About Me

I have a background was in advertising and design building one of Australia’s pioneering digital-design agencies in mid 1990s winning local and international awards.

I’ve been involved in developing online communities and working with digital media since in education since 2002. This blog has been online for over ten years. I hold a B.Ed in Secondary (Technology) and M.Ed in Information Technology. I’m undertaking a doctorate at Macquarie University under Professor Catherine Lumby in Media & Communications and a M.Ed in Teacher Librarianship at CSU.

I am investigating how families negotiate video games and game cultures and what this tells us about successful gaming and parenting of children in society.

I started a games and media blog in 2014 called Mobspawner where I write about games, families and culture. My current research blog is called Negotiations of Play where I post information related to my field work in games and family research.

Recent History

In 2011, I co-founded Massively Minecraft with Dr Bron Stuckey as an experimental community for teachers, parents and children to promote digital citizenship. Its aim was to help develop substantive game theory. The community grew to hundreds of players online, drawn from all corners of the world. It has been widely received as a transformational model, being showcased at Games For Change (2012) and Games, Learning & Society (2013) as well as appearing on ABC TV’s Youth Programme, Good Game Spawn Point. I have written on the topic of games, virtual communities and education for ACER Press, ABC Television, The Conversation and The Department of Education and Parenting Magazines about video games as essential cultural literacy.

What am I doing now

I am currently teaching at Macquarie University and CSU. I am developing games related courses at UTS and CSU in knowledge management and information services. I am a co-founder of Teachers In Front, which I hope provides new insights and concrete methods for teachers wishing to use technology in the classroom. I have a current load-out to teach in schools, with appropriate approvals to teach in design technology in K12 schools and approved to work with children.

Do I consult?

Yes. I am active throughout the year working with schools and higher education around media education and games. I have a long history of public speaking and writing for a range of publications. I do value your time as well as my own.

To contact me : please email deangroom@gmail.com My About.Me page is here.