Course Syllabi

Basic paleontological principles; clasification of fossils, their occurrence, geologic distribution, and evolution.

Introduction to geological field methods;including the use of topographic maps, cross-sections, and aerial photos. Equipment such as the Brunton Geological Transit, Plane Table, and Alidade and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) will be used in the field on mapping projects. Collection and presentation of field data in a report format will be emphasized.

Survey the history of video game development to gain fundamental knowledge of the video game development life cycle. Study video game industry successes and failures and examine a variety of issues necessary for developing a critical analysis of video games.

Introduction to the fundamental tools and techniques (logical structures, documentation, and decision process) used in designing computer programs and their concepts.

This course focuses on the fundamental application of art and design principles in the digital realm. It will explain some of the necessary technical details of digital media that can help students make more impactful technical decisions when using their tools for creative purposes.

This course guides students to understand that game designers are responsible for all development phases (from idea to release), business functions, and all features of any given game (player goals, choices, and game rules). Students will observe and analyze different game designs to understand how these elements interact.

This course covers the design, development, and composition of a video game soundscape that includes music, dialogue, and sound effects. Focusing on the sound production and engineering particular to games and typical game audio workflow.

Introduction to programming skills focused the core concepts of object-oriented programming and design using either Python or Java. Object-oriented programming represents the integration of software components into a large-scale software architecture. The course focuses on the understanding of object-oriented concepts such as classes, objects, data abstraction, methods, method overloading, inheritance, and polymorphism. Practical applications focusing on video games will be examined.

This course will provide a hands-on introduction to the Python programming language with a focus on practical applications and projects. Students will design and build software to solve problems from various disciplines each week using Python packages, data structures, object-oriented programming.

Utilize Java to apply object-oriented programming techniques and develop fluency in working with conditional control flow, looping structures, and procedural programming techniques. Then apply those skills in solving computational problems.

Introduction to 2D animation and interactive media design techniques and tools utilized to create animation and integrate text, graphics, audio, and video.

Guides students through the principles of 3D‑Character modeling and animation for multi‑media, film, broadcast, video games and interactive entertainment. The course will focus on character motion, editing, and blending electronic with traditional techniques.

Students will learn the nature of sound, how natural sound is recorded, and how to create custom electronic sounds. Students will then apply those techniques to create an electronic music composition.

This course introduces students to the theory and operation of essential audio tools and software to create studio recordings that are intended for use in video games.

Guide students to beginning level of digital storytelling that combines photographs, video, animation, sound, music, text, and a narrative voice. The course will explore ways to use the seven elements of digital stories to enhance video user’s experiences.

Topics covered will include techniques for generating ideas, the drafting process, classical screenplay structure, conflict, characterization, dialogue, how to write visually,
how to analyze your own work as a screenwriter, dealing with notes/feedback, scene structure, rewriting and other tools of the trade.

To apply core game design skills needed for successful game development: communication, collaboration, affinity of learning, scope, logical thinking (realistic), lateral thinking and breadth of knowledge in a group setting to develop a game from start to end.

An introduction to geography emphasizing the interrelationships between humans and their physical surroundings: land, climate, soil, vegetation, and natural resources.

Online Weather Studies covers the composition and structure of the atmosphere, the flows of energy to, from, and through the atmosphere, and the resulting weather phenomena ranging in scale from local to regional to global. The physical principles of atmospheric phenomena are stressed in the understanding of weather's impact on humans, particularly with regard to severe weather. Methods of analysis are developed through the study of current weather as meteorological data are delivered via the Internet.

Introduction to climate science covers all aspects of the climate system. It introduces the different components of the climate system, feedback loops, short-term and long term forecasting, planetary energy budget, detail analysis of greenhouse gases, global atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns, and natural and anthropogenic influences on the climate balance.