HP Catalyst Grant

National University - HP Catalyst Project

National University has joined the “Multi-Versity” consortium to  explore novel ways to provide faculty and learners new game development learning opportunities in STEM+ areas. Tools and techniques developed through this grant will provide faculty with innovations in synchronous, semi-synchronous and asynchronous online teaching and learning opportunities with tools and processes that can be employed in STEM+ education. In addition, this grant will support collaboration among global cohorts of STEM+ related teaching faculty by exchanging information through hosted servers currently established at the National University. This faculty working on this grant will have complete access and use of this laboratory through which the information, and programs developed will be delivered to global STEM+ related teaching faculty.

Desired Goal

This project expands on successes from a previous HP Leadership Grant, linking real-world engineering experiences with video game design teaching methodology to provide learners virtual apprenticeships.  The Game Design and Technology Learning Collaborative, a sandbox for teaching and learning, will create and host an international platform for educating and collaborating with teachers and learners to implement this game design methodology for STEM+ education.  This will provide educators with:

  • Methodologies with examples using game theory in STEM+ education
  • Mapping game principles and examples to course content developed through this Collaborative
  • Techniques and technologies for implementing international collaboration using advanced learning experience (synchronous, semi-synchronous and asynchronous classrooms)
  • Technologies for creating student produced games into learning objects that can be reused across courses in multiple universities
  • Building blocks to extend outreach to precollege, at risk and marginalized students through existing partnerships with Learning for Life and AmeriCorps Teachers
  • A repository to host and share learner games using National University’s network
  • An experimental 3D immersive learning environment to allow expansion and distribution of student created games

We will validate, present and publish our results extensively.