Altoona Area School District (AASD), under new leadership, recently proposed a STEAM Academy School◦Science◦Technology◦Engineering◦Arts◦Mathematics
We both immediately thought of creating a computer apps course that combines the arts with computer programming
How the Course Came About
Located in the city of Altoona, PA Altoona is home to Sheetz, Boyer, and
Benzel’s headquarters The district’s population is
approximately 60,000 people Enrollment approximately 7,800 Graduate around 500 seniors Poverty rate is over 55%
AASD Demograhics
Ron Bowser◦7 years teaching at Altoona Area School
District◦Art Education certified◦Associates from Dubois Business College
in Entertainment Production◦Art Education BS from Indiana University
of PA (IUP)◦Masters in Art Education from Edinboro
University◦6 years teaching Computer Animation
course at AAHS
Our Backgrounds
Chris King◦9 years teaching at Altoona Area School District
◦Business, Computer, and Information Technology certified
◦Business Management BS from IUP◦Masters in Business Education from Robert Morris University
◦7 years teaching AP Computer Science at AAHS
Our Backgrounds
Teachers were asked to come up with ideas for the STEAM Academy
We proposed a Computer Applications and Game Design course ◦Focuses on educational computer apps to help students study for standardized tests in math and science
Administration approved the proposal and a committee was formed◦School board later voted to approve the course
◦Pilot year 2015-2016
Course Proposal
The committee was composed of the high school principal, guidance counselors, a math and science department heads, and ourselves
Discussions were had to consider: ◦What difficulty level the course should be set to
◦How many credits◦The class environment ◦What to focus our teaching on, etc.
Course Planning Committee
The committee decided on a two period, blocked schedule for the year ◦A total of 100 minutes per day◦Considered a 2 credit course
Course difficulty level is at level 3◦College/ academic level
Co-taught Course will be run in the computer lab,
but an area to plan will be close by Students will be grouped into teams of
approximately 5 to work on their projects
Course Details
Pilot class for 2015-2016 capped at 25 students
Students will complete an application if they want to enroll in the class
Students who applied will then be rated by their current and previous teachers◦Looking to get feedback on work ethic, ability to get along with others, etc.
The committee will then select the 25 students◦Looking for a diverse group of students with different strengths
Application Process
3 main unit goals ◦Create an app that teaches Pre-K and/or kindergarteners letters, sight words, shapes, numbers, etc. in a fun way
◦Create an app that helps students practice concepts that will be on the 3rd grade PSSA exam
◦Create an app that helps students practice concepts that will be on the Keystone Math and Science exams
Scope and Sequence Overview
Unity 3D is a 3D Game engine Free to Download Free to make money with games up to
$100,000 Creates games for 16 Platforms
Unity 3D
Platforms Free Download www.unity3d.com
Other helpful resource http://walkerboystudio.com/html/unity_
training___free__.html#unity3software
Blender 3D is an open source software. Used for:• Modeling• Animating • Compiling • Game Creation
Blender 3D
Free Download http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.
html#
Apple’s SDK is just for Apple devices $99 per year https://developer.apple.com/ Does come support services
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