Why use video game design in the classroom?

• Example 1: I teach a computer class and I'm looking for new ways to engage my students and teach them skills like programming, design and troubleshooting. I use or would like to use the project based learning model for my classroom.
  

• Example 2: I teach a core subject and some students especially boys have trouble being excited about the content I'm teaching. I know that they love video games and if I could tap into that interest I think that they would learn a lot more.

Before you start a game design course or use game design as a unit within another course you may want to familiarize yourself with the issues surrounding video games.

It will be helpful when starting a game design course or units to have some materials to fall back on when designing your own curriculum.

Do not feel like you need to master the game design process or the software you have chosen in order to teach game design or use is as a unit within another course. Your students will be able to fill in any holes in your instruction. However it is very important that you go through the process yourself and have some idea how to use the basic functions of the design software.

The best way to get this experience is to make a simple game yourself. A simple game usually includes-

• Start Screen (Instructions)
  
• Main Gameplay (1 or 2 levels)
• End Screen (High Scores)
  

When designing your course or units taking into consideration the following variables-

• What is my ultimate goal for the course?
• How long (time) do I have to commit to this project?
• Do I have the support of my administration?
• How will I deliver the course materials (printed or electronic)?
• When I get questions about game design that I cannot answer where will I find the answer?
• Do you want students to all create their own games or can they work together (each specialize into different roles such as level designer, programmer, tester, audio editor, debugger)?
  

 Here are some recommended tools for creating lessons.

Depending on the organization you are working for use may have more or less pressure to align your gaming units with state and national standards. Fortunately game design is very flexible when it come to alignment below are some resources to help with this process.

During the process of developing a game design course it will be important to discuss the challenges you are facing with peers. You may be luck enough to have someone on your own campus or you may need to connect with peers who live far away. TexasGames.net is one example of a community of educators working together to help each other provide a superior experience to the students they serve.

You may be tempted to go full throttle at first with creating a game design program...don't curb your enthusiasm but consider creating a few solid pieces to your course first and testing them with a few students.

You will be surprised at how often students will come up with a new or innovative ways to achieve some component of the game design process. If you allow students to freely contribute to the course it will increase their commitment to the process and allow them to teach each other.

When designing then learning environment and curriculum for your course remember that boys and girls may approach the learning process very differently...especially in game design.

Another variable to consider when thinking about how you will format the course is how digital native students like to learn and how you will interact with them. If you area digital immigrant consider what accent you may be displaying.