1. Repositioning CS Increasing Diversity and Creativity in Computer Science Education.

2. Why I’m Here • John Nordlinger (MSR) • Kim Pallister (MS WGGT) • Chris Butcher (Bungie) • Casey Muratori (MollyRocket)

3. Why I’m Here • John Nordlinger (MSR) • Kim Pallister (MS WGGT) • Chris Butcher (Bungie) • Casey Muratori (MollyRocket) Passionate About Games!

4. What I Do • PhD in CS @ Northwestern University • Robotics • Art & Technology • AI and Games • Thesis: Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment

5. Also… • GDC, IGDA, etc. • Study Games & Game Development • Teach Game Design and Tuning • Conduct Academic Outreach

6. Goals • Confront technical problems • Consider the design perspective • Facilitate interdisciplinary dialog • Diversity, diversity, diversity

7. Making Another Me • Exposure • K-8, 9-12 • Undergraduate • Graduate • Connections • New Directions

8. Repositioning CS • A foundation for procedural thinking • Extended via interdisciplinary work • Applied to real-world problems • Attract (and keep) new folks

9. The Wonder Years

10. 1984 • Dad: Nuclear Engineer, TQM • Mom: Historian, Basket Weaver • Brother: Music, Sports • Me: Cosmos and Cartoons

11. Mac Gyver & Indiana Jones • Tinkering • Making new stuff • Taking apart stuff • Exploring • Climbing things • Getting lost • Archeology

12. Games! • ATARI • NES/SNES • SNES • M.U.L.E

13. Games! • ATARI • NES/SNES • SNES • M.U.L.E Property of: Your Brother!

14. “Gifted” • Separate course, once a week • Stories with holes, brain teasers • Computer Typing Game • Early Mac • Limited exposure • No notion of programming

15. Skidmore Summers • Make Stuff! • Use Computers to draw! • Again, limited access • Focus on “special” or “gifted” kids • Never tied to programming or math

16. Night and Day • Science • In school • Fixed • About them • Art • Outside • Flexible • About me!

17. The Life of the Mind

18. 7-12: Ugh! • Aptitude in math and science • Increased focus on humanities and extracurriculars (yearbook, literature) • Decreased overall enthusiasm

19. Camp Saves the Day (Again) • Homerton College, Cambridge UK • Poetry and Creative Writing • Fine Art and Photography • William Blake • Computers! • Art vs. Liberal Arts

20. Programming as a Liberal Art • Bill Sterner & Don Crabb • Aristotle, Turing, Turkle, Tversky • Ecologies and Architecture • Creating new artifacts

21. Choose Your Own Adventure • General Studies in the Humanities • Film • Fine Art • Oral/Historical Narrative • Women’s Studies • Computer Programming • Focus: Storytelling and memory

22. No CS Major • Take classes • Seek mentors • Experiment This worked pretty well!

23. Lab Work • AI • Stories as memory (CBR) • Context/Remindings • Opportunism/Learning • Games • Graduate Studies?

24. Connections

25. Grad School? • Women in CS • Should I take the plunge? • Ellen Spertus • Math Lovers Only!

26. Grad School? • Women in CS • Should I take the plunge? • Ellen Spertus • Math Lovers Only! I AM STUBBORN.

27. Grad School! • Day: Basics • Traditional CS curriculum • Individual assignments • Night: Projects • KR and IR systems • Pair-wise, often • Architecture and Interface Design • Games

28. Grad School II • New School • New Group • New Areas • Narrative Intelligence • Game Studies • Game AI

29. New Community • Opportunities to volunteer • Explore new ideas • Learn from each other • Make better games

30. New Resources • Indie Game Jam • Experimental Gameplay Workshop • Game Design Workshop

31. Familiar Challenges • IGDA • Education Committee • WomenDev • Student Mentoring

32. Theory and Practice • Working with people • Towards a common goal • Using procedural knowledge to communicate about hard problems • Improving the community as a whole

33. However • Publishing? • Funding? • Long-term value?

34. Repositioning CS

35. Enrollment • Why is it falling? • How to people think about CS? • What can we do about it?

36. Why CS? • Accessible? • Expressive? • Useful? • Enjoyable? • Profitable?

37. CS as a Discipline • Credibility, Specialization & Focus • Common Languages & Styles

38. CS as a Discipline • Credibility, Specialization & Focus • Common Languages & Styles • Boundaries and Inertia • Stereotypes • Dark room, screen full of code

39. 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

40. 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?

41. Support • Trailblazing is nice • Bridges may be better • Journals and conferences • Web sites, mailing lists and student groups • Travel and internship programs

42. Integration • Core values

43. Integration • Core values • Community

44. Integration • Core values • Community • Projects

45. Integration • Core values • Community • Projects • Assess Problems • Share Knowledge • Create Solutions

46. Game Curriculums • Digipen • CMU • MIT • USC • IT Copenhagen • Others

47. Other Areas • Robotics • Biology • Chemistry • Environmental Science • Economics and Business • Design and Innovations Research…

48. What about… • Film • Fine Art • Music • Theatre and Performance • Gender and Cultural Studies • Critical Theory

49. Animate Arts • Bauhaus model • Scheme-based tools • Demystify procedural thinking • Reinforce creative drives …Service-oriented approach

50. Inspiration • New contributors • Cross-pollination • Long-term relationships • Groundbreaking work