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Going from ROBLOX Developer, to ROBLOX Teacher

November 25, 2014

by jackintheblox


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ROBLOX and other user-generated content platforms are in the unique position of being at the intersection of fun and productivity. They are places that are simultaneously prime sources of entertainment and breeding grounds for creativity.

It’s not surprising, then, that many students have used ROBLOX’s physics-based engine to complete school assignments and projects. But how about ROBLOX being the school assignment? Recently, some members of the ROBLOX developer community shared their stories of how they incorporated ROBLOX into their school’s curriculum.

ROBLOX developer and high school sophomore Omaraa showed ROBLOX to his programming teacher as an alternative to teaching Alice to the students.

“I did a presentation for the school’s principle and some students about ROBLOX and what can be done with it,” explained Omaraa. “I also showed them some gameplay of some games [the community] made.”

After his presentation, Omaraa’s teacher and principal were convinced, and he got to teach the class the basics of how to use Studio and build games. Next week he’ll be teaching the class the basics of Lua scripting. So far the programming class has learned Unity3D, Eclipse, Java, and Alice, but Omaraa says that ROBLOX is resonating with the students.

“So far they seem to be really enjoying it for how easily they can use it, compared to other things we have tried.”

Omaraa is hoping that after the class more students will join ROBLOX.

“I am hoping before I leave to my home country I can get them to have some sort of club for ROBLOX because it can really help a lot of those who want to be game developers.”

It doesn’t always have to be a full class, either. TheAmazeman shared a similar story with his school, and a club on campus.

“The highschool I graduated from, and the one my brother [Simbuilder] is currently a junior in, got a game dev club. Instead of the club using Unity, they are using ROBLOX (it is simpler, and better to newcomers). All because my brother showed it off.”

It’s a good lesson for everyone out there who’d like to see ROBLOX in their school. Both of these schools now feature ROBLOX simply because one person took the initiative to show it off. It really is that easy sometimes!

For Omaraa, sharing ROBLOX with classmates has been a good experience.

“ROBLOX has been a really big part of my game development career,” he told us. “I am happy to be able to work with it, and teach my peers how to use it. It started a lot of things for me, and I am sure it would for others.”

At ROBLOX we’re excited by the prospect of young developers getting a jumpstart on their education and careers with us. We’re looking into ways we can help you guys get ROBLOX into your schools and STEM programs, but as you can see you can see, you’ve got the power to do that yourself.

Have you had any success with introducing ROBLOX to classmates? If any of you have a story about getting ROBLOX in your schools, share them in the comments; we’d love to hear them!