Douglas Karalius

I learned about a variety of different assessment strategies, I found some useful rubrics, and I reinforced previous knowledge about showing previous student work both from a perspective of what to do and what to avoid. 

I've been a classroom teacher for 20 years now, and I've been a Video Production teacher for 5, so I'm very familiar with Classroom Management in project based classes. What I got from this module had more to do with scaffolding ideas for using specific programs like Scratch and Unreal Engine for students with different backgrounds and abilities. 

I've learned about some good possible first creative programming projects. My students are in middle school, and they are new to coding and have short attention spans. As with my Video Production class, I need to get students creating something right away. They need to feel the success of making something on the first day. So, I would probably have them create a short, point based, collision system type game either in Scratch or in Pygame. I want them to learn something broad and simple quickly, and to see that a simple game really doesn't require a lot of code. 

The 8 dimensions of EGameflow are a really interesting theory for assessing students' enjoyment of a game. 

I learned about different methods for keeping games engaging and re-playable. Also, I learned about creating different "roles" in games so that one player doesn't dominate and dictate the course of the game. 

I learned that the first motivation for many gamers is social interaction. 

Online simulators are a great way for students to experiment without the need for an in person instructor to show them how to do something explicitly. 

There are so many unexpected pathways that life takes our students, so preparing them with modern tech and sparking their creativity and motivation for their careers will only help them. I intend to share some of the varied pathways that students can take and help them see the roads that can lead them there when they have well defined goals. 

I'm not a Game Design teacher yet, but I am a Video Production teacher, and I think that ideas around contests and challenges we take part in apply to game design as well. Look for shows/challenges that cater to the abilities of your students, make  connections with industry experts, focus on student growth, and be ready to adjust expectations in the event of the always present unexpected changes. 

I learned about creating appropriate rubrics for assessment and some tips for how to adjust expectations. I can use some of these ideas right now in my Video Production class.