Step into the world of game design during this CS Ed Week – an annual call to action to inspire K-12 students to learn computer science, advocate for equity, and celebrate the contributions of students, teachers, and partners to the field. In recognition of CS Ed Week, we are excited to make the PLTW Game Design and Development (GDD) module available to all schools for free! Teachers of any experience level or subject can introduce this unique and flexible learning into lesson plans. And as the demand for computer science professionals surges, providing students with opportunities that extend beyond basic computer literacy will empower them to achieve greater success. This module gives students the opportunity to craft adventure-style experiences on the popular Roblox platform in any setting – whether in the classroom or at home after school.
Curriculum that Engages Students in Game Design
“When you play a game, what makes it fun?” It’s a question game designers and developers ask every day – and it’s one we asked when creating PLTW Game Design and Development. This self-paced, student-driven course leverages Roblox Studio to help teachers and students explore the basics of game design. Throughout the 22-day module, students create truly engaging experiences that they want to play – all while learning fundamental game design elements such as goals, rules, advancement, and feedback.
Computer Science Skills Any Educator Can Teach
For STEM-shy teachers, incorporating game design into the classroom may feel daunting. But by now, nearly all high school students play games online every day – even as far back as 2008, Pew Research Center found that 97% of teenagers played digital games daily. As a nonprofit in STEM education for more than 25 years, we know that teachers need resources and tools to help them feel confident teaching new and innovative curriculum. With that in mind, GDD is designed to integrate seamlessly into classrooms. Teachers don’t need any special training in computer science, coding, or game design to use the resources, which means you can launch it anytime! Just use the to walk through the course and help students resolve challenges along the way.
Expanding Career Readiness with STEM Learning
With connections to a variety of standards and a problem-based approach, classrooms that leverage PLTW’s GDD module improves career readiness with resume-building knowledge and creative thinking skills such as narrative design and storytelling, technical documentation, events handling, and sequential processing in game logic.
Teach PLTW Game Design and Development
Ready to get started? Use the guides below to integrate this interactive, creative game design into your lesson plans for classroom, after-school, and summer learning experiences.
