Thursday, October 23, 2008

Game Pitch Day

10-23-08

Today was interesting and it went well. We had two faculty members come in and be clients so that our students could sell their game ideas to them. The students created game pitch pages with animated graphics to pique their interest. Students got to explain their games ideas, game play objectives, and why their games would be useful in the classroom. After presentations, all teachers gave feeback on presentation style. The experience was very helpful for the students in that it gave them presentation practice, and it revealed areas where their game ideas needed greater clarification and thought.
I'd like to invite these "clients" back after students digest the feedback, develop their games more, and have more presentation practice. I'd like for students to have before and after insight as a way for them to see their progress. We recorded the presentation with a flip camcorder, but when I try to save, it says my computer has no available space on the hard drive. I'll have to give the camera back, so I may not be able to follow through with the before and after idea like I want.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Oct 17

I laid out plans for students today on making presentation sales pitches. I will be inviting faculty members who may be using the games being created. I gave students a rubric to go by to help them make a successful pitch. I am enthused about this idea because the professional skills really need emphasis among my students (and it's easier than struggling with technical questions :-) ).

Monday, October 6, 2008

Oct 6

I set the kids loose today to continue experimenting with Flash and with the tutorials. They are naturals. They have already created animations and a few have rather sophisticated drawings. They are well past what I learned in three days during the summer. They are really engrossed in the program as well. You could have heard a pin drop in class today. Now that they've had time to familiarize themselves with the program, I think we can get back to visualizing their games and creating a paper prototype.