“If we teach today's students as we did yesterday's, we are robbing them of tomorrow.” — John Dewey Inclusive Curriculum Re-Design in the Social Network Era ….. Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker Fri. May 29th, 2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 1 Outline • • • • • • Who is the IGDA? Brief History First Framework The Challenge Gamer Gate Second Framework Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 2 Who is the IGDA? Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 3 Brief History • 1994 – Ernest Adams • GDC – (1988 Chris Crawford ; 2003? joined IGDA) • HE Design & Development Programs Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 4 First IGDA Curriculum Framework First Framework: 2008 Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker A guide for universities, colleges and high schools to create and update • game education programs. • a program or class that is relevant to current games industry needs. A scaffold to use in building your curriculum to meet industry standards. IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 5 Global Framework for a Global Game Education Community • diverse Curriculum Framework Redesign team • members from Australia, Nigeria, Spain, UK, US, Canada, Malaysia, Germany, New Zealand, and Ireland • Incorporates overarching sensitivity to various cultures within the framework. Ex. Nigeria’s game market is entirely focused on mobile games and they are without a university that teaches game design. Therefore some members of the game industry in Nigeria will be running classes and there will be a way to structure the curriculum Framework to fit this specific need. Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 6 What is a Curriculum Framework? This is the scaffolding upon which universities and secondary schools can build their game design or critical studies programs. • includes examples of syllabi • wide variety of sections • integrated network of links • many paths to a complete program. The IGDA Curriculum Framework will be available as each piece is completed on the IGDA website starting in the fall of 2015. Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 7 The Challenge Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 8 Recruitment & Retention To know how to work on an effective team is one of the best ways for students to find jobs in the game industry. Useful strategies for creating teams that support one another and a student population that respects each other will be another key piece of the Curriculum Framework. We will include textbooks, technology, and curriculum that are effectively used across the world by game programs that will help schools identify how texts and technology are used across programs. 100 Things Every Game Student Should Know Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 9 Living Document • Flow of communication • Regular updates Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 10 Framework Availability Framework will be released by sections as each one is complete. Easy to Find on the IGDA Website www.igda.org/group/game-education Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 11 The Challenge YetiZen statement Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 12 #1reasonwhy Sexism in the Game Industry Kim Swift @K2theSwift Because I get mistaken for the receptionist or day-hire marketing at trade shows. #1reasonwhy Brenda Romero @br Because I am not his arm candy, motherfucker. I make games. #1reasonwhy Bearguy-chan‫@‏‬filamena Because conventions, where designers are celebrated, are unsafe places for me. Really. I've been groped. Gabrielle Kent‫@‏‬GabrielleKent #1reasonwhy Once heard an Art manager say 'We don't need any more women, they're more trouble than they're worth' as he viewed applications Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 13 Enter: Gamer Gate A gamergate (/ˈɡæmərˌɡeɪt/) is a reproductively viable female worker ant that is able to reproduce with mature males when the colony is lacking a queen. Most commonly occurring within colonies of the primitive species of the poneromorph subfamilies, gamergate females differ from their fellow workers by a combination of elevated fecundity and aggression-related mutilation of competitors' secondary sexual characteristics. Subsequent to their first mating event, however, aggression is no longer needed as females secrete chemical signals that lead the workers to accept their role as reproducers for the colony. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamergate Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 14 Gamer Gate "Gamergate," first used by actor Adam Baldwin. Baldwin critiqued the media for trying to "enforce arbitrary 'social justice' rules upon gamers & the culture" and described the events that followed as "a skirmish in the long culture war." Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 15 Gamer Gate Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 16 Gamer Gate Rape threats, death threats, terrorism. 'every woman I know in the industry is scared‘ Feminist games critic cancels talk after terror threat. Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 17 Now What? Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 18 What are we going to do? The text of a curriculum framework can dramatically affect the way schools put this scaffolding into place. New standards include • gender neutral language. (‘they’, ‘the students’, ‘s/he’) Recruitment and Retention of a diverse student body is essential • Include research on diversity for R&R Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 19 Final thoughts…. Where did these guys go to school? What could / should we do to address this? Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 20 Become a Member and Join the SIG! IGDA.Com/GameEducationSIG Facebook: IGDAGameEducationSIG LinkedIn: IGDA Game Education SIG Group If you have any questions, please contact: Suzanne Freyjadis - Chair Suzanne@game-education.com Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 21 Abstract Inclusive Curriculum Re-Design in the Social Network Era In recent years, the video game industry has been embroiled in in various issues of gender bias and minority representation, both in the games that are published and among those who work in the industry. The GamerGate controversy, which exploded on social networks in August 2014, was ostensibly about nepotism and a lack of reporting integrity in videogame journalism but very quickly descended into unprecedented harassment and threats that primarily targeted women in the game industry. This is an extreme example of the issues faced by many women and minorities in the STEM professions, and the barriers that these situations create. How does game education plan to dig itself out of the current quagmire and support students in these programs? The International Game Developer’s Association (IGDA) is the largest non-profit membership organization in the world serving all individuals who create games. In 2008 it published a curriculum framework for game-related educational programs (http://gameprogramreview.com/files/igda2008cf.pdf). The IGDA is beginning a redesign of its curriculum framework and this provides a perfect opportunity to reexamine curricula in light of how it supports and encourages diversity and inclusivity. This presentation by two of the leaders of the IGDA Curriculum Framework Redesign, will examine how social cultures affect decisions people make about whether or not to pursue a career in STEM, and how the design of a curriculum can help or hinder the diversity of the student population. Suzanne Freyjadis & Katrin Becker IGDA Curriculum Re-Design - 2015 22