The Art of Video Game Design

Over the summer, I took on the scary task of teaching. Quite the task might I add, teaching video game design concepts to middle schoolers. These days, it is obvious that the youth have a lot more accessibility to technology, and the exponential growth of the technology sector has made this possible.

Not only did I not think I could do it, but it was also one of the most nerve-wracking things I have ever done. I quickly realized how much work and pre-planning commanding a class is, despite the flexible nature of the summer program. I had to make sure I had lesson plans, slides, and engaging content for my young audience. Full transparency, many of these slides were finished last minute, ensuring that I could include every last detail that I could to engage my anxious and eager youngins.

It was a month-long crash course through the non-profit organization Connect-In-Place, an organization that strives to freely educate and provide resources to families and students that may not have access to technology.

After my teaching adventure, I choose to further my participation with Connect-In-Place because their mantras were close to my own. One of the main goals in my career is to provide and knowledge for marginalized groups through any means. Their laptop donation program is the main reason I decided to join their web development team.

The applying process was fast-tracked due to being a session instructor that same summer. I was scared that I would be rejected because of my lack of HTML and CSS skills, after all I am only a beginner in that regard.

Due to a small mixup, many web developers who applied backed out the second they learned that the position was a free volunteer position. Now, I am in charge of the website on my own! (how scary) Not to fret though because I will have the time and space to grow into this position and learn as I go.

I am very excited to learn as I go and get more into Web Development, let’s see where it takes me.