Italian for Gamers Holds Second Assassin's Creed II Gaming Session

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ITAL 1013: Elementary Italian II — Italian for Gamers students with professors Calabretta-Sajder, Maughan and Devich; studio researcher Michael Hall; professor Barbara Spaccinni; and the World Languages chair, professor Linda Jones.

On Monday, March 25, Italian for Gamers (ITAL 1013) held its second gaming session of Assassin's Creed II at the World Languages & Digital Humanities Studio (JBHT 207).

This is the second session Italian for Gamers to play through the game in the Italian language, with the first session having taken place on Feb. 28. This time, the class was joined by Barbara Spaccinni, the assistant director for academics and faculty of Italian at the U of A Rome Program.  

Claudia Devich, instructor of German and Italian, designed a unique set of quests in the Assassin's Creed II game world, many of which had students finding real-world locations in Florence, including the Florence Cathedral and the Ponte Vecchio Bridge, while actively using Italian speaking, listening and reading comprehension skills. Devich was supported by professor Ryan Calabretta-Sajder, associate professor and head of the Italian Section; WLDH Studio Director Curtis Maughan; and Ph.D. Studio Researcher Michael Hall with the design and implementation of the learning unit, which consisted of several gaming stations positioned throughout the WLDH Studio.  

Students played the Italian versions of Assassin's Creed II on PlayStation 5 console, all of which were purchased using TFSC Teaching Equipment funding, which was secured by professor Calabretta-Sajder.