[game_edu] Getting information about game education to those interested in it

[Andrew Armstrong]

Sounds good, the issue wasn't at the top of the suggestions since there 
are some accreditations already going on (such as Skillset in the UK 
doing some), just was a suggestion it was something the IGDA would one 
day certainly be fit to do. :D

Andrew

S. Gold wrote:

> Last year we had an ad hoc committee put together and we discussed the 

> idea of an IGDA approval/accreditation. Upon completion of their 

> report, the answer was overwhelming not at this time. Meaning this is 

> a subject we need to approach in the future, possibly put together a 

> more formal committee to work in tandem with the next (2011) 

> Curriculum Framework project.

>

> Susan

>

>

> On 7/9/09 11:19 AM, "Andrew Armstrong" <andrew at aarmstrong.org> wrote:

>

>     Just a point, I'm getting feedback and ideas for revamping the

>     Students SIG, and a few people have brought up the IGDA and

>     accreditation for courses. I did mention this was more and

>     Education SIG area, and possibly worth thinking about in the long

>     term.

>

>     Since the Students SIG doesn't even exist yet, really, I honestly

>     agree that the IGDA website is utterly unknown for those who are

>     choosing where to go. If it gets off the ground (with worldwide

>     information made available), the site as a whole could be pushed

>     to those advice institutions who run career websites, perhaps.

>

>     (Advice for your career after you have a degree is something else

>     though, and entirely suited to the IGDA site).

>

>     Anyway, neat idea, it didn't really end though - I presume this is

>     something the Education SIG is now going to do?

>

>     Andrew

>

>     Lewis Pulsipher wrote:

>

>         Some time ago there was a discussion here about how to help

>         potential video game students make good choices about their

>         education. 

>          

>         The problem is not so much to create that information, as to

>         make it available where those folks might actually find it. 

>         Unfortunately, the IGDA Web site is not likely to be a high

>         traffic method of distribution; a great many wannabe students

>         don't seem to be aware of the IGDA at all.  Further, the

>         minority of game students who actually come to IGDA looking

>         for information is the group who least need what IGDA might

>         tell them.

>          

>         So I prefer to use GameCareerGuide.  At 200,000 page views a

>         month, it probably gets a lot more traffic from potential

>         students than do IGDA education sites.  My latest take on what

>         students need to do is at:

>          

>          http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/757/industry_hopefuls_prepare_.php

>          

>         You may know that the company that runs

>         Gamasutra/GameCareerGuide etc. laid off some people some time

>         ago, including the editor of GCG.  Jill Duffy did a good job

>         of answering student questions about game schools, but now no

>         one on staff has time to do that job.   This is an

>         opportunity, then, for educators to take a more active part by

>         contributing to GCG.   If you disagree with my article, or

>         have more to say (I know I have), then write something and

>         send it to Gamasutra (cnutt[usual symbol here]gamasutra.com

>         <http://gamasutra.com> , the C stands for Christian).

>          

>         Using this venue avoids another problem which was becoming

>         obvious during the discussion on this listserv, that any

>         IGDA-approved recommendations would be quite unlikely to "tell

>         it like it is", that is, would be something like

>         lowest-common-denominator (in this case, that most of us teach

>         game-related topics). 

>          

>         But more than just students need information.  Three other

>         groups need information:

>          

>         Administrators who have no idea what a game creation program

>         entails. 

>          

>         Those who may teach in a new game creation program.

>          

>         Parents and councilors/advisors of those students.  (Because

>         in many cases it's the parents who ultimately decide what

>         their children do---both a matter of financial resources and

>         of the initiative to find out what's what!)

>          

>         How do they get this information? 

>          

>         Administrators will likely get it from people (teachers) at

>         their school who are interested in the new curriculum, most

>         likely.  Very few will have the time/interest to search out

>         the information themselves.

>          

>         Teachers may go to IGDA to get the information.  They may also

>         read sites such as GameCareerGuide and Sloperama.

>          

>         Parents?  Maybe from the Web, but where?  I really have no

>         idea, I'm afraid.  Are there sites for parents whose children

>         are about to start college?  That's where the information

>         would need to be.

>          

>         What would they want to know?  Administrators want to know

>         software and facilities costs, level of student interest,

>         likelihood of students getting jobs, difficulty of finding

>         teachers. Teachers want to know what they should do.  IGDA

>         already has one set of advice, the recommended curriculum

>         topics. Parents want to know the likelihood of their children

>         getting jobs, not just in the video game industry but more

>         generally, if they decide to do something else.  What useful

>         things will the student learn (many parents aren't going to

>         regard "making video games" as very useful!)?

>          

>         So if IGDA produced this kind of information and distributed

>         it, some people would enefit.  The interested teachers at the

>         school could provide the "Info for administrators" to the

>         administrators; they might also need a brief "what is IGDA" so

>         that the administrators will realize that the source is

>         probably reliable.

>          

>         Lew Pulsipher

>          

>

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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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