Strategies to Teach Game Development Across Age Groups

The process of game development can be used as a highly motivating learning experience geared to the teaching and learning of a variety of skills in students of varying ages. This article presents a description of a conceptual framework for teaching and learning based on game creation, including pedagogical foundations, a model of instruction for game development, age-related issues relative to learning tasks, and the basic aspects of game development. The authors compare the expectations for types of concepts and technologies employed with middle and high school students versus those employed with college-level students in game development. Projects that illustrate these differences are then presented, and the article closes with a summary and conclusions.

[1]  Leslie Jarmon,et al.  Homo Virtualis: Virtual Worlds, Learning, and an Ecology of Embodied Interaction , 2010, Int. J. Virtual Pers. Learn. Environ..

[2]  Maria Beckman.  Collaborative Learning: Preparation for the Workplace and Democracy?. , 1990 .

[3]  Mark S. Young,et al.  Students pay attention! , 2009 .

[4]  John W. Coffey,et al.  Computer Game Development: An Instructional Strategy to Promote Higher Order Thinking Skills. , 2008 .

[5]  Mark Guzdial,et al.  Collaborative and multimedia interactive learning environment for engineering education , 1995, SAC '95.

[6]  Michael J. Morgan,et al.  Do game-based study tools enhance the learning of complex theoretical subject matter , 2006, WWW 2006.

[7]  Amber Settle,et al.  Game Design as a Writing Course in the Liberal Arts , 2007, FECS.

[8]  Anthony A. Piña,et al.  An Overview of Learning Management Systems , 2010 .

[9]  Carolyn N. Stevenson.  Beyond the Books: Building Community and Promoting Student Retention in Online Learning Environments , 2010 .

[10]  Martin Nikirk.  "Snow Soup" Students Take on Animation Creation , 2009 .

[11]  Steve Cunningham,et al.  The beginning computer graphics course in computer science , 2004, COMG.

[12]  John Kirriemuir,et al.  Video Gaming, Education and Digital Learning Technologies: Relevance and Opportunities , 2002, D Lib Mag..

[13]  Keith A. Willoughby,et al.  In-Class Simulation Games: Assessing Student Learning , 2003, J. Inf. Technol. Educ..

[14]  Karen L. Rasmussen,et al.  Ontology of Serious Games. , 2008 .

[15]  Trevor Davies,et al.  Confidence! Its Role in the Creative Teaching and Learning of Design and Technology , 2000 .

[16]  Jeremy V. Ernst,et al.  Gaming in Technology Education. , 2009 .

[17]  Fu-Shing Sun,et al.  Teaching Design Patterns Through Computer Game Development , 2008, JERC.

[18]  J. Keller.  Development and use of the ARCS model of instructional design , 1987 .

[19]  Linzi J. Kemp,et al.  Learning about Teamwork in an Online Study Environment , 2006 .

[20]  Chris Bateman,et al.  21st Century Game Design , 2005 .

[21]  Lakshmi Prayaga.  Game programming - The 'Why', 'What' and 'How' with Graphics Objects , 2005, J. Object Technol..

[22]  Angela T. Ragusa.  Interaction in Communication Technologies and Virtual Learning Environments: Human Factors , 2010 .

[23]  Patricia S. Moyer-Packenham,et al.  Effects of Virtual Manipulatives on Student Achievement and Mathematics Learning , 2013, Int. J. Virtual Pers. Learn. Environ..

[24]  David Millians,et al.  Simulations and Young People: Developmental Issues and Game Development , 1999 .

[25]  Stefan Schutt,et al.  We Learn as We Go: What Five Years Playing with Virtual Worlds has Taught Us , 2013, Int. J. Virtual Pers. Learn. Environ..

[26]  Ernest Adams,et al.  Fundamentals of Game Design , 2006 .

[27]  Christine Brown,et al.  Computer game development as a literacy activity , 2009, Comput. Educ..

[28]  Karen L. Rasmussen,et al.  Since Malone's Theory of Intrinsically Motivating Instruction: What's the Score in the Gaming Literature? , 1993 .

[29]  A. Chickering,et al.  Applying the Seven Principles for Good Practice in Under graduate Education , 1991 .

[30]  Richard N. Van Eck.  Digital Game-Based Learning: It's Not Just the Digital Natives Who Are Restless. , 2006 .

[31]  Margaret E. Holt,et al.  What's in a game? A study of games as an instructional method in an adult education class , 1993 .

[32]  Maic Masuch,et al.  Challenges in collaborative game design developing learning environments for creating games , 2005, Third International Conference on Creating, Connecting and Collaborating through Computing (C5'05).