THE DIGITAL CARNIVAL: OBSERVATIONS ON THE ROLE OF GAMING IN STUDENT LIFE AND COMPUTER SCIENCE

摘要

As computer technology becomes an ever more integral part of modern society, software development has become one of the fastest growing segments in the United States economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates growth rates upwards of 30% in software development in the next ten years [1]; a recent report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce predicts that a whopping 51% of STEM occupations with be computer-related occupations by 2018 [2], [3]. At the same time, there has been a general downward trend in computer science enrollments since 2000 [4], and retention in CS1 courses nationwide has stubbornly hovered between 35% and 50% nationally [4]. Clearly, a focused effort to understand student motivations in considering computer science as a profession, and leveraging these motivations to attract and retain computer science students is needed if U.S. universities hope to be successful in meeting the nation's future workforce needs. Video games represent a huge shared experience for many students who have otherwise diverse educational interests and aspirations. Video games are also a common entry point for students interested in Computer Science (CS): several student population studies have shown that, on average, male CS students cite an interest in developing and understanding video games as one the primary reasons they enter the discipline [5], [6].