-author of INTENTION: Critical Creativity in the Classroom with my good friend, Amy Burvall, and perform improv comedy with my team, Teachers Lounge Mafia.
I contribute as a design, development, and delivery consultant for the US Department of State’s Office of English Language Programs, writing PANELS & PERSPECTIVES: Creating Comics in the EFL Classroom with editor, Jacquie Gardy, and artist, Josh Alves, amongst other projects and materials.
I’m still humbled to be recognized with the 2019 Horace Mann NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence and my invitation to share my vision for empathy-driven education at TEDxDirigo. I’m a member of the Adobe Creative Cloud for Education Creativity Crew, serve on the Advisory Board for SXSW EDU, and share my work with schools, organizations, and conferences around the world.
Proud citizen of the western Maine foothills and Bangor native, I’m husband to a ridiculously intelligent and exceptionally attractive school librarian, and dad to two ridiculously intelligent and exceptionally hilarious kids.
Email - danryder207@gmail.com
Twitter - @WickedDecent
Matthew Winters
Matthew Winters is a Utah Education Network trainer specializing in Google Workspaces for Edu. He is also GEGUtah co-leader and Utah Coalition for Educational Technology (UCET) President for 2022-2023, our Utah ISTE affiliate. He is an ISTE Community Leader. He is a former English Language Arts teacher at the secondary and college level. When he is not committing fully to his role as an educational whirlwind, he loves reading (graphic novels!), playing with his two Lassie dogs, and traveling around the West.
Email - matt@teacherwinters.net / mwinters@uen.org
Twitter - @TeacherWinters
