In less than a week, students and teachers from all over the world will be encouraged to explore game development in their classrooms. With many schools adopting a virtual or hybrid plan this school year, students are missing out on the opportunity to engage in hands-on STEM experiences with their friends and classmates.  To help fill this void, and encourage learning, computational thinking, and fellowship, Legends of Learning and International Game Developers Association (IGDA) are hosting a month-long Game Design Challenge.

This virtual experience consists of four lessons and four presentations to teach students about game development and will enable K-12 students to practice project management and practice critical thinking.  It is sponsored by Dell Technologies, Alienware, Microsoft, Roblox, AWS, the Entertainment Software Association, and Wargaming.net.

The theme for this event and the games is Advancing Sustainability, which aligns with the 2030 goals that Dell Technologies has established. Dell is committed to driving human progress with these goals and their support of the Game Design Challenge.

“Today, by harnessing innovation from across the globe, we have more opportunity to make a positive difference than every before” commented Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies.

We are excited to provide all learners with an opportunity to design a game, no matter their device-access, age, or previous experience.

To assist teachers with integrating this experience into their classroom, lesson plans with templates and handouts for each portion of the Game Design Challenge are provided below.

You can tune in to all of these upcoming events that are part of the Game Design Challenge on the IGDA’s Twitch page:

• March 1st, 7 pm EST: Opening Ceremony with Keynote, Dell Technologies
• March 10th, 7 pm EST: What is Prototyping?, Roblox
• March 16th, 4 pm EST: Successful Production Strategies, Legends of Learning
• March 24th, 5 pm EST:  Shipping Your Game! Tips for Students from Industry Insiders, Code in the Schools 
• April 13th, 6 pm EST: Creating a Career in the Gaming Industry, ESA Foundation

We hope you will join us for the upcoming events and reach out to teachers and students that would be interested in participating in this program.