This course is graded based on proficiencies. Ideally, this will allow your final grade in the course to accurately reflect your proficiency in the subject matter at the end of the semester. This, however, will require some cooperation from you.
The policy on late work depends on what it is. Essays that are turned in on time come with two guarantees: They will be graded, and you will get credit for your work. If you fail to fully demonstrate a proficiency, you will be granted a second chance to demonstrate that proficiency. Essays that are turned in late will only be graded if my TA or I have the time and motivation to grade them, and there is no guarantee of a second chance on proficiencies you fail to demonstrate. In addition, while we will try to provide meaningful feedback on essays that are turned in on time, you should not expect feedback on late work. In-class assignments are an opportunity for you to gain skill through practice, and they will not be turned in or graded. Small programming projects will be turned in by being demonstrated in class. If you fail to present on the allotted days, you may request time to present on a different day, but of there is not time, you will not get credit for the assignment. The two major projects must be turned in on time. There will be two to three days to demonstrate your tabletop game, and there will be two days to present your video game. Failure to turn in either of these projects in the allotted time will result in failing the course. You are better off demonstrating your project in an incomplete state than not demonstrating it at all. The bottom line here is respect my time. If you do this, I will respect your time, and I will provide you with the best learning environment and the fairest evaluation system that I can.
If there are extenuating circumstances beyond your control that make it excessively difficult to get your initial work in on time, please let me know as soon as possible. Keep in mind that it costs me time when I grade late work, so if you believe a circumstance warrants an exception to my policy, be respectful of my time, and notify me as soon as you are aware of the situation, so I can minimize the cost to myself and my TA.
- What can games teach us?
- What do we need games to teach us?
- Core Game Mechanics
- Complexity
- Balancing Play Time with Rules Time
- Complexity
- Psychology
- User Interface
- Resources and Assets
- Adding education to games
- Gamifying Education
- Turning naturally educational activities into games
- Efficiency
- Design Patterns
- Data Structures
- Algorithms
There are two categories above. Each subcategory is worth 10% of your grade. The value of the subcategories in the Knowledge category is divided up between the bullets in each subcategory. The Knowledge category proficiencies can be satisfied mostly through essay assignments. The Application category proficiencies are mostly satisfied through projects.
There are a few proficiencies that are not obviously associated with any assignment. It is up to you to decide how you want to demonstrate these. You may find that some of the coding assignments have sufficient flexibility to sneak in an additional proficiency or two. You might consider writing an additional essay to demonstrate some proficiencies. You may find that you can work some into one or both of your projects. You might even request some time (a week in advance, because you are so polite) during a work day to give a presentation. Proficiencies that are not obviously covered by an existing assignment have no formal due date. Obviously they must be turned in before the end of the semester, but please respect my time. If everyone waits till the end of the semester to turn in this work, I will not have time to grade it all before grades are due. If this occurs, I will put grades in as they are, and ungraded work will not be counted toward your grade. In short, if you want to guarantee that this work will be counted for credit, respect my time, and don't procrastinate.
You should also be aware: The tabletop and video game projects are critial. If you do not complete them according to the posted requirements, you will fail this course, regardless of the grade calculated from your proficiencies.