Introduction to Game Design Class - The Multiplayer Classroom: Designing Coursework as a Game - page 125

Jesse s Echo pen allowed him to simultaneously record the

pitches while he wrote his notes. I then uploaded links to each guild

' s use of Livescribe '

' s house on

'

LMS that allowed them to access files on Livescribe s website where they could

read his notes as they simultaneously heard the recording of their pitch, giving a
much clearer idea of the specific moments he was reacting to.

For the first two classes, average grades had risen from a C to a B. This time the
average final grade leapt from a B to an A-. I t due to the

teaching method I employed. Nor do I think it was entirely due to the fact that
RPI requires higher SAT scores than IU for admission. I confess I went a little
crazy with this iteration of the multiplayer classroom, piling on several
opportunities for extra credit that had not appeared in the syllabus simply
because several games, including a variation on musical chairs, seemed like good
ideas worth trying. I did this without using my less than l33t math skills to their
fullest extent. As a result, the grades were skewed higher for just about every
student. I promised myself I would be far more diligent with the next class.

' m pretty sure this wasn '

And that next class we will look at in Levels 9 and 10, “ Designing Interactive

Characters, would prove to be a major departure from the structure of the first

three. Even though it is still in progress, the significant changes make it
worthwhile to include it in this topic. And Level 11 will take us away from
game design classes altogether to see how other teachers in other fields are
designing coursework as games.

�

Observations from Marie-Pierre Huguet

Beyond the Game

This is the first day of class. I walk into the classroom with a wave of students. It is one of these
rooms designed to facilitate cooperative learning. The rows of desks have been replaced by eight
square tables. Each is surrounded by four, randomly arranged, neon green or fluorescent orange
plastic chairs. Painful attempt at cheering up the grayness of everything else. The room is equipped
with the high-tech paraphernalia of a wired institution: hubs at the center of the table, cutting edge
technology at the faculty podium.