Games, Robots, and Robot Games

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Games, Robots, and Robot Games

• Complementary Contexts for Introductory Computing
  Education

Dianna Xu Bryn Mawr College
Douglas Blank Bryn Mawr College
Deepak Kumar Bryn Mawr College
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Computing in Context

• Explore alternative ways of teaching introduction
  to computing courses by framing CS in a
  particular context
• Visualization
• Multimedia
• Robotics
• Gaming

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The Traditional CS Curriculum

• It is often designed for the sole purpose of
  producing software engineers.
• It has a reputation of high stress level
• It also has a long tradition of an elitist
  attitude

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Crisis Enrollment
Enrollments in Computer Science(PhD-granting
Programs)
From CRA Taulbee Survey Report 2005-06, March 6,
2007.
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Crisis Interest in CS
Freshman interest in Computer Science has been
declining.
From Low Interest in CS and CE Among Incoming
Freshmen, CRA Bulletin, 2/6/2007.
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Crisis Gender
From Computer Science Bachelors Degrees Granted
to Women, CRA Bulletin, April 5, 2006.
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BMC Challenges

• Small, all-women liberal arts College
• Long tradition of excellence in the humanities
• Virtually all of our majors are accidents
• Biggest challenge is to get them to take a first
  course in CS
• Preferably early

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We Need a New Intro

• CS is more than just programming
• Providing context to the education gives
  motivation
• and its just more fun!
• We believe computing belongs in the core of a
  liberal arts education.

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Computing in Context Robotics

• The IPRE vision
• A ready-to-run personal robot
• The robot provides the intrinsic motivation to
  explore the science behind it

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The IPRE Philosophy

• Let the needs of the curriculum drive the design
  of the materials
• Let the tasks of the context drive the motivation
  to learn
• Use tools that are easy to use, scale with
  experience
• Computer Science is not just programming

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The IPRE Philosophy

• Create an accessible, engaging environment
• Make computing a social activity
• Make computing a medium for creativity

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Computing in Context Gaming

• Special topics course offered in 2005 and 2007
• Accessible to a wide audience with no requirement
  of prior programming experience
• Enrollment was a mix of majors, avid gamers and
  fun seekers.

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Game Design

• Make the course a more creative and social
  activity
• Game co-tutorial
• Modifying poker
• Rapid games, theme-based games
• Game hacking
• The Boardgame test

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Game Development

• Modern 3D games require
• multi-million dollars of investment
• teams of well trained professionals across many
  disciplines
• years of hard work under harsh deadlines
• Students implement only one level or one quest,
  as concept demonstration
• Constant battle of time

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Otis
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Lessons Learned

• The dynamics were excellent with non-majors
• Startling differences in male and female
  interests
• Significant student frustration over software and
  tools
• All found game development rather tedious

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A Gaming Context

• A Game engine designed specifically for
  educational purposes
• Pedagogically oriented
• Intended to be used in CS1
• Object-oriented
• A 3D primitive library of good size and variety
• Modeling, texturing and animation tools designed
  to work together

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A Gaming Context

• An in-context course needs an in-context textbook
• Appropriate textbooks are very difficult to find
• Separate books on design and development
• More books on game engine and other tool sets
• There are successful examples in other
  non-conventional intros

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The Gender Difference

• An inherent obsession of making the computer more
  efficient and run faster
• Women want to know what a software can do for
  others (human beings)
• Women are more socially oriented
• Introducing gaming into the curriculum has a real
  danger of discouraging female enrollment

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Games and Robots

• They have much in common in providing contexts
  for CS1
• The final gaming project in the IPRE CS1 course
  at Bryn Mawr College using Myro
• student game videos on youtube

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Thank you!