[game_edu] game_edu Digest, Vol 54, Issue 15

[Ian Schreiber]

"How to fix this"? I'm not sure that's the right approach. All of us should be making our respective programs as good as we can, and I doubt many of us would admit to pushing low-quality education on our students. It's "Those Other Programs" that are making us all look bad, which we have no control over ;-)
 
For our own programs, sure -- focus on excellence. Have up-to-date equipment. Hire instructors who understand what they're teaching. Partner with industry (note that I say "partner" and not "take direction from" -- some game companies may be tempted to push their company-specific agenda on schools, which may not be in the best interests of anyone except that one company). Build bridges wherever you can. And by all means, work with this SIG to define what a great program should be, so that we can all get on the same page.
 
As for how to help other programs so that they don't reflect poorly on the rest of us... I've been working on that for the past few years, and I'm starting to wonder if it's a lost cause. The schools that don't care about quality education in games as long as they can boost enrollment... they are not going to care. They will not look for any resources that we provide, so they will not find them. I think it is a commendable effort to help them, but ultimately a fruitless one.
 
Better, I think, would be to push the information to prospective students and their parents. These people are about to spend a lot of money on an education and they ARE looking for resources. If we can provide resources targeted at this group that will make them highly aware and critical that this is a "buyer beware" market, and giving them the tools they need to select a quality program, then they will pass on the schools that aren't giving them a solid value. The only students who would attend the bottom-tier programs would then be the bottom-tier students, and all would be well.
 
- Ian

--- On Sat, 4/4/09, Nic Colley <Nic.Colley at cpcc.edu> wrote:

From: Nic Colley <Nic.Colley at cpcc.edu>
Subject: Re: [game_edu] game_edu Digest, Vol 54, Issue 15
To: "IGDA Game Education Listserv" <game_edu at igda.org>
Date: Saturday, April 4, 2009, 8:16 PM


So how can we fix this? We have been running around the issue complaining about poor instruction and computers not having the right specs. Well the second one is a hard one to fix as that is part of the ever increasing $$$ problem. The instructor side is something that we can definitely work on. 

We all agree that people who have not played a game, let alone not know what WoW is, should not be teaching game development. Yes, this individual might be a great Instructor, but the students will not see any credibility. Like it or not, our job is to transfer our knowledge to them. If we are not learning from the medium that we are teaching, then we are failing them and ourselves. 

How can we fix this? We should do three things. One, partner with the industry and put together a list of games & articles with two to three categories for non-gaming instructors. Next, listen to what the industry when it comes to what students should be doing before entering the industry. Last, but not least, change the change education <http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html>  system. (This one is extremely easy </sarcasm>) 

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Game List:

"teaching a game class tomorrow and I don't know anything about games" -  This list will need to be limited with only 3 to 5 games with a quick article or two about game design. These games will need to be easily accessible, i.e. PC. This way the instructor can at least get something in their head about what a game is. and what design is about

"I am teaching a class next semester, what should I do to prepare". This list should have 20 or so games with a book or two. The games will need to span over a few platforms. 
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Listening

Ask and you shall get an answer. Constantly talk to developers and ask them what they want from your students. They are willing to help.

Change
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Going back to my statement above failing ourselves and them, a lot of institutions think of college/university as a business for making money. They forget about the student and focus only on their grants. If you are not helping them as a student, your are chum water. The creativity in education is being ripped out of education. This field is based on generating ideas, failing often, and then finding that one mechanic that builds the game. Too many instructors don't mentor the students through this process. They just throw a rubric, if even that much, at them and say go. 

Thanks,
Nic Colley
________________________________

Faculty, Simulation & Game Development Program
Nic.Colley at cpcc.edu
704-330-6348


      
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