Tag Archives: creativity

“Ugh! I hate coding!” cried out one of my seventh-grade students. “I don’t see why I have to move Elsa three spaces to meet Anna. It’s soooo boring!” “But with Twine you are coding,” I explained. “I guess,” she responded, unenthusiastically. The above conversation was an actual exchange I had with a student in my social studies class this past school year. She was referencing an Hour of Code activity she was assigned to complete for another class. In it,…

I have been working with the brilliant minds in the video game and design industry since my introduction to the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) at Carnegie Mellon University in 2006.  While I am a scientist and tech savvy, I had no idea what the world of augmented reality, gaming, and videos could mean in the age before the iPad, especially to kids who are growing up immersed in the opportunity to not just consume games, but create them. We’ll get…

Global Kids, Inc. works to ensure that youth from underserved areas have the knowledge, skills, experiences and values they need to succeed in school, participate effectively in the democratic process, and achieve leadership in their communities and on the global stage.  Many of the students in their programs are creating games eligible for submission into the 2016 National STEM Video Game Challenge. Through in-school and after-school Global Kids (GK) programs, middle school and high school students examine global issues, make…

What does László Moholy-Nagy, a Hungarian artist active during the early 1900s, have to do with video game design? The National STEM Video Game Challenge and the Guggenheim Museum’s art education team partnered up last month to host a workshop that explored ways to apply Moholy-Nagy’s artistic process to the practice of game development. In preparation for the workshop, the STEM Challenge team visited the museum to tour the current exhibition, Moholy-Nagy: Future Present. Working with the educators at the…

This past week, the Institute of Museum and Library Services hosted The Capitol Hill Maker Faire as a part of the White House’s National Week of Making.  The STEM Challenge attended the Faire to network with other organizations and spaces that are also devoted to making and innovation. The Faire explored the best practices and challenges of the maker community, in order to foster educators’ and community leaders’ efforts to further innovation across the country. The organizations represented at the…

As a member of the Support Team for the National STEM Video Game Challenge, I often receive many emails from students looking for guidance, such as a recent request from Yoel in Dallas who was looking for tips for young game designers thinking about entering a game for the 2016 cycle. Based upon my experience as a professional game designer and a screener for many of the STEM Challenge game submissions, I thought I’d share my personal recommendations with all…

The synergy in Pittsburgh that extends across three rivers, regional institutions, learning spaces, and communities in support of local youth was in the spotlight during May 9-15, 2016. Remake Learning Days was a bold vision to bolster over 300 events that took place throughout Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia with a culminating family-friendly rally at PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. All week long, Pittsburgh partied. We learning party partied. School marching bands welcomed visitors to open houses, fab…

Since releasing their first Nancy Drew adventure game, Secrets Can Kill, back in 1998, Her Interactive has inspired thousands to pick up a virtual magnifying glass and take on the role of amateur detective—including 2015 STEM Challenge winner Olivia Thomas. Based out of Bellevue, Washington, the Her Interactive team has produced over 30 first-person mystery games in the last 18 years. This month, they launched Nancy Drew: Codes & Clues, aimed at introducing early learners to coding and STEM skills. To…

Almost every child in the United States plays video games—91% of children ages 2-17, according to NPD. But how many kids make their own video games? I could not find any reliable statistics. Nowadays, one barely needs to write a line of code in order to build a video game because there are so many platforms that make the process simple. Gamestar Mechanic, Unity, GameMaker, and Scratch are probably the most popular. Each one involves a different amount of complexity…

Over the past year, the conversations around diversity in children’s media have reached a crescendo. Players and consumers have set forth a clear challenge to industries ranging from tech to publishing: Create media and content that inspires and reflects the diverse learners—children and families—who are consuming your content. According to Common Sense Media, 75% of all American children have access to some kind of mobile smart device and as research from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center shows, lower-income, Hispanic, and…