Requirements

This checklist is designed to make pre-session preparation easy to scan and easy to use. Completing it before the session helps the experience launch cleanly, stay readable, and recover quickly if something small goes wrong.

Pre-Session Checklist

Devices and Access

  • Open the skillmap link on the exact browser and device learners will use.
  • Confirm that the game loads without sign-in prompts, blocked pop-ups, or confusing permission requests.
  • Test controller input, keyboard input, or touch input in the same way learners will use it.
  • Check audio if you plan to rely on sound cues, but do not make audio essential to understanding the activity.

Room and Delivery Setup

  • Queue the skillmap on the projector or facilitator machine before learners arrive.
  • Confirm that important text, HUD elements, and game states are readable from the back of the room.
  • Decide whether learners will work solo, in pairs, or in small teams.
  • Choose one or two planned pause points for compare-and-explain discussion.
  • Prepare one short, student-friendly explanation of what a tradeoff means.
  • Have internet-connected devices ready with a modern browser.
  • Keep the skillmap link easy to access on every device.
  • Keep the repository link ready for optional project-structure or remix discussion.
  • Decide between printed supports, projected prompts, or a fully digital flow.

Educator Readiness

  • Skim About Driven by STEM and Goals so the experience can be explained in under a minute.
  • Review Definitions and choose which terms to teach directly and which to introduce only when they appear naturally.
  • Read Accessibility if you will be working with shared devices, projector-heavy facilitation, or a mixed-experience group.
  • Decide whether to use the Garage Shakedown test track as a compare-and-explain checkpoint.

One short pass through the skillmap before the session is usually enough. The goal is not mastery. The goal is to