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March 9-13, 2026
Moscone CenterSan Francisco, CA

Agenda

Exercises that Play in Public: How to Design Collaborative Class Projects that Work Outside the Classroom

Jason Eppink  (Assistant Professor, Elmhurst University)
Location: Room 2016, West Hall
Date: Thursday, March 12
Time: 3:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass - Get your pass now!
Audience Level: Entry-Level
Track: Educators, Design
Format: Lecture
Vault Recording: Video
Audience Level: Entry-Level

Class exercises are rarely worth playing outside the classroom, but we can and should strive for them to be, especially in introductory classes! Working towards and creating a successful public-facing project creates more buy-in, instills a sense of mastery, and provides a valuable opportunity for students to see how their work performs in the wild.

Jason Eppink describes the exercise he developed for an introductory coding class–a collaboratively authored WarioWare-style adaptation of Pong–and ties it to prior projects he organized as a museum curator and designed as a participatory artist. He explains how these projects fit into a framework for designing collaborative class projects that are modular, accommodate a wide range of proficiency, and are achievable within a short time frame - with a core goal of making the game playable by a public audience.

Takeaway

Attendees will learn a framework for developing collaborative, modular classroom exercises that succeed as public-facing projects.

Intended Audience

This session welcomes educators of all levels and teaching contexts. Educators who teach in project-oriented contexts may find this talk of special interest.