Repositioning CS
Increasing Diversity and Creativity
in Computer Science Education.
Why I’m Here
► John
Nordlinger (MSR)
► Kim Pallister (MS WGGT)
► Chris Butcher (Bungie)
► Casey Muratori (MollyRocket)
Why I’m Here
► John
Nordlinger (MSR)
► Kim Pallister (MS WGGT)
► Chris Butcher (Bungie)
► Casey Muratori (MollyRocket)
Passionate About Games!
What I Do
► PhD
in CS @ Northwestern University
 Robotics
 Art & Technology
 AI and Games
► Thesis:
Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment
Also…
► GDC,
IGDA, etc.
 Study Games & Game Development
 Teach Game Design and Tuning
 Conduct Academic Outreach
Goals
► Confront
technical problems
► Consider the design perspective
► Facilitate interdisciplinary dialog
► Diversity, diversity, diversity
Making Another Me
► Exposure
 K-8, 9-12
 Undergraduate
 Graduate
► Connections
► New
Directions
Repositioning CS
►A
foundation for procedural thinking
► Extended via interdisciplinary work
► Applied to real-world problems
► Attract (and keep) new folks
The Wonder Years
1984
► Dad:
Nuclear Engineer, TQM
► Mom: Historian, Basket Weaver
► Brother: Music, Sports
► Me: Cosmos and Cartoons
Mac Gyver & Indiana Jones
► Tinkering
 Making new stuff
 Taking apart stuff
► Exploring
 Climbing things
 Getting lost
 Archeology
Games!
► ATARI
► NES/SNES
► SNES
► M.U.L.E
Games!
► ATARI
► NES/SNES
► SNES
► M.U.L.E
Property of: Your Brother!
“Gifted”
► Separate
course, once a week
► Stories with holes, brain teasers
► Computer Typing Game
 Early Mac
 Limited exposure
 No notion of programming
Skidmore Summers
► Make
Stuff!
► Use Computers to draw!
 Again, limited access
 Focus on “special” or “gifted” kids
 Never tied to programming or math
Night and Day
► Science
 In school
 Fixed
 About them
► Art
 Outside
 Flexible
 About me!
The Life of the Mind
7-12: Ugh!
► Aptitude
in math and science
► Increased focus on humanities and
extracurriculars (yearbook, literature)
► Decreased overall enthusiasm
Camp Saves the Day (Again)
► Homerton




College, Cambridge UK
Poetry and Creative Writing
Fine Art and Photography
William Blake
Computers!
► Art
vs. Liberal Arts
Programming as a Liberal Art
► Bill
Sterner & Don Crabb
► Aristotle, Turing, Turkle, Tversky
► Ecologies and Architecture
► Creating new artifacts
Choose Your Own Adventure
► General





Studies in the Humanities
Film
Fine Art
Oral/Historical Narrative
Women’s Studies
Computer Programming
► Focus:
Storytelling and memory
No CS Major
► Take
classes
► Seek mentors
► Experiment
This worked pretty well!
Lab Work
► AI
 Stories as memory (CBR)
 Context/Remindings
 Opportunism/Learning
► Games
► Graduate
Studies?
Connections
Grad School?
► Women
in CS
► Should I take the plunge?
► Ellen Spertus
 Math Lovers Only!
Grad School?
► Women
in CS
► Should I take the plunge?
► Ellen Spertus
 Math Lovers Only!
I AM STUBBORN.
Grad School!
► Day:
Basics
 Traditional CS curriculum
 Individual assignments
► Night:




Projects
KR and IR systems
Pair-wise, often
Architecture and Interface Design
Games
Grad School II
► New
School
► New Group
► New Areas
 Narrative Intelligence
 Game Studies
 Game AI
New Community
► Opportunities
to volunteer
► Explore new ideas
► Learn from each other
► Make better games
New Resources
► Indie
Game Jam
► Experimental Gameplay Workshop
► Game Design Workshop
Familiar Challenges
► IGDA
 Education Committee
 WomenDev
 Student Mentoring
Theory and Practice
► Working
with people
► Towards a common goal
► Using procedural knowledge to
communicate about hard problems
► Improving the community as a whole
However
► Publishing?
► Funding?
► Long-term
value?
Repositioning CS
Enrollment
► Why
is it falling?
► How to people think about CS?
► What can we do about it?
Why CS?
► Accessible?
► Expressive?
► Useful?
► Enjoyable?
► Profitable?
CS as a Discipline
► Credibility,
Specialization & Focus
► Common Languages & Styles
CS as a Discipline
► Credibility,
Specialization & Focus
► Common Languages & Styles
► Boundaries and Inertia
► Stereotypes
 Dark room, screen full of code
CS as a Tool
► Expertise
is awesome but….
 Teach tools first
 Polish & craft later
► Start
early
 Stories with holes
 Scientific method
► Expand
view of machines
► Highlight procedural thinking
Expression and Impact
► Project
Choice
 Art Class, Camp, etc.
► What
does your work say about you?
► What you have to show it?
► Real world applications?
Support
► Trailblazing
is nice
► Bridges may be better
 Journals and conferences
 Web sites, mailing lists and student groups
 Travel and internship programs
Integration
► Core
values
Integration
► Core
values
► Community
Integration
► Core
values
► Community
► Projects
Integration
► Core
values
► Community
► Projects
 Assess Problems
 Share Knowledge
 Create Solutions
Game Curriculums
► Digipen
► CMU
► MIT
► USC
► IT
Copenhagen
► Others
Other Areas
► Robotics
► Biology
► Chemistry
► Environmental
Science
► Economics and Business
► Design and Innovations Research…
What about…
► Film
► Fine
Art
► Music
► Theatre and Performance
► Gender and Cultural Studies
► Critical Theory
Animate Arts
► Bauhaus
model
► Scheme-based tools
► Demystify procedural thinking
► Reinforce creative drives
…Service-oriented approach
Inspiration
► New
contributors
► Cross-pollination
► Long-term relationships
► Groundbreaking work
Questions?
IGDA: www.igda.org
GDC: www.gdcon.com
EGW: www.experimental-gameplay.com
IGJ: www.indiegamejam.com
Or… www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke