Spencer Striker

Associate Professor in Residence

Department

Communication Program

Phone

+974 4454 5037

Email

spencer.striker@northwestern.edu

Office

2-244

About

Spencer Striker, PhD specializes in digital media design. His work centers on interaction design, mobile media, digital media and learning, video games, and entrepreneurship. Dr. Striker’s major current project is History Adventures: World of Characters—a fully interactive digital learning series that presents a fresh approach to history education, combining mobile entertainment technology with the power of narrative design. Dr. Striker’s other current projects include Global Pandemics: Plague of Athens (built for Chromebook as a Chrome browser web app); Global Pandemics: Black Death (iOS/Android native app for tablet); Empires & Interconnections, (built for Apple Books interactive; then rebuilt as an iOS native app for iPad, (using the Unity3D game engine); with work on the Android tablet version under way); Plague of Athens: a VR Experience (adapted from the Chrome browser web app); the Digital Doha Podcast; and America’s City, a forthcoming special edition of History Adventures designed to immerse students in the world of revolutionary-era NYC, (supported by a Digital Projects for the Public Grant from National Endowment for the Humanities).

Dr. Striker’s digital design awards include two Anthem Awards; three Horizon Interactive Gold Awards; winner of the Gold Medal for Best Educational App at the Reimagine Education Awards; and four Webby Awards. Dr. Striker’s projects have received competitive funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Northwestern’s Innovation & New Ventures Office; the Oxford Research Institute; the HBKU Innovation Center; the Qatar National Research Foundation; and the Institute for Advanced Study of the Global South. Dr. Striker’s work has received excellent press and reviews in media outlets ranging from screenwriting to education technology and has been featured at major national and international conferences, including official selections to the ALPHA showcase at the 2017 Web Summit in Lisbon, the 2019 Tokyo Slush Startup Showcase, and the 2022 Games, Learning, and Society Game Showcase in Irvine, CA. In addition to his academic experience, Dr. Striker has worked in the digital media industry, having served as founding creative director of the Silicon Valley learning games startup, Galxyz, Inc, (which raised $4m in funding from Relay Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and Laurene Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective), based on his original digital learning design concept, an “intergalactic science adventure.”

Dr. Striker holds a Ph.D. in digital media from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, a Masters in new media production from Indiana University at Bloomington, and undergraduate degrees in radio-TV-film (B.S.) and history (B.A.) from the University of Texas at Austin.

Official Website

Current CV

Grants & Fellowships

2022 NEH: Digital Projects for the Public - Discovery Phase, $30,000

2023 Alumnae of Northwestern University Grant | Global Pandemics, $5,000

2023 Provost Grant for Research in HSSA | Game-Based Learning, $5,000

2023 Provost Grant for Career Development & Writing Support, $2,500

2023 Institute for Advanced Study in the Global South - Research Grant, $25,000

2022 UREP: Undergraduate Research Experience Program, $30,000

2022 NU-Q Research Fellowship, $25,000

2021 QNRF: VR as Hybrid Learning Solution for Education, $50,000

2021 INVO Innovation and New Ventures, N.XT Ed Tech Seed Funding, $25,000

2021 Provost Grant for Research in Humanities, Social Sciences, & the Arts, $3,000

2021 HBKU Innovation Center, Rapid Response Grant, $27,000

2020 NPRP, Qatar National Research Foundation, $483,000

2020 Internal Research Grant, Northwestern University in Qatar, $15,000

2020 Educational Technology Teaching Fellows Program, Northwestern University

2016 Oxford Summer Research Institute Fellowship, $20,000

2016 Faculty Student Mentorship Grant, Office of the Provost, $5,000

2016 Faculty Teaching Offset Award (FTO), Office of the Provost, $10,000

2012 Grant Writing Fellowship, Digital Media & Learning Competition, $5,000

2012 Inclusive Excellence Initiatives Grant, $2,000

2012 Visiting Artist Grant, $3,000

2011 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | Games, Learning, & Society, $5,000

