Transforming Experience of Computer Science Software Development through Multiplayer Online Game Classroom Collaboration in Industrial Format

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This innovative software development course is developing and testing a novel approach to computer science instruction at San Francisco State University and California State University Los Angeles. In classrooms emulating typical industry work environments, students are collectively creating and building a Multiplayer Online Game using a variety of complex software components. In the process, students are developing: (1) effective communication, presentation, collaboration and trouble-shooting skills; (2) heightened motivation to master core computer science content; (3) a robust end product; and (4) practical insights to prepare them for successful careers in industry.The scalable game programming course includes a suite of instructional materials with accompanying documentation, all of which are being made freely available to the educational community. Materials can be flexibly adopted by computer science instructors including those who do not have sufficient background to develop multiplayer online game programming or senior-level software design courses on their own.The project is a collaboration of two campuses in the California State University System--one of the nation's largest and most ethnically diverse systems of higher education--and is being disseminated regionally and nationally. The innovative course design appeals to students who have not traditionally been attracted to STEM education, including many from minorities underrepresented in the sciences that enroll in large numbers at the two pilot campuses. The project reaches out to the public by making the student-produced games freely available, thereby playfully exposing non-scientists to essential computer science concepts and potentially inspiring young people to consider careers in software development.