[game_edu] "Identifying a Good Game School"

[Keld Bangsberg]

Thanks for the link.  I agree - great article.

The issue of adjuncts is not unique to game dev programs; it appears  
to be a trend in general as schools seek ways to keep costs down.

As has been mentioned, adjuncts can be an excellent way to keep  
industry people directly involved, though it is optimal if they stick  
around for a while as they and the students will benefit from the  
adjuncts increased experience in the classroom.  Of course it would be  
very difficult for a prospective student to gauge adjunct turnover.

Keld Bangsberg
Visual and Game Programming Instructor
The Art Institute of Portland
kbangsberg at aii.edu


On Apr 2, 2010, at 9:19 AM, Roberts, Scott wrote:


> Congrats and thanks to Ian Schreiber and Lewis Pulsipher for this  

> excellent article in the Game Career Guide about choosing a school  

> for game development.

> http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/838/identifying_a_good_game_.php

> It’s comprehensive and will be a real help to many potential  

> students (I hope).

>

> The only point in the article that disagree with is the section  

> about teaching, particularly these lines:

> “Ideally, almost all classes will be taught by full time instructors.

>

> “Schools more and more are going to the "cheap labor" model of  

> instruction, using graduate assistants and adjunct faculty, both far  

> less expensive than full-time teachers.”

>

> Not all adjuncts are the same, and the presence of working  

> professional adjuncts can be a strong positive, not a negative.   

> While not every professional is a good teacher, I think that  

> adjuncts who are working game developers are invaluable to a  

> program.  It’s very difficult for full-time faculty to keep up on  

> the rapidly changing processes and technology used in game  

> development, not to mention highly specialized areas such as motion  

> capture and rigging.  It has (almost) nothing to do with economics.   

> While we’d love to hire more of our adjuncts as full-time, the  

> reality is that most of them are happy making games full-time, and  

> teaching on the side (“I’ve still got a couple of games left in  

> me...”)  A balance of full-time and working adjuncts can result in a  

> stronger program, in my opinion.

>

> The question you suggest asking, “Are the teachers good teachers?”,  

> isn’t necessarily connected to whether someone is an adjunct.   

> Adjuncts can be greatteachers.

>

> That said, I apologize for pulling out that one point of  

> disagreement in a long article that I really like and will recommend  

> to high school students!  You’ve done a great job.

>

> 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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