ASU Collaborates with Verizon and EOSS to Empower Students in STEAM Careers through Roblox Game Design

Learning Futures, in collaboration with Verizon and Career & Professional Development Services, recently led a two-day intensive program with ASU Preparatory Academy that focused on career research and development through Roblox Games. The program was attended by over 60 High School Juniors who were immersed in the fundamentals of game design and narrative to express their interests in STEAM careers.

The program was designed by Learning Futures Creative Manager, Olivia Hernández, and focused on expressing career pathways as obstacle courses using a Roblox Studio template created by Studios Associates Dane Cavanaugh Toft and DJ Pearce. Students worked together in small groups to complete game design documents before building in Roblox, culminating in playtesting and scoring each other’s games based on Roblox design, career relevance, and the detail of each game design document.

The top six teams have been invited to ASU Learning Futures over the summer to complete their games before sharing them on the Roblox marketplace for users across the globe to play.

Prior to the event, Associate Director of Career & Professional Development Services at EOSS, Beverly Johnson, facilitated a series of workshops to help participants think closely about their career interests by exploring personal career interests and were encouraged to think about how a character in a game could achieve aspects of career readiness. Students were asked about the skills they used to complete the project, and were able to identify communication, teamwork, critical thinking among other skills. One student commented, “I learned how to communicate better with my team, and come to agree on different ideas.” Another student said they learned “Organization, teamwork, and thinking outside the box.”

By partnering with Verizon, all the students were connected to the Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband network via a Cradlepoint router. This ensured that all participants could rely on a stable and fast network to complete their work in Roblox.

Learning Futures is proud to work together with our partners at Verizon and across ASU enterprises to offer innovative programs that inspire our students to pursue their passions and prepare them for successful careers in STEAM fields. The success of this off-site event demonstrates that immersive educational programs can be both fun and highly educational, and we look forward to continuing to work with our partners to offer similar programs in the future.