Speakers to the First International Conference on Play Intelligence: Odense Denmark.

Prof. Peter Gray, Ph.D., research professor at Boston College, is author of the recently published book Free to Learn (2013) and the widely-used introductory psychology textbook, Psychology, currently in its sixth edition. He has conducted and published research in comparative, evolutionary, developmental, and educational psychology. His current research and writing focus primarily on children's natural ways of learning and the life-long value of play.

USA

James Findlay, BA i psykologi og pædagogik med speciale i Play Intelligence, formand og grundlægger af foreningen, The Play Foundation. James Findlay har studeret og forsket i leg i femogtredive år. Hans bog "Play Intelligence from IQ to PIQ. Playgrounds of the mind" forventes udgivet senere i år. The Play Foundation arbejder på at udbrede og implementere “leg” indenfor alle sektorer i samfundslivet.

DANMARK

Dr. Sergio M. Pellis, Ethologist and professor at the Canadian Centre for Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada since 1990. The main focus of his research is on the role peer-peer play has in the development of social competence. A neuroscientist, he is the co author with his wife Vivien Pellis of the breakthrough book :“The Playful Brain.”

CANADA

Prof. Adam Montandon, MA, Specialist Consultant for

Creative Businesses, has co-founded the digital production

agency HMC and the HMC MediaLab Organisation, a future

focused digital arts community, one of the top ten showcase

technology companies with the Best of British award. Adam

Montandon has overseen the research and development of

countless innovative and unusual projects, working on a

range of projects for TV, the web, and real world digital

installations. In 2009 Adam Montandon was awarded the

position of President of the Europrix Multimedia awards in

Austria. Now a teacher at the Lillebaelt Academy of

Professional Higher Learning, in Odense, Denmark. His new

book, The Awesome Department, is out later this year.

ENGLAND

Dr. Scott G. Eberle, Ph.D., is vice president for play studies at The Strong; editor of the American Journal of Play, an interdisciplinary quarterly of The Strong that explores the history, science, and culture of play; and lead contributor to The Strong's re:Play Blog. Formerly in charge of developing interactive exhibits for The Strong's National Museum of Play, Scott holds a doctorate in intellectual history, and is author of Classic Toys of the National Toy Hall of Fame and other works on American history, culture, and play. Currently he is co-editing a Handbook of Study of Play for Rowman-Littlefield and collaborating on a book about the elements of play.

USA

Mrs. Karen Wagner, MA Education Harvard University. Karen Wagner has been working in alternative educational and therapeutic settings since 1985. She has started 4 Charter Schools in Atlanta area.

USA

Mr. Etienne Wenger, Ph.D. is a global thought leader in the field of communities of practice and social learning systems. He is the author and co-author of seminal books on communities of practice, including Situated Learning, where the term was coined, Communities of Practice: learning, meaning, and identity, where he lays out a theory of learning based on the concept, Cultivating Communities of Practice, addressed to practitioners in organizations who want to base their knowledge strategy on communities of practice, and Digital Habitats on technology for communities. Etienne helps organizations in all sectors apply these ideas through consulting, public speaking, teaching, and research.

USA

Dr. Matti Bergstrøm, Professor Emeritus of Physiology at the University of Helsingfors, Finland, and docent of Bioelectronics at Helsingfors Technological Institute. He is a member of the Finnish Academy of Sciences and of the World Academy of Arts and Science. He has been a brain researcher for 50 years and a prolific author of works on neurophysiology, most of them in Swedish. He maintains, that the traditional school system hampers enthusiasm and benefits from the knowledge and order in a way that prevents the individual's all-round development. Matti Bergström has a long writing career behind him, and among other things has written: ”Black and White Play Activity of the Children”. (1997) (in Swedish ) (Sending his research team to present new findings in for Intelligence and Play)

FINLAND

Dr. Paul Pivec, PhD, Masters Degree in Game-Based Learning, and a Graduate Diploma in Higher Education. Over thirty years in the computing industry and eight in academia. Paul’s recent projects include being contracted by the European Commission to research literature on the use of computer games in schools and by Becta, the UK Government’s agency for education technology, to write a report on Game-Based Learning. He is the co-author of: Lernen mit Computerspielen. Ein Handbuch für Pädagoginnen/Pädagogen (2012) and has written chapters in several books about games in education

AUSTRIA

Mr. Derek Robertson. As National Adviser for Emerging Technologies, Learning and Teaching, Education Scotland, Derek continually explores the ways in which technologies can permeate learning in a purposeful and innovative fashion. He is very keen to take this perspective forward on the work he is currently leading on in relation to the use of 1:1 mobile devices. Derek is well respected in this area and recently won a NAACE Award for his contribution to education due to his work around the use of game based learning.

SCOTLAND

Mr. John Engelbrecht , MA in Philosophy, “Homo Ludens” and author. Since 1985 a busy freelance lecturer in various educational institutes from universities to colleges and in cultural and political institutions. John Engelbrecht often focuses on creativity, play and innovation, which he sees as the most important competitive parameter. He maintains that creativity is the actual purpose of school, while subjects are the means of the creativity.

DENMARK

Prof. John Erland Østergaard, Ph.D. and MBA, Director at Blue Ocean Robotics, Odense Area, Head of Department, University of Southern Denmark. Innovation management and processes. Involvement of customers and customer-specific product-development. Business development and market analysis. Specialties: Technology for new products. Innovation processes. Organisation. John Erland Østergaard is co-author of more than 50 articles in international journals with peer-review, 2 patents and more than 50 papers at international conferences published from 1991 until today. In 2002 he received the Annual award from Danish Optical Society for his achievements in semiconductor optics and nanophotonics.

DENMARK

Mr. Scott Henstrand BA (Art), MA (Ed). Educator at Science Teacher Brooklyn School for Collaborative Studies, New York, USA. Practicing Play intelligence for the past 2 years developing new teaching methods for teachers. Awards: 2011 New York City Outward Bound R. Gaynor McCown Award for Excellence in Teaching.

USA

NB! Sir Ken Robinson has reserved the dates to come according to funds available:

Sir Ken Robinson, PhD is an internationally recognized leader in the development of education, creativity and innovation. From 1989 - 2001, he was Professor of Arts Education at the University of Warwick. He is one of the world’s leading speakers with a profound impact on audiences everywhere. The videos of his famous 2006 and 2010 talks to the prestigious TED Conferences have been seen by a estimated 200 million people in over 150 countries.

ENGLAND