More than 100 K-12 teachers from Colorado, across the U.S. and even Switzerland gathered in the Roser ATLAS building in June for the annual Scalable Game Design Summer Insititute. The weeklong workshop brings together STEM and language arts teachers from middle, high schools, and upper elementary classrooms to learn how to use game design for computer science education and how to teach computational/critical thinking and problem solving literacy.
On the workshop's closing day, a group of Longmont middle-schoolers stopped by to showcase how they use Scalable Game Design in their classroom. They used the SGD curriculum to create their own video games, and then built game controllers out of things like Play-Doh and bananas. Read the full story on the university website , and check out pictures of the event on our Facebook page.
Outreach in Mexico
Scalable Game Design also kicked off international outreach efforts this summer with a professional development workshop in Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
More than 20 teachers from across Nuevo Leon gathered at Tecnológico de Monterrey to learn how to use video game design to build interest in computer science among middle-school students. The workshop concluded with a media event featuring the magna conference “Enhancing the skills of the XXI century with the program Scalable Game Design Mexico: Chic@s Code“ by Professor Alexander Repenning.
The workshop was hosted by Tecnológico de Monterrey, the Institute of Innovation and Technology Transfer, the Secretary of Education of the State of Nuevo Leon and Scalable Game Design Mexico: Chic@s Code/Everyone Codes.
“We are working to tailor curricula and tools for Spanish-speaking students, while also addressing technical infrastructure challenges,” project founder Repenning said. “Through a sustainable partnership that connects students, school leadership, teachers, parents, and master teachers, we will expose thousands of girls and boys to computer science.”