Manchester, NH (PRWEB) March 30, 2015
Southern New Hampshire University undergraduate students in the School of Education are teaming up with students in the School of Arts and Science’s Game Art and Programming department to compete for the title of America’s next top designer of learning games. SNHU is launching the first-ever Stridebuilder™ Game Design & Development Program in partnership with LTS Education Systems, veteran publisher of digital game-based learning platforms for K-12 education since 2001.
SNHU faculty in the Game Art and Programming department and LTS organized the collegiate game design competition in response to a common challenge shared by K-12 educators across the country: the increasing difficulty they face in engaging today’s digital generation using conventional teaching methods in the classroom.
“The Stridebuilder game design competition is an opportunity for tomorrow’s educators to gain invaluable experience collaborating on the development of meaningful and captivating game-based learning resources for elementary, middle school and high school students,” said Raymond J. McNulty, Dean of Education.
“SNHU undergraduate teams will be comprised of education majors and Game Art and Programming majors. The education students bring diverse skills and experience in technology-focused instruction, as well as educational pedagogy, curriculum and assessment, while the Game Art and Programming students understand the theory and principles behind what makes a game compelling. The teams will combine their expertise to design an entry for the best learning game,” said McNulty.
To build their games, teams will utilize the Construct 2 HTML5 game engine and visual development studio by Scirra Ltd.™, designed specifically for 2D games.
Game entries will be evaluated on several criteria, including a simple but compelling game design and effectiveness in filling a very specific learning gap in a K-12 subject area, such as mathematics, reading or science.
The Stridebuilder contest runs from February through March 2015. Winning teams will be awarded cash prizes worth $3,000 for first place, $2,000 for second place, and $1,000 for third place. Winning game submissions will also earn a place in LTS’ award-winning Stride Academy game-based learning platform, which serves K-12 students across the country with anytime, online learning accessible on tablet devices, PC and Mac.
SNHU’s School of Education embraces the game-based learning methodology. This contest represents an important first step towards more collaboration with the Game Art and Programming department that will help students acquire the industry-leading skills that employers are looking for in the 21st Century.
Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) is a nonprofit, regionally accredited, private university with an 80-year history of educating successful professionals. SNHU has a total enrollment of over 50,000 students in more than 200 undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs, available online, at our main campus in Manchester, NH, and at our five regional centers in New Hampshire and Maine. The university is regularly recognized with “Best of Business” Awards for best online degree programs, and as a top-military friendly school. Learn more at http://www.snhu.edu.
LTS Education Systems has spent 14 years engineering innovative, personalized and motivational online educational programming. LTS’ development team strives to enhance the 21st Century student’s learning experience through an adaptive, digital game-based learning methodology that has been recently recognized by Dr. Bill Daggett and the International Center for Leadership in Education as a major trend in successful educational practices to promote college and career readiness. For more information, visit http://www.LTSeducation.com or http://www.strideacademy.com.
