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June, 2010 - Scalable Game Design Succeeds beyond the wildest iDREAMS...
This week and next teachers and community college students convene at the University of Colorado Boulder campus to participate in the Scalable Game Design Summer Institute teaching program. They are drawn by the success of the iDREAMS project to teach computational thinking skills in middle school through video game design. The project goal was to train 1200 students over the entire three years of the project. Instead, over 1300 middle school students were trained during the first semester alone, and the project is now on track to include 7500 students. The research results have been equally impressive, showing overwhelming positive response and a desire on the part of the students to continue and learn more.
The teachers come from as far away as the Pine Ridge Ogallala Reservation in South Dakota, and even Alaska. They come from such diverse school districts as Boulder Valley, Denver, Aurora, Ft. Lupton, Pueblo, Trinidad, and Brighton. This year, district teachers are joined by educators from Cool Girls and Girl Start, two programs dedicated to helping girls excel in math, science, technology, and arts. Results so far have shown that over 78% of girls in Scalable Game Design classes wish to continue with further classes.
This year's summer institute presents a unique opportunity to support these new teachers, and to prepare them for the upcoming Fall semester. It is now certain that Scalable Game Design motivates students to learn more about computers and computational thinking, now efforts and studies will shift the focus onto more exact learning results during game design sessions, and effective transitions from game design to computational science that preserve the positive motivational aspects of the project. Results this year hope to align more exactly and illuminate direct STEM educational initiative successes. Teachers and school districts involved are taking a bold step forward to bring computer science education back to middle school students, and hope to show that video games are not just for entertainment, but that they are proven to teach significant math and science along the way.
The Summer Institute is part of CU-Boulder's iDREAMS project, funded by the National Science Foundation to bring computer science to diverse middle school classrooms. The iDREAMS project team involves researchers from the computer-science department, School of Education, AgentSheets, Inc., and the Science Discovery and Upward Bound outreach programs. Participants use the Scalable Game Design curriculum and AgentSheets, an award-winning software authoring environment, to teach middle school students to program complete video games, which builds their basic competencies in computational concepts and problem-solving skills that they can apply in a range of technological careers.
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February, 2010 - AgentSheets 3: Another Breakthrough in Teaching and Learning Computer Science!
Since 1996, the internal slogan at AgentSheets, Inc. has been “Revolution, not evolution.” Every new major release version of AgentSheets truly incorporates innovative leaps, pushing the envelope on making computer programming more accessible and enjoyable in new ways.
The innovative Boulder software company has now released AgentSheets 3 worldwide. AgentSheets 3 introduces Conversational Programming, a new patent-pending technology that makes the computer your programming “buddy.” By using the processing power of the computer to tell you visually how the game or simulation you are programming is going to act before it runs, cooperation between programmer and program moves to unprecedented new levels. This new ability lets the programmer see problems before they arise, whether they are simple omission errors, “that's not what I meant to do” errors, unforeseen interaction errors, or more complex design or conceptual errors. Using the characteristically straightforward visual user-interface of AgentSheets, the computer now communicates unobtrusively about your programming actions as you make them, giving you more insight and clarity than ever. Programming is no longer a “black box” activity. Truly a revolution, indeed.
A History of Revolution.
Since his days as a graduate computer science student, AgentSheets Chief Technology Officer and Computer Science Professor Alexander Repenning has sought to change the way computers are programmed. Now an internationally recognized expert and sought after speaker in computer science and computer science education, Dr. Repenning's research has improved the ability of those whose expertise may lie in other areas to communicate that expertise to a computer. Dr. Repenning's pioneering work in 1996 brought one of the first “drag and drop” Visual Programming Languages into being, changing forever the way programming can be taught and learned. With a determination to not only simplify programming and expand its accessibility to students of all levels, Dr. Repenning has enabled students, scientists, and all AgentSheets users to create programs, games and simulations that are as complex and comprehensive as desired. This makes AgentSheets a software environment that you don't grow out of easily, no matter how much you learn! Users include everyone from elementary school students to NASA scientists.
