As the students go through the program, I asked them to reflect upon what they have learned or insights into using the site
Check out some of the interviews, some of them will give you a basic overview of the site
And others may tell you what they have been learning as they complete the various episodes
Another fun day using the great web site Gamestar Mechanic where my students are learning about basic video game design concepts - such as rules and modifying the rules.
As the students play through their levels, they are highly engaged and excited - not to mention extremely frustrated when they can't beat a level or they get that instant gratification for completing a level and earning "sprites" and awards for their own video game
To help the students learn about modifying a game and learning how to create their own, the students helped me modify a game they are used to: Hopscotch. And a fun thing to do with the kids is when they complete a level, I reward them a badge on Edmodo
And if you would like to make your own video game with Gamestar Mechanic, check out my previous post with instructions, lesson plan and student samples
Are you being pressured by your Principal to utilize more projects in your classroom based around the STEMS standards? Are your students bored with projects and you have no way to connect with them? Does it seem that
they only want to talk about how far they made it on the Zombie level of Call of Duty, and not how important your instruction will mean to their future? Well then, look no further because now you will have the opportunity to teach to your students' strengths and interests as they create video games utilizing the free web site - Gamestar Mechanic........
If you would like to read more about my latest article on Yahoo's Associated Content, just click the LINK HERE to learn how you can use this awesome web site with your students
CLICK RIGHT HERE (or check out the banner that I created this morning) so that you can play some of the games that my students created using Gamestar Mechanic. One student has made a game that is close to having three hundred people from around the world that have played it this past week alone.
http://mrgsgames.blogspot.com/
What is great about Gamestar, is that it is well balanced between playing, learning and creating. The site ACTUALLY encourages its users to play the video games through their tutorials called "Quest." The Quest is a little story that has the look and feel of a Japanese Manga, but as you play the game, you begin to learn the basics of video game design and you unlock characters and items to include in your games.
In FACT, you can't even publish your game until you complete all five episodes. So, as a teacher, I feel that this is a great (and free) tool to use with my students. Some of the games may be a little simple and cheesy, and the kids may be a bit frustrated that they can't import/create their own characters, items, music or backgrounds, BUT it is an excellent way for your students to create something utilizing 21st century skills, heavily bound by STEM standards, read comics while they learn and share their work on the internet for the world to play.
And coming from a gamer's perspective, for someone who grew up with a Nintendo Enterntainment System in their home as a kid and has since gone through the several generations of video game consoles, I think is a great way to hook the students into their own interests. If you have a student that is interested on some day creating their own games, check this one out to just get used to the whole theory and practice behind game design, but if you really want to get crazy with video game programming, then I would recommend Scratch (which is a bit more complicated)
