Comic Conference for Educators and Librarians: College/Geek-Ed Panels

For the 2nd year, Comic-Con International and San Diego Public Library have teamed up for the Comic Conference for Educators and Librarians. This free five-day conference will take place during Comic-Con, and will explore the role comics play in promoting education and literacy for all ages. Library professionals and educators are invited to learn creative and exciting ways to incorporate comics and graphic novels into their work. Through presentations and panel discussions, the Conference aims to engage the community, promote comics as a powerful tool for learning, and celebrate the medium as an important literary art form. The Conference is free to attend, but space is limited and registration is required.

Here are today's programs:

11:00: GeekEd #1: Nerdentity -- Being a nerd is only one part of your identity. How race, culture, spirituality, background, and other aspects of you intersect with your fandom identity is vital to understanding who you are and what makes you special. Education pros will give you insight into their own "Nerdentity," explore current identity issues in pop culture, and show you how to utilize this intersection to serve students at your college or university. Panelists include Emily Sandoval (USC), Alex Belisario (UC Santa Cruz), Patricia Chau Nguyen (UCLA), Danny Slatkin (UCLA), and Brian Arao (UC Santa Cruz). This panel is one of four specifically focused on college and university staff, faculty, and students.

12:00: GeekEd #2: Shall We Play a Game? -- "Play" is all around us, particularly at colleges and universities and especially here at Comic-Con. But how often do people stop to realize how much "play" affects how they live? A panel of game scholars discuss how building better games, identifying the biases within them, and the act of "play" helps people empathize with others and provides them with a guideline for this work on college campuses. Today's classroom environment demands that scholars not just implement but also understand the impacts of digital media. This panel of scholars will explore the intersection of games, learning and inclusivity in the context of curriculum development, activism, policy, history, and game design. Panelists include Constance Steinkuehler (UC Irvine; Senior Policy Analyst, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy 2011-2012), Bonnie Ruberg (UC Irvine), Kurt Squire (UC Irvine), Amanda Cullen (UC Irvine), and Aaron Trammell (UC Irvine). This panel is one of four specifically focused on college and university staff, faculty, and students.

1:00: GeekEd #3: Caring for the Nerd Mind -- Teachers, education administrators, and student affairs professionals are being called to respond to a wide variety of mental health concerns across the education landscape, with students today managing greater educational debt, digital identities, and high expectations for academic performance. This panel of educators and mental health experts share how they have applied their passion for fandom and the lessons they've learned from superheroes to develop new best practices for promoting mental health in schools and on campuses. Panelists include Andrea Letamendi, Brent Crandal, Alfred Day (UC Berkeley), Adrian Perdue (UCLA), and Brian MacDonald (UCLA). This panel is one of four specifically focused on college and university staff, faculty, and students.

2:00: GeekEd #4: Comics in Secondary Education -- How can you bring your love of comics into your role as an educator, and how can you utilize comics to prepare students for college, not only academically but also socially? Teachers from California schools discuss incorporating comics, including Ms. Marvel, Batman, Maus, Persepolis, and Pride of Baghdad, into English, world history, psychology, and special education courses. Take students from the comics panel to the dormitory! Panelists include Jason Goldman-Hall (Pioneer High School), Alexander Hung-Diep (Andrew Hill High School), Jenny Kim (Pioneer High School), Courtney Arndt (Independence High School) and Michelle Kittel (Rocketship Academy). This panel is one of four specifically focused on college and university staff, faculty, and students.