In December, my students worked on an entire unit around science-based video game design. They created and published their own video games. It’s more complicated than I can explain here (but we did capture it on our website about the gaming project). Many kids are still working on revising and improving their video games long after the project ended. One of them has almost 1,000 plays of his game in the Gamestar Mechanic community.
Yesterday, I helped a handful of students achieve a goal of theirs. We submitted their science-based video games into the 2012 STEM Video Game Challenge.
I have no idea how they will do on the national stage against other middle school game designers, but they were very excited to get all of the application completed and to know that their video game creations (which are excellent examples of gaming, science and writing, if you don’t mind a very biased opinion) are in the mix for a national award.
Me? I am proud of them for sticking with it and having the confidence in their abilities as game designers, and I am very glad that we seemed to have gotten everything done that we needed to get done for moving their game into the challenge (as far as I can tell. To be honest, the application process is not as clear as it could be).
![2012 National STEM Video Game Challenge [image courtesy http://www.stemchallenge.org/].](http://www.cccblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/logo-stemchallenge-application-form.png "2012 National STEM Video Game Challenge [image courtesy http://www.stemchallenge.org/]."){kind=logo}
And now, we wait until May, when the winners are announced. But we will still be playing and building games. That never stops.
Peace (in the game system),
Kevin
What an accomplishment! I wish my sons, especially my younger one, who i am convinced needs to go to rehab for his Xbox addiction, had had teachers like you, who integrate kids’ out of school lives and passion with what goes on inside the classroom. Can’t wait to hear how they do!
What lucky kids to have you as a teacher. Winning will just be gravy. You have given them the gift of confidence. The confidence to follow a dream. Congratulations. I enjoy your slices. I have read your other posts for a long time.
I’m proud of them and you 🙂
Did you see that the NWP got 11.3 million in STEM? Funding. But there’s strings attached, of course.
What a gift you have given your students – starting them down the road of independent thinkers and problem solvers. Kudos to you and to all of them!
Very cool Kevin! Keeping my fingers crossed, but I do agree with Ruth above that winning would be gravy. The prize was the accomplishment of creating the games and having the confidence to submit them.
Thanks, everyone.
Yes – it is the journey that they will remember. But still, it would be cool if one of them won.
🙂
Kevin
Of course it would be great if one of them won, but they will all remember the project for the rest of their lives. They will remember that you set a challenge (not a simple task) before them, believed they could do it, and walked with them to the end. Bravo!