2011 Academic Staff Development Grant, AERA, New Orleans, $1,000

2010 Academic Staff Development Grant, Next Web Conference, $5,000

2010 College of Arts & Communication/Provost Office, Webby Awards, $4,000

2010 Just-In-Time Award, Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference, $1,000

Media Awards

Winner

2023 2nd Annual Anthem Awards: Bronze Medal - Plague of Athens

2022 Reimagine Education | Middle East: Gold Medal - Plague of Athens

2022 Inaugural Anthem Awards: Silver Medal - History Adventures

2023 Hermes Creative Awards, Platinum Winner - Best Use of Multimedia

2022 w3 Silver Award - Best Website for Education

2022 AVA Digital Awards, Platinum Winner - Plague of Athens

2022 Horizon Interactive Award, Gold Medal - immersive learning

2021 Tech Edvocate Award - Best Augmented Reality App

2021 w3 Silver Award - Best Mobile App for Education

2020 Horizon Interactive Awards, Gold, Mobile Apps - Education
Empires & Interconnections, 1450-1750

2019 Horizon Interactive Awards, Gold, Mobile Apps - Education
Revolutions & Industrialization, 1750-1900

2010 Webby Award - Online Film & Video

2010 People’s Voice Webby Award - Online Film & Video

2009 Webby Honoree Award - Online Film & Video

2008 Webby Honoree Award - Online Film & Video

Nominated

2023 Bett Awards: Best Open Educational Resource - Plague of Athens

2022 EdTech Digest Cool Tool Award - Dr. Sara: Disease Detective

2021 Best Educational App, Reimagine Edu Awards - Dr. Sara: Disease Detective

2021 Best New Mobile App, Mobile App Awards - Dr. Sara: Disease Detective

2020 Best Educational App, Reimagine Education Awards - History Adventures

2017 Dubai Smartpreneur 2.0 Competition - Conscribo

2012 Digital Media & Learning Competition - GameZombie TV

2010 Mashable Award – Best Web Video

Media Work

History Adventures: World of Characters, 2017 - present

Fully interactive, cross-platform digital learning series, whose accolades include Anthem Awards Silver Medal; Horizon Interactive Gold Award; and winner of Best EdTech Innovation in the Middle East at the Reimagine Education Awards. Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. In partnership with NU’s Center for Talent Development. Presents a fresh approach to history education, designed for a digital generation. Combines mobile entertainment technology with the power of narrative design—bringing the pages of history to life. Series includes several major installments:

“America’s City” | Cross-Platform Digital Learning, (2025, in pre-production)

The People Who Created “America’s City” (New York 1770-1800) is a special edition of History Adventures designed to immerse students and museum attendees in the world of revolutionary-era New York City. Offers a dynamic way to understand that making choices was often fraught for people during this era of Revolutionary War. Funded by a National Endowment for the Humanities Digital Projects for the Public Grant.

Empires & Interconnections | iOS/Android Tablet, (2023)

Interactive, multimodal learning experience, built for iPad and Android tablet using Unity3D, combines mobile entertainment technology with the power of narrative design. 1450-1750: during this period of colossal change, the world got smaller. Explores the lives of 6 amazing men and women around the globe.

Empires & Interconnections | Apple Books Interactive, 2021

Interactive, multimodal learning experience, built for Apple Books. Combines mobile entertainment technology with the power of narrative design. 1450-1750: era of massive change, the world got smaller. Explores the lives of 6 amazing men and women around the globe. Nominated for Best Educational App at the Reimagine Education Awards.

Revolutions & Industrialization | Chrome Browser, iOS, Android, 2021

Interactive, multimodal learning experience, ported from Apple Books to Chromebooks web app, iOS, and Android, using Flutter development tool. Students examine whether the technological and economic advancements of the period from 1750-1900 was worth the human cost. Explores the lives of 5 fascinating characters around the globe.

Revolutions & Industrialization | Apple Books Interactive, 2020

Interactive, multimodal learning experience, built for Apple Books. Students examine whether the technological and economic advancements of the period from 1750-1900 was worth the human cost. Explores the lives of 5 fascinating characters around the globe. Nominated for Best Educational App at the Reimagine Education Awards.

