Attract Students using Game Technology & Robotics Carlotta Eaton New River Community College,...

Attract Students using Game Technology & Robotics

Carlotta EatonNew River Community College, Virginia

[email protected] Copyright Carlotta Eaton, NRCC 2

About Carlotta

Director, Game Technology Programs Professor, Information Technology 11 years at New River Community College 5 years at Radford University 10 ½ years at IBM Post Masters RU, UNC-CH, Capella, ODU M.S. Virginia Tech, Statistics B.S. Radford University,

Majors: Math Education, Statistics Minors: Computer Science, Interior Design

Email: [email protected]


Session Abstract

Do you need to attract more students to your class? Both girls and boys enjoy creating their own games as they learn new skills in graphics, sound, design and programming. It's fun and easy with new point and click programming tools for games. See demos of available free tools and how to learn to use them. Finally see what's new with NXT Robotics and "point and click" Mindstorms programming.


Agenda

Why Game Technology? My Game Experience Game Examples NRCC Game Curriculum & Projects Why Robotics? How to buy Lego robotics Free Game Software Tools


Why Game Technology?

$18B US game industry in 20074

Up 43% from 2006 35+ age group up most $13.5B US game industry in 20061;

$ 8.8B US movie theater in 20062

$7 in games for every $1 in Coke sales globally3

1 NPD 2006 US Video Game…2 BoxOffice Mojo Yearly Box Office3 Jeff Kraus VCCS VP of PR4 NPD 2007 US Video Game …


Attracts the millennium generation

Develops technical and creative minds

Developing games is harder than developing business applications

Employ physics, geometry, trigonometry skills

Create artwork, music, characters and locations

Students learn & have fun

Legend of Zelda on DS

Guitar Hero III for PlayStation 3Images from www.zelda.com and www.guitarherogame.com/gh3/

Why Game Technology?


Terminology Game Technology

I coined “game technology” term to include designing and developing computer, casual internet games, video games and educational serious games.

Other schools use “interactive programming” to get courses passed by curriculum board or school board.


36 ways to learn from video games

Engaging - Kids play video games for hours

Start at your level – Easy, Medium, Hard

Basic skills – JIT learning, guided tutorials

Experienced – doesn’t mean expert Learn by doing – Skills sets Horizontal learning –not just vertical

ones Identity with a Character Ensure learners become a part of a

group of peers and masters across the world

What Video Games have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy by James Paul Gee

Image from Amazon.com


36 Learning Principles (1 of 3)

1. Active, Critical Learning2. Design3. Semiotic (interrelations)4. Semiotic Domains5. Metalevel Thinking about domains6. Psychosocial Moratorium7. Committed Learning8. Identity9. Self-Knowledge10. Amplification of input

(little input, lot of output)11. Achievement 12. Practice




13. Ongoing Learning14. Regime of Competence

(challenging but not impossible)15. Probing16. Multiple Routes17. Situated Meaning18. Text 19. Intertextual20. Multimodal21. Material Intelligence22. Intuitive Knowledge23. Subset24. Incremental Learning




25. Concentrated Sample26. Bottom-up Basic Skills27. Explicit Information On-Demand

and Just-in-Time28. Discovery29. Transfer30. Cultural Models about the World31. Cultural Models about Learning32. Cultural Models about Semiotic

Domains33. Distributed34. Dispersed35. Affinity Group36. Insider (teacher & producer) not

just consumer


My Experience with Video Games

1972 to Today


Pong - 1972

Released November 1972 Played at local bowling alley b/w TV in a cabinet 2 players 2 paddles with bouncing ball

and sound effects

The original Atari upright cabinet. The display was an ordinary black and white television set.

