Yes, Your Students Can Create Games That Land in the Apple
LEARNING
Computer Science 26
Apps 29
Mathematics 30
Tip 32
Journalism 33
It’s becoming increasingly clear that teaching facts is much less valuable than it was a short time
ago. Since the advent of internet
search engines and wikis, the
information that educators
have historically “taught” is
now at students’ fingertips.
This presents a paradigm
shift that many educa-
tors feel is long overdue:
Inquiry, interpretation,
and product-based collab-
orative projects are replac-
ing the process of feeding
students bits of information to
memorize.
But not all inquiry projects are
created equal. The most success-
ful are those that tap into students’
interests. We believe the booming
video game industry can provide
real-world projects that teach valu-
able digital age skills. Consider the
advantages: Playing video games
requires knowledge and skill ac-
quisition as well as complex problem
solving. And most games require vast
amounts of self-directed learning.
Situated cognition is an educational
strategy where learners develop skills
within a group. Research has shown
that students who are exposed to
situated cognition methods, which
involve immediate real-world application and allow players to determine
their own objectives, see greater value
in learning.
Designing an App-Creation Project
Over several weeks in a computer
applications classroom at Centennial Middle School in North Boulder,
Colorado, seventh and eighth grade
students created game apps and a corresponding fictional gaming company.
They began the semester learning basic programming with tutorials from
the program Gamesalad. The tutorials
demonstrated how to import pictures,
program an object to move, and produce visual effects. They demonstrated
their growing understanding of the
programming language by creating a
simple video game that required players to move a boat.
Next, the students worked in pairs
to create a unique game. They filled
out planning sheets that detailed the
look and theme of their games, the
characters, and how to win or lose.
Over the next few weeks, they built the
game they had outlined using original
artwork and music that they created in
Photoshop and GarageBand.
Creating a Company
We could have stopped at app creation, and the students would have
had a robust learning experience. But
we wanted to take this lesson a step
closer to the real world by having
them create fictional companies to
promote their apps and sell product
merchandise, such as shirts and other
products. Students created company
logos and displayed them on cards,
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