My students finished up their final project of the year last week and I was proud of the results. While some games were more advanced than others everyone put in a lot of effort and showed real growth. For the final project I wanted to do something that combined multiple skills, showed competency of the overall subject matter, was interesting, and gave the students flexibility. I decided on a final game that would be done quickly (four weeks total) with required documentation to back-up their overall process. The required documentation included: timeline of deliverables, storyboard, architecture chart, design document, marketing materials, source code document, test cases, and the final executable.
The first step of the process was having the students set their own timeline with due dates for each deliverable. All students had the same date for the final executable (last week) but all other deliverable dates were set by each individual student. The students were then able to determine which pieces may take them longer or shorter than others and tailor their time management appropriately. I think it is important to give the students just enough information to jump right in while not spoon feeding them into complacency that requires no real thought. The project was a success and it was fun to see what they came up with since they got to choose their own themes, backgrounds, and assets. The students were required to use quite a bit of coding instead of "drag and drop" buttons which can be a trial and error process when debugging so it was great to see what the students did to solve errors they got. Click here to see some of the samples of student's final games.
As I head into the summer I plan on working on several new lessons, projects, and videos students can use to personalize their learning even more next year. Working on things like updating my website, finalizing grades, and ensuring I am prepared for the new courses I'll teach next year will keep me busy but also energizes me for what's to come. I can't imagine a job I could possibly enjoy more. I get to work with so many amazing learners who make me look good through their hard work and effort.
