Partnership with Urban Arts, MECA, and Endless Access creates authentic learning experience for NYC Workplace Challenge
New York, NY — Urban Arts, the national nonprofit that teaches digital game design as a pathway to college and career, recently led a Workplace Challenge where high school students tackled real game design problems. The challenge from Urban Arts was developed in partnership with Manhattan Early College School for Advertising (MECA), a high school that prepares students for careers in marketing, media, creative technology, design, and business, and Endless Access, a global game-making community that empowers youth through open-source and accessible tools.
The Workplace Challenge model is part of NYC’s work-based learning framework where NYC Public School high school students tackle real design problems from industry partners, moving through the complete professional development cycle from ideation to finished product. The students worked with the professional-level Godot game engine to design and build fully playable game levels, debugging code, troubleshooting mechanics, and gaining experience in teamwork and presenting. Students also heard from Phoenix Stroh, a Godot expert and game developer with Endless Access.
“Our partnership with Urban Arts reflects a shared belief that young people learn best when they are creating, collaborating, and working on real projects together,” says Robert McQueen, CEO of Endless Access. “Through the amazing work Urban Arts is doing and the game-making experiences we are developing together, students are not just learning about technology. They are actively building games and contributing to real projects. Experiences like this help students develop creative confidence, teamwork, and problem-solving skills that are valuable not only in game development, but in many future careers.”
Urban Arts will join MECA to celebrate student work at M-SHOW, a celebration of outstanding work created in MECA’s CTE classes, on May 28. “This partnership has been student-first. And student confidence comes from being taken seriously, which is happens when your work goes on display. We look forward to celebrating students for their hard work and super fun games in this showcase,” shares Dr. Amy Patterson, Chief Program Officer at Urban Arts.
“This year was our school’s first opportunity to provide a Game Design Workplace Challenge through a partnership with Urban Arts,” says Carol Sun, the Work-Based Learning Coordinator and CTE Leader at MECA. “The 8-week workshop was a fun and engaging way for our students who had no previous experience learning computer science to quickly and successfully learn basic coding skills while exploring a career in this industry. Urban Arts faculty were knowledgeable and supportive, while always patient and enthusiastic in their instruction. It was a wonderful learning experience which fit well with our school community.”
To learn more about using game design for an NYC Workplace Challenge in your school, contact Dr. Amy Patterson at amy.patterson@urbanarts.org.
What’s Next: StoryQuest Camp
This summer, Urban Arts is expanding experiences in partnership with Endless Access with StoryQuest Camp, a free two-week game design intensive for high school students nationwide. The program allows students to design original levels, create characters, and build complete projects in Godot. Students who complete the program earn an industry-recognized microcredential through the collaboration between Endless Access and the ASU Endless Games and Learning Lab.
StoryQuest Camp runs in two cohorts this summer. Cohort A begins with an orientation on Monday, July 13, followed by the program Tuesday, July 14 through Friday, July 24 (10am–1pm ET). Cohort B begins with an orientation on Monday, July 27, followed by the program Tuesday, July 28 through Friday, August 7 (1–4pm ET).
The program is open nationwide to rising 9th through 12th graders with no prior experience required, and is completely free. Visit urbanarts.org/gameacademy to learn about all of Urban Arts’ upcoming programs, or apply for StoryQuest Camp here.
SOME STUDENT GAMES WITH EXPLORE: GODOT!
