Students in the Capital Region BOCES Game Design & Implementation program toured The Watervliet Shaker Historic site recently as they continue work on designing an interactive website for the Shaker organization.
The juniors and seniors in the Career & Technical Education program on the Albany Campus started work earlier this year on the website, which will provide a history of the shaker site, offer a virtual tour and provide small, “micro” educational games, said teacher Darryl Nunn.
The Capital Region BOCES Career & Technical Education Center – Albany Campus is located on a section of The Watervliet Shaker Historic District, which is listed on the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places.
The site was established in 1776 as the home of the first Shaker settlement in what would become America.
On Tuesday, Shaker Heritage Society Executive Director Johanna Batman led juniors and seniors on a tour of the West Family Compound section of the historic site, providing details and insight to students – many of whom are new to BOCES and just learning about the Shakers.
Game Design and Implementation Teacher Darryl Nunn said some students are working on providing artwork for site, while others are doing quality assurance testing and still others are revamping coding for the website.
Nunn said students are starting the multiyear project with an interactive website featuring a point-and-click tour of the site and its history. Ultimately, future Game Design & Implementation students will turn the website into an application that will be accessible through mobile devices.
“This a great opportunity for students to gain real world experience using the skills they are learning in the program,” he said.
Students agreed.
“I want to be a programmer and this project is allowing me to gain experience in programming to learn how it is a real life setting,” said Sebastian Del Rio Kostenwein, a senior from Guilderland.
Classmate Joseph Isenhart, an aspiring game developer from Niskayuna, added, “the project is helping me learn how the whole design proves works and gives me a good idea of what is to come in my future.”
Batman said she is excited to have students involved in the project.
“I approached BOCES leadership last fall to ask for assistance re-developing an audio tour for the Church Family Shaker Site. I was excited to discover that not only could BOCES students help with the project, but that Shaker Heritage Society could actively support student goals as a work-based learning partner,” Batman said.
Students in the Capital Region BOCES Game Design and Implementation program learn the “ins” and “outs” of video game design, 3-D modeling and computer programming. They also learn the history of games and create a wide variety of games, including board games, card games and dice games while exploring various art concepts during the first year and 3-D modeling during the second year of the program