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Abstract
Contemporary educational models emphasize educators employ tools to increase engagement and collaborative thinking in student learning. Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) have recently been found to have great potential for language immersion and cultural education. Researchers have hypothesized that it could also be used in social justice education. This project creates a hybrid Alternative Reality Game based loosely on a smallpox epidemic and uses it as a tool to expose students to concepts surrounding environmental justice and environmental racism in the United States. Quantitative data collected in this study focuses on if participants in the ARG experience significant changes in their understanding of the prevalence and effects of environmental racism on various marginalized communities. Conceptual understandings of EJ were found to be improved though any effect on personal philosophy and willingness to incorporate findings were unclear. Future directions of data collection and possible expansion of the game universe are discussed.