C A M P U S C U R R E N T Games for Students, by Students
The National Science Foundation has awarded Harvey Mudd College $580,033 to advance a software development model that engages both college and middle-school students. The three-year grant will expand a pilot program begun last
year and fund the creation of a guidebook to help other schools start similar projects. “The Games Network: Games for Students, Games by Students” challenges HMC computer science students to develop educational games based upon learning objectives set by real-world customers: middle-school social studies teachers. Sixth- and seventh-grade students then test the games and provide feedback. Project Directors Elizabeth Sweedyk, associate
Elizabeth Sweedyk
professor of computer science, and Computer Science Chair Michael Erlinger, hope to shatter stereotypes about the computer science field by introducing younger students to the fun, creative side of software development. Their project aims also to offer college-level
students the opportunity to create games for an audience other than themselves. The grant will allow the program, which success-
Michael Erlinger
fully launched in fall 2009 at Hillside Middle School in Kalamazoo, Mich., to add more partici- pants and explore new game development options. A third teacher will be added to Hillside’s team
and a history teacher from El Roble Intermediate School in Claremont will serve as the first California participant. Erlinger will join Sweedyk as a project director, and a host of middle- school students will be added to the mix. Funds will also help introduce game development in other
courses at HMC, extend development to include mobile games, and create a guidebook to help other schools follow the project’s example.
HMC Computer Science students will develop educational games based upon learning objectives set by real-world customers: middle-school social studies teachers.
Sweedyk, who specializes in gender, gaming and computer
sciences, received an NSF grant last year for support of the project “CS Education: Computer Game Course, Curriculum and Gender?” which is funded through 2012.
C o l l e g e N e w s
Correction We regret the following errors made in the last issue of the HMC Bulletin (summer 2010). These errors do not appear in the online issue; it has been updated. In the story on page 7 and in the caption on page 8, John Molinder, James Howard Kindelberger Professor of Engineering, was mistakenly identified as “James” Molinder. Also, Crystal Bong and Ashley Kretsch are not freshmen as indicated in the Class of 2014 item on page 10. They are sophomores who attended the Summer Institute event for first-year students.
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