Images from Wikipedia.org


PC Computer – 1980s

Worked for IBM 1983 – Bought PC XT 10MB hard drive 16 color monitor Played text based

games on early computers

Stayed up with brother playing GUI solitaire on first laptop

Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Personal_Computer_XT

IBM PC XT

Klondike Solitaire


Reader Rabbit

Ages 3-6 Teaches reading and

spelling Played with my

daughter

Image from Wikipedia.org


Typing Games

Learn to type on a keyboard

Much more fun than traditional typing drills

Shows words per minutes and accuracy

Now free online typing games

Image from Wikipedia.org & Amazon.com


Game ExamplesOregon Trail History game Played with daughter in middle

school Inspired by the real-life Oregon Trail Teach children about the realities of

pioneer life on the trail Player is the wagon leader guiding

party in 1848 Starts at Independence, Missouri, to

Oregon's Willamette Valley Conestoga wagon Buy goods, assemble party Rivers, diseases, other travelers,

Indians, broken wheels, food, starvation

Image from Amazon.com

Current Games that Teach

Serious Games


America’s Army

www.americasarmy.com Developed by gamers, tested by

heroes Online Game teaches US

soldiers Saves lives

Created by Virtual Heroes Serious games company in Cary, NC Jerry Heneghan, CEO, Founder 2004 Projects include space exploration, Medical

training and Dynamic Virtual Human Technology

Jerry at IGDA meetingPhotographer: Carlotta Eaton

Images from americasarmy.com


A.D.A.M

A.D.A.M Sciences - the human

body Explore the body layer

by layer View Adam and Eve Versions for K-8, High

Schools, and Higher Education

Images from www.adam.com


Guitar Hero

Play the guitar Watch the screen,

press frets and strum Students are now taking

guitar lessons Interest in playing music

not just listening My daughter knows the

music that I loved from the 70s

Image from www.gamerankings.com

Screenshot from Guitar Hero

Guitar Controller for PS3


Phoenix WrightAce Attorney

A book novel in a game that is meant to be funny

You are the attorney in the court room

Learn about logic and piece together the evidence from the court record

Learn about each character in the court room as you play

www.capcom.com/phoenixwright/

Images from Capcom web site


Brain Age 1 for DS

Brain Age 1 Solve problems and

shows your mental age from 20 years old

Used in Nursing Homes Professor that created

has all royalties sent to his university

Includes Sudoku www.brainage.com

Idle BrainBrain solving math problems quickly

Images from Brainage site


Brain Age 2 for DS

More brain exercises

Piano Exercises Follow the

bouncing triangle and tap the stylus on the piano keyboard

www.brainage.com

Images from Brainage web


IBM Innov8

Business Process Management Simulator Game

Free to professors teaching MBA classes

IBM’s Academic Initiative

Example of Serious Game

www-304.ibm.com/jct03001c/software/solutions/soa/innov8.html

Images from IBM innov8 web site

NRCC Game Curriculum & Projects

Carlotta EatonDirector, Game Technology Programs


New River Community College Dublin, Virginia15 minutes from Virginia Tech

4 years researching the game industry and college programs in NC, TX, WA and FL

Attended game events: Austin Game Conference Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco, CA IGDA (International Game Developer’s Association) Triangle Chapter Game degree DACUM Panel at WTCC, Raleigh, NC

Partially funded by NSF Grant Pathways for the New IT Professionals IICo-PI

www.gdconf.com/

www.austingdc.net/

Images from conference web sites


Game Technology Programs at NRCC

First programs in Virginia – 2006 IT Game Design

Specialization CAD Game Technology &

Animation Specialization Game Design, Web Design &

Animation Career Study Certificates

2006 – ITP 160 Intro to Game Design & Development Class

Photographer: Carlotta Eaton


Skills LearnedITP 160 Intro to Game Design/Development

Programming structures Object Oriented

Programming concepts Software Development

Life Cycle Add music background Add sound effects Add artwork Math and physics to

move characters Create first game in 2 hours See www.nr.edu/itp160

Photographer: Joyce Taylor

Patrick Beamish tests his Donkey Kong game


RU ROAR Project

Radford Outdoor Augmented Reality Project

Matt Dunleavy, Professor, EducationRadford University

Started research at Harvard NRCC students creating

game with Flash and Mscape

See http://www.radford.edu/mdunleavy/620/ROAR.html

Images from ROAR web site


Augmented Reality Games

Get the kids outside Uses GPS locations to

trigger the handheld computer

Working with Radford High School to create Wildwood Park Habitat game

Frank Taylor, Biology Teacher

Image from ROAR web site


Lauren Robertson May 2008

IT Game Design graduate

Apr 08 IssueTECHcitement AACC Newsletter for Advances in Technological Education

Girls like Games too

Forty-five community college students or recent graduates of community colleges showcased their involvement in ATE-supported projects at the 14th National ATE Principal Investigators Conference. Several of the female students shared their insights for recruiting women to careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).


