Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
I also wanted to avoid direct competition that would have a negative impact on
experience points, which is to say student grades. In this I followed the model
found in player-versus-player competition in massively multiplayer games like
City of Heroes
and
World of Warcraft
, where the victors might gain the spoils,
but the conquered take no penalty. This is done through bragging rights,
achievements, and bonus experience points.
I also eschewed the idea of leaderboards. The idea is not entirely without merit,
but not all students have a competitive spirit, and I prefer my courses to be
accessible to as many students as possible. That said, students have created
leaderboards on their own initiative, using them to track and rank level, test
performance, achievements, and other sundry categories related directly or
indirectly to their courses.
Conclusions
This is the first year of this particular curriculum. At the time of this writing,
one-and-a-half semesters into the program, it is too early to responsibly offer any
real conclusions. Even so, we can make a few comparisons with previous years.
The first and most pronounced differences are the increases in attendance and
grades. Another marked difference is that students are coming to me to make up
missed work on their own volition, rather than needing their parents to urge
them to do so or to advocate for them.
Another result has been an increase in enrollment in computer science classes
for both the second semester of this year and for the following academic year.
The first course in the computer science series is at capacity, and higher-level
classes have likewise increased in enrollment.
The ancient deities of unintended consequences never sleep, and this program
has not been immune to their attentions. The combination of this curriculum
and modern real-time online grade reporting has resulted in each student
s
grade being reported as an F for most of the grading period. I have received a
number of calls and email messages from parents who see the grade report and
call to ask how their children can be failing right at the start of the semester. I
have included a detailed description of the program for parents and intend to
record a descriptive video as well.
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