BONDED SABBATICAL APPLICATION (To be submitted electronically)

Transcription

1 SOUTH ORANGE COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT BONDED SABBATICAL APPLICATION (To be submitted electronically) NAME: ROBERT D. STEWART, PH.D. DATE: 10/21/09 COLLEGE: IRVINE VALLEY COLLEGE DIVISION/SCHOOL: BUSINESS SCIENCE SABBATICAL HISTORY If you have been granted a prior sabbatical with the South Orange County Community College District, please indicate the following: Semester and Year of Sabbatical: Fall, 2002 Spring, 2003 Title of Sabbatical: Developing an Online Course in 2D Animation Using Flash REQUESTED DATES FOR SABBATICAL Rank 1 to 3 your preference for your sabbatical (1 being first choice): 1 Fall Spring Academic Year

2 1. Title: Preliminary Development of a Gaming Certificate/Program 2. Goals and/or Purpose: 1. To prepare a preliminary report including justification for a certificate and/or program (Major) in gaming. 2. To investigate other gaming programs/certificates in the state, in 2-year as well as 4-year colleges. To compare and contrast the key elements of the existing programs. To interview the designers of such programs to insights as to the to curriculum makeup and emphasis. To also explore similar programs that may exist in other states. 3. To determine which courses in our existing multimedia and animation curriculum would be appropriate for this proposed certificate/program. 4. To identify and write new Curricunet ready courses that would be needed to flesh out a robust gaming curriculum. 3. Objectives: 1. To determine if a gaming certificate/program would be a viable addition to the curriculum of Irvine Valley College. 2. To determine the needs of gaming software developers or designers in Orange County for future employees trained in this emerging area. 3. To keep current with and ahead of national trends as referenced in the excerpt from the report below: Business/CIS Educators Statewide Advisory Committee claims in an April 2009 paper that: Sixty-five percent of American households play computer or video games. Entertainment software is one of the fastest growing industries in the U.S. economy. The industry is creating jobs and producing revenue for communities across the nation. Currently, computer and video game companies directly and indirectly employ more than 80,000 people in 31 states. By 2009, it is projected that the industry will support over a quarter of a million American jobs. California is the largest employer of computer and video game personnel in the nation, accounting for approximately 40 percent of total industry employment nationwide. 4. To determine what courses would be needed at Irvine Valley College to complete a Gaming Certificate Program and to identify how and where they fit in the program. To write the Curricunet ready courses that would be necessary to flesh out this new program. 4. Activities: 1. Investigation of the potential need for software gaming developers will be gathered from national, state and local information available from Labor Market Information (LMI), the California Employment Development Department and Orange County Business Council. 2. Local colleges and universities will be visited to and/or interviews will be conducted to look into similar programs that already exist in order to evaluate them. Organizational direction and real or potential success will be studied.

3 3. An analysis will be made as to what courses should be offered in such a program and what courses are currently available within our curriculum. A description will be written of each new course that is identified as necessary to complete a gaming certificate program. 5. A preliminary gaming certificate program narrative will be prepared after reviewing and documenting the need for such a program in Orange County. Timeline of Activities August a. Gather information about colleges that offer Gaming programs and set up appointments to visit these institutions. b. Gather information about the demand for trained Gaming employees from national and state organizations such as Labor Market Information (LMI) and the California Employment Development Department. c. Set up a meeting with the Orange County Business Council to provide local information about the demand for gamers. September a. Meet with two California colleges (one local) that offer Gaming programs. b. Meet with a community college in New York offering a similar program. c. Gather curriculum from these and other institutions and Curricunet that might meet the proposed requirements for this new Gaming program. October a. Start the narrative for State approval of the Gaming program. b. Analyze what courses would be necessary for a robust Gaming program. c. Determine if Irvine Valley College is currently offering any of these courses or any courses that could be modified to fit within this program. November a. Continue writing the narrative justifying the Gaming program. b. Determine what courses need to be added to flesh out a robust Gaming program. c. Begin writing the Curricunet ready courses necessary for such a program. December a. Complete the due-diligence and narrative of the proposed Gaming program. b. Finish writing the proposed Curricunet course offerings. January, February and March 2011 a. Submit the Gaming program proposal to the Sabbatical committee. b. Present the proposed Gaming program to the Business Science faculty at a faculty meeting. c. Submit the Gaming certificate and proposed curriculum to the Curriculum Committee for approval. 5. How these activities relate to the goals and objectives: Since the goals and objectives of this sabbatical project are to assess the viability of a certificate program in gaming, these steps are necessary to reach the goals and objectives. Without visiting other colleges and universities, studying and evaluating existing gaming curriculum, studying the workplace needs for future employees with these skills, the project cannot be completed. Each of these steps is crucial in reaching the objective of the project. 6. Measurable Outcomes: At the end of the sabbatical, a report will be produced and turned into this committee documenting the outcome of the study. It will include a narrative about the colleges and universities visited,

4 curriculum reviewed and interviews conducted. The Curricunet ready courses needed for a gaming program certificate at Irvine Valley College will be included in the report, as well as recommendations of the steps needed to implement such a certificate program, should the program be deemed viable and desirable. 7. Impact on teaching and learning: The Impact of this sabbatical project has the potential to be far reaching. It could lead to the development of a needed program that is in demand. Such a program has the potential to impact the college and what is taught at IVC. Students will be provided a highly desired certificate program that trains them for available jobs in a growth industry. This can be seen from the report below. The educational benefits of video games are extending into higher education. Ludology, scholastic video game study from a humanistic perspective, now qualifies students to pursue careers in computer and video game design and programming. More than 200 American colleges, universities and technical schools, including New York University, the Art Institute of Seattle and Marist College, offer programs and courses in video game design and development. Carnegie Mellon University and the Georgia Institute of Technology offer master's degrees in game development, while the University of Southern California offers a graduate degree in interactive media and an undergraduate degree in video game development. Despite the movement's infancy, the positive impact is tangible. The DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, Was., which grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in video game development, has helped transform the Seattle area into one of the nation's leading game-development regions. With a new research lab at the prestigious Parsons Design School in New York on track to develop video games for training public officials, students and professionals, the impact is only just beginning. Video games are also proving to be a lucrative career path for young graduates with starting salaries significantly higher than other industries. The video game industry's average compensation per employee is more than $92,000. Source: Author Vschmidt Associates, 2009 for BESAC 8. Appling the Results: As a result of the sabbatical study, a plan, including a timeline will be produced for adding an additional certificate program to the IVC curriculum that provides students with training in a growth industry. After the report is submitted, a discussion will ensue with the Business Science Department about implementing such a program and writing the necessary curriculum to make the program a reality. Working with David Gatewood, Office of Career Technical Education & Workforce Development, I will help develop the gaming certificate program for state approval. 9. Dissemination of the results: 1. A report on the results of this sabbatical project will be presented to the Business Science faculty at the monthly meeting in February or March A faculty workshop about the project can be presented to any interested faculty.

5 3. A copy of the report will be available to any faculty member who would like to read it. It would be on file at the Business Science Department offices or I can place a copy in the library for reference.