Conscribo, 2018

Original prototype for interactive, animated, narrative-driven digital learning product concept that became History Adventures. Premiered at Step Conference Dubai, 2018. Tells the story of Duro, who lived in Rome, 2nd Century CE. Story of a Roman legionary.

Global Pandemics, 2021 - present

The Global Pandemics immersive learning series is designed to enhance student understanding of the role of pandemics in world history. Combines digital storytelling with interactive learning design to craft a complex pedagogical experience that immerses students in the experiences of people who lived through history’s worst pandemics. Major editions explore: The Plague of Athens in Ancient Greece; The Black Death in 14th Century Europe; Smallpox in 16th Century Modern-Day Mexico; The Spanish Flu on the Western Front of WWI; and HIV/AIDs 1980s San Francisco. Supported by Northwestern’s INVO (Innovation & New Ventures Office); the Qatar National Research Foundation; and Northwestern Grants for Applied Educational Research.

Black Death | iOS/Android Tablet, (2024, in pre-production)

“Forty Days” tells the story of Giana, a young girl, daughter of a baker, living in Venice during the Black Death. Her ordeal concerns whether to abandon her sick father and flee to the country or stay and take care of him—a common dilemma for people during Black Death Europe, who were often forced to abandon relatives to a miserable lonely death. Supported by funding from INVO’s N.XT Ed Tech Seed Funding Competition.

Plague of Athens | VR Version, (2023, in production)

Interactive VR learning experience built for the Meta Quest 2—achieves an immersive verisimilitude of living through major pandemics in world history. Addresses the issue of achieving high-quality, uninterrupted education in times of crisis and lockdown. Supported by competitive funding from the Qatar National Research Foundation and a Northwestern University Provost Faculty Grant.

Plague of Athens | Chromebook Web App, 2022

Digital learning experience built for desktop Chrome browser—designed to enhance student understanding of pandemics in world history. Features cutting-edge web animation, interaction design, and digital storytelling. The story of Nikos, a physician during the Plague of Athens, 429 BCE, sworn to the Hippocratic Oath.

Disinformation in the Philippines | a Learning Game Series, (2024, in development)

Disinformation, Journalistic Freedom, and Digital Literacy in the Philippines. Cross-platform learning game series, (deployed to mobile phone, browser, and VR headset), for the purpose of teaching digital literacy for Philippine youth—enhancing critical thinking skills and the ability to make sense of disinformation, fake news, and the role of press freedom in the context of Philippine politics and society. Supported by competitive funding from the Institute for Advanced Study of the Global South and the Provost’s Office at Northwestern University.

Dr. Sara: Disease Detective, 2021

Dr. Sara: Disease Detective is an action-adventure, visual novel mobile game that combines character-driven simulation of Epidemic Intelligence Officer detective work with gameplay dynamics around network science, fomites, vectors, and contact tracing. The project was supported by a competitive grant from the HBKU Innovation Center.

QatarPodcasts.com, 2020-present

Founded QatarPodcasts.com, a platform for developing Qatar-based podcast series. Qandid Qatar offers in-depth conversations with Qatar-based VIPs/local celebrities, while Qatar in Quotes focuses on “ordinary people with extraordinary stories.” Supported by competitive funding from the Qatar National Research Foundation.

Digital Doha Podcast, 2021-present

Serving as a Principal Investigator in a multi-year, longitudinal study of how AR, VR, and other Emerging Media are being utilized in Qatar. Conducting qualitative research through podcasting. The Digital Doha Podcast examines the vanguard of digital media innovation in the Middle East and the greater region.

Digital Doha Podcast Interview Selections

Ep. 2: No Words, featuring Mariam Al-Dhubhani - May 10, 2021

Ep. 4: Chaos Antidote, featuring Hadeer Omar - July 27, 2021

Ep. 5: VR Encyclopedia, featuring Julia Leeb - November 27, 2021

Ep 6: SIGGRAPH Asia 2022, featuring Dan Sarto - Dec 31, 2022

Ep 7: SIGGRAPH Asia 2022, featuring Hyungseok Kim - January 31, 2022