[game_edu] guidance for students and parents

[S. Gold]

This is a very interesting discussion, because yes, many of them we seem to
go over again and again. In truth there should be some resolve to them and
we should be able to provide these discussions as a resource to all people
in the membership. Which brings me to something I have tried to express, but
here it is in print: Anyone can approach me to start an initiative that
interests them, maybe it is adding those type of things to the The Breaking
in Website, or teaming up with the writers SIG to do a more in-depth
curriculum for the interactive writing area, you name it... I am open to all
of these great ideas. What usually ends up happening is the same thing that
happened at the EdSIG meeting at GDC, great ideas, but no one want to take
on the initiative. Now I have asked several people over the years to take on
the Student Outreach ­ they start, it is discussed, it stays the same. Do I
want there to be a change? Do I want someone to work on it? YES, please just
step up and say you¹ll do it. The people I have asked have had the best
intentions, it just has not been done. Last year after GDC I tried the IGDA
stamp of approval and that went down in flames. That is fine, but I got an
Ad hoc group together and did not interfere. The response from the committee
was no we are not ready for an IGDA stamp of approval, OK. What other
initiatives do you want to take on? I am sure collectively we can really do
something special. I am sure if you have an idea or resource you want to
work on, the SIG can provide you with the tools. The list can serve as
participants or committee members. I have tried several different
approaches, letting people start new things, the problems have truly been
with the follow through. I can not do everything, I am sorry. The Global
Game Jam is a part of the SIG and it is big enough for me to completely be
at my bandwidth limit. I do need help and am open to any imitative that the
membership feels it needs to explore. The only questions I have would be
included in a proposal:

1. What is the initiative?
2. How does it serve the greater good of the EdSIG membership?
3. Does it fall within the mission of the SIG? ³To create a community
resource that will strengthen the academic membership of the IGDA while
enhancing the education of future and current game developers.²
4. What resources do you need to achieve it?
5. Who will lead it?
6. How many volunteers do you need to accomplish?

Remember we are an all volunteer organization (including me) and we may not
be able to do everything at once, but I would gladly entertain any and all
initiatives. I believe we are able to improve the resources we provide our
memberships.

Areas that interest me:

> * Cultural Pedagogy in Games

> * International Outreach especially for the Curriculum Framework

> * Collaborative Skill Enhancement

> * I think we can really do a lot better when it comes to communication. The

> Writers SIG has developed a quarterly magazine where we will be able to

> publish articles (not papers) that will go out to the entire IGDA membership.

> I think we should have a newsletter. Something that went out at least

> Quarterly? We also will have a new website, we could have a team of folks

> interested in making the website more interesting, useful, etc... Isn¹t it

> about time I just posted those CFP¹s there and not on the list?


Anyway, write to me offline, online, what have you. I am willing to listen
to all ideas that make us better educators.


Susan





On 06/04/09 2:44 PM, "Roberts, Scott" <sroberts at cim.depaul.edu> wrote:


> All the recent posts on "those" programs and the all the "other" evil

> schools/administrators are entertaining, but I'm not sure who they're aimed

> at.  Are there members of those schools subscribed to this list?  If so, they

> must have thick skin to take all this venting.  (And is it just my

> imagination, or does this thread happen every year following GDC?)

> 

> It doesn't appear that anyone is proposing real, concrete actions to improve

> the situation.  I think it's inappropriate for this group to publish a list of

> predatory schools, and problematic to list schools that are AOK (the specter

> of the IGDA stamp of approval).  What is appropriate is to present a list of

> what students and parents should look for: positives and warning signs.  Do we

> have something like this and I've just missed it?  I wasn't able to locate it

> on the SIG site.

> 

> Breaking In

> I'm embarrassed to say that I just noticed the IGDA Breaking In site:

> http://www.igda.org/breakingin/ , and I have no idea how old it is.  It

> appears to be meant to encourage students to get into the industry, but

> there's no real guidance of any kind for choosing a good school (at least that

> I could find).  

> 

> Can I propose that we try to add some education advice to this site, and then

> all work to link to that location from our program sites?  That would raise

> the chances of students finding the site (through a better Google rating based

> on our traffic) and avoiding some of these predators.  FIEA has a list of

> questions for prospective students to ask:

> http://www.fiea.ucf.edu/shield/showpage.php?page_id=1007 , and I liked it so

> much that we made our own version: http://gamedev.depaul.edu/?page_id=38  I'm

> sure many schools have their own versions.

> 

> Maybe something like this could help the situation, and we'll have less to

> gripe about next year.  :)

> 

> Scott

> 

> 

> Scott Roberts

> Associate Professor

> School of Cinema & Interactive Media

> DePaul University

> sroberts at CIM.depaul.edu

> 

> http://GameDev.DePaul.edu/

> 

> 

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-- 
Susan Gold
Skype: tahoegold

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."
Oscar Wilde

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