ALEX URBAN, PhD

University of Missouri,
School of Information Science and Learning Technologies

I investigate how information is organized, communicated, and experienced in immersive virtual worlds. My overarching research goal is to determine how novel media, like video games or virtual reality, may foster personally meaningful experiences and promote inquiry. To this end, I have led investigations on information experiences within commercial games and game-based learning applications as well as gameplay documentation. My latest work focuses on digitally-induced awe and its potential for education.

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I'm also a Research & Development Manager for the Adroit Studios Gaming Lab at the University of Missouri. In this role, I lead initiatives related to Mission HydroSci (MHS), a game-based virtual learning environment that brings innovative game design to middle school science education. Additionally, I have six years of related instructional design, training, and teaching experience.