Poster Information
| Title | Kodu Club at Kentwood Public Schools |
| Presenter(s) | Derek Braman, Dion Price, Scott Quibell and Derek Braman |
| Session | Conference Reception, Game Exhibition, and Poster Session |
| Time | Thursday, October 21, 7:00p-9:00p |
| Location | East Lansing Technology Innovation Center |
| Format | Poster Presentation |
| Description | Kodu Club is an afterschool technology program run at Explorer Elementary in Kentwood, MI. The program is a program in which students use the game design program from Microsoft called Kodu. This program is proving to be a significant way to open the doors the possibilities of a future interest in programming and even game design. An interesting pattern has developed in the two years that the Kodu club has been running: there are a high percentage of girls interested in Kodu and game programming. The first year yielded a 44% participation rate of fourth and fifth grade girls while the second and most recent year grew to a percentage of 50%. Exactly why girls are becoming more and more interested in Kodu isn't quite yet clear yet; however it is very encouraging and exciting. This isn't to say that boys aren't interested either. There has been a "first come - first serve" routine in handing in permission slips to be able to participate in each session. In each session, the slots fill up in less than 24 hours of sending home information and permission slips usually with a waiting list longer than the actual participants in the program. |