Work in progress: Evaluating the use of mobile game development in introductory CS courses

Computer games have been accepted as an engaging and motivating tool in the CS curriculum. However, designing and implementing a playable game is challenging and is best done in advanced courses. Games for mobile devices offer the advantage of being simpler and, thus, easier to program for lower-level students. By exposing these students to a wide range of advanced topics, we can demonstrate to them that CS can be much more than coding. Here, we discuss our evaluation of a set of learning modules for introductory CS courses that use mobile game development as a motivational learning context.