Girls Get IT Camps

June 30 – July 3 at NRCC www.nr.edu/it

June 18 – June 24 at Radford University www.radford.edu/~bridge

Images from postcard by Carlotta Eaton

Robotics

Lego NXT Mindstorms


Why Robotics?

Students learn programming, science & physics concepts

Students work in teams, and learn teamwork

Working with objects not just the computer

Robots move around the room or outside the classroom

CSC 200 success rate went from 50% to 85% using robots

Left: Shane Francis with NXT robotRight: Daniel Burgess with RCX robot

Photographer: Carlotta Eaton


How to start with Robotics

Start at LegoEducation.com

Resources for Grants on web site

Talk to your rep as she can save you money

www.mindstorms.lego.com Purchase kit(s), software,

curriculum, bookImage from Lego Mindstorms site

Lego robot to solve Rubik’s cube


1) Mindstorms Kit

Lego Mindstorms Education NXT Base set #9797

Mindstorms Education NXT Base Set #9797

1 kit per 3 students $260 per kit

Image from Lego Education site


2) Mindstorms Software

Lego NXT Mindstorms Education Software

WinXP or Vista or Mac $60 individual

# W700077 $295 Site License

# W991280 Drag & drop

programming Includes tutorials



Or 2) Robot C Software

C based programming environment

$49 individual $265 classroom Designed by Carnegie

Mellon Windows XP



3) Optional Robotics Curriculum

NXT Robotics Engineering I Curriculum (6 weeks)

$225 Site licenseMindstorms Software

Developed by Carnegie Mellon

Includes Teacher CD with Powerpoints, solutions, Lessons, and Quizzes



3) Or RobotC Curriculum

Robot C Curriculum $225 Site license

Mindstorms Software Developed by Carnegie

Mellon Includes lessons in

movement, sensing, variables, programming, systems and advanced



4) Optional Book

Lego Mindstorms NXT The Mayan Adventure by James Floyd Kelly

$25 Retail price Build ExploroBot,

StringBot, SnapShotBot, GrabberBot and PushBot in 20 lessons

Free Game Software

Tools you can use


Create Computer Games Free GameMaker

Software Point and Click tool to

create games Free from

www.yoyogames.com/make

Great textbook by Mark Overmars creator of GameMaker

Images from Yoyo game web site


Game Maker Book – Not Free

Games from the book Koalabr8, Evil Clutches, Lazarus, Galactic Mail, Super

Rainbow Reef book.gamemaker.nl/

Images from GameMaker book site


3D Locations

Google Sketchup Easily create 3D models Great tutorials Free to download Web site

sketchup.google.com

Images from Sketchup Google site


HP Mscape - Free

Create GPS enabled games that run on handhelds or cell phones running Windows

www.mscapers.com/ Great outdoor fun Students learn

programming Can also program with

Flash


References

Feb 08 ACM Communications“Alternate Reality Gaming”

Feb 08 Business Week “Video Games Aren’t a Waste of Time”

July 08 ACM Communications“Business of Games”

Images from magazines & web site

http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/feb2008/bs20080219_935082.htm


Questions?

Carlotta Eaton Director, Game Technology Programs Professor, Information Technology New River Community College

Dublin, Virginia [email protected]


Another popular game tool

Eaton no experience with this tool

Web site at tkool.jp/products/rpgxp/eng/

Images from RPG Maker XP site

Attract Students using Game Technology & Robotics Carlotta Eaton New River Community College,...

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