Game On: UCSC to Offer Video Game Design Major

UCSC will offer video game design major this fall. Matt King describes the new video game design major to be offered at UC Santa Cruz starting in autumn, 2006. The major is intended to integrate narrative, artistic, and technical knowledge during the course of earning the bachelor’s degree in computer science.

The major is grounded in basic and advanced computer science courses and allows electives in art, theater, film, music, and economics. The highlight of the major is a yearlong game-design project...(Santa Cruz Sentinel)

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Publication Shows Lack of Student Interest in Computer Science

The New Educational Imperative: Improving High School Computer Science Education, conducted by the CSTA Curriculum Improvement Task Force, provides another look at the relative lack of interest in computer science in high school and how this disinterest deters college students from considering this major in larger numbers.

Even though there will be a pronounced mismatch between qualified applicants and computer science job availability over the next decade, only 26% of high schools require students to take a computer science course. This NSF-supported publication outlines strategies to address this national issue...(Computer Science Teachers Association)

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Report Examines Support of Online Students

“Beyond the Administrative Core: Creating Web-Based Student Services for Online Learners” offers insights into the critical role of supporting the online student at a distance. Created by WCET (Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications), the guidelines discuss student services as providing a conduit between student and community. Personalized and responsive student services are related to student satisfaction, persistence, and course completion...(WCET)

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