From University to Company. AgentSheets, Inc. has continued to innovate, creating in 1997 the world's first “Behavior Exchange” - an Internet repository for AgentSheets simulations, giving people the ability to share games and simulations over the Internet, and to incorporate and read live information and data from the internet into a simulation. In 2000, AgentSheets, Inc. brought “Collective Simulations” to classrooms with a revolutionary, NIH-supported system for physiology instruction called Mr. Vetro, which allows students to control the biological functions of a simulated patient and observe direct cause and effects of unhealthy actions or behaviors. In 2008, AgentSheets, Inc. has, in collaboration with the University of Colorado, and funded by the National Science Foundation, developed Scalable Game Design - software and curriculum to teach computational science through the design and visual programming of games. This ongoing program allows students to go from playing video games to designing video games in as little as 3 hours. Studies show that the motivation students have for this activity inspires them to study more computational science across gender and ethnic lines. AgentSheets also allows students to progress from building games to building simulations for science or other classes. Teachers can access curriculum developed by their peers, share what they are doing, and connect with other teachers or mentors through this program, which is continually growing and expanding.
Continuing to Revolutionize Computer Science Education. A key mission of AgentSheets, Inc. is to educate a new generation of technology workers by lowering traditional barriers to computer programming and motivating middle school children to explore their career options and aptitudes in this lucrative field. AgentSheets, Inc. works to bridge the ever-widening gap between using computers or other technological gadgets and actually programming or designing them. AgentSheets 3 is an innovative leap toward this goal.
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October, 2009 - Scalable Game Design Chosen for the Education Excellence Fair at the National School Board Association's Technology & Learning Conference
The national school board association has named scalable game design, a joint project of agentsheets, inc., the university of colorado, and the boulder valley school district, to the education excellence fair session of the technology & learning conference. the session will take place on october 28, 2009 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the colorado convention center in denver, colorado.
The Technology & Learning Conference is an innovative annual conference put on by the National School Board Association with the goal of presenting educational technology to district leadership teams from all over the country. Through keynote speeches, hands-on sessions, mini-academies, and other dynamic programming, the Technology & Learning Conference will explore optimizing the use of technology for the best possible education outcomes.
AgentSheets, Inc., in conjunction with the University of Colorado and the Boulder Valley School District, is proud to present Scalable Game Design and welcome this prestigious group of School Leaders to Colorado.
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October, 2009 - AgentSheets invites You to Visit us at STEMapalooza, Oct 16-17, 2009 – booth 607
Boulder, Oct. 13, 2009 - AgentSheets, Inc. announces our participation at the Stemapalooza Education Conference in Denver, CO on October 16th and 17th. Come visit us and chat at Booth #607.
AgentSheets, Inc. experts will be on hand to demonstrate the AgentSheets software and the Scalable Game Design curriculum and program. We are participating in the Sherlock Holmes sleuthing contest put on by conference organizers - so come and use the Bridge Builder Simulation to get your answers and win.
We are also previewing our exciting 3-D Agent Technology with the Mona Lisa Challenge! How well do you know this beautiful work of art? Come and test your knowledge for the chance to win a copy of AgentSheets software! We guarantee a smile!
As always, we'll have plenty of ideas and information for educators and students. For more information, and a booth map, check in on our website: www.agentsheets.com
Let us know we'll see you at Stemapalooza, and you'll automatically be entered into a drawing for a prize. Become of fan of one of our new Facebook pages, AgentSheets or Scalable Game Design, and you will also be entered into the drawing!
With a new version of AgentSheets fast approaching, AgentSheets, Inc. is striving more than ever to balance exciting innovations and cutting edge technology with proven pedagogical results for an unparalleled classroom experience of motivation, learning and inspiration.
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August, 2009 - Week-long Computational Thinking Camp for Girls
"Females don't typically go into computer science because they have the perception that it is just programming, and they think they'll be stuck in front of a computer desk all day" Dr. Linda Sherell, computer science professor at The University of Memphis and her team, launched a girls only week-long Computational Thinking Camp. 14 High school girls used AgentSheets to design online games. Read more...
November, 2008 - ITEST research Grant to bring AgentSheets' Scalable Game Design to Middle Schools
AgentSheets, Inc., an innovative Boulder-based technology company, has been recognized by the University of Colorado (CU) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) as uniquely positioned to help resolve the crisis in IT education. The NSF has awarded CU a $1.5 million-dollar research grant under the ITEST program. AgentSheets Inc. is a subcontractor to the grant, which will bring software and curriculum into middle school classrooms all over Colorado. Scalable Game Design is a unique approach pioneered by AgentSheets Inc. that allows students to learn both design and computer programming skills while participating in the motivating and rewarding task of designing and building their own computer games. Read more...
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June, 2008 - AgentSheets, Inc. named Colorado Top Tech Education Initiative Company
AgentSheets, Inc. has received the 2008 “Colorado Top Tech Education Initiative” award from CSIA, Colorado's Technology Association. Read more...
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