Engineering Computer Games: A Parallel Learning Opportunity for Undergraduate Engineering and Primary (K-5) Students

Mark Michael Budnik, Heather Ann Budnik

In this paper, we present how our College of Engineering is developing a growing portfolio of engineering computer games as a parallel learning opportunity for undergraduate engineering and primary (grade K-5) students. Around the world, many schools provide secondary students (grade 6-12) with opportunities to pursue pre-engineering classes. However, by the time students reach this age, many of them have already determined their educational goals and preferred careers. Our College of Engineering is developing resources to provide primary students, still in their educational formative years, with opportunities to learn more about engineering. One of these resources is a library of engineering games targeted to the primary student population. The games are designed by sophomore students in our College of Engineering. During their Introduction to Computational Techniques course, the students use the LabVIEW environment to develop the games. This software provides a wealth of design resources for the novice programmer; using it to develop the games strengthens the undergraduates

Full Text