The science of gaming Teacher's notebook
Students use specific programs in class to complete their work. Scratch is an easy open-source programming language; Kodu is a gaming lab; Alice is a programming language that features a drop and drag environment to create animation. Gaming Design students are seldom in a traditional class setting; they usually work in small groups scattered on tables and around computer screens. Stinnett hopes that he will be able to offer Gaming Design II in the near future for those who are especially interested in programming and graphics.
You'd be wrong if you thought that students who are in the Gaming Design class at Oconomowoc High School spend the entire semester in front of screens honing their gaming skills. Students are told on the first day of class that if that is what they are looking for, than they had better make other plans.
Gaming Design, a new class this year, is taught by Patrick Stinnett who has a background in technology education, art and gaming. He notes that high-schoolers can sign up for the class and there are no prerequisites, but students should be ready to work. The class is project-based and hands-on. Stinnett spends very little time in front of the classroom but roams the room to answer questions and interact with students one-on-one or in small groups.
To kick off the class, students learn about game history (thus the stack of Sorry!, Battleship and Taboo boxes) to understand the importance of mechanics, dynamics and esthetics. They design their own board games, go through Beta testing, and write the rules. It is only then that they move on to video and Web-based games. But throughout the process they use multiple programs like Scratch, Kodu and Alice (see Teacher's Notebook).
Stinnett is pleased with the cross-section of students who are in his class.
"These aren't just gamers or techno geeks; these are smart kids using high-level thinking. There are even those who might struggle in other settings, but excel here."
With six sections of 25 students each for an elective class, it's obvious that Stinnett and OHS have found a way to encourage creativity, technology, analytical thinking and fun.
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Photo of the Week by Todd Ponath: ROCKIN' IT - Fred Eide, left, and his daughter Ashley, of Eide Painting and Sandblasting, use spray guns to paint the individual rock shapes on the underside of the I-94 overpass at Highway P in Oconomowoc Wednesday, May 16. Each "rock" is painted individually and then speckled with black paint to make it look like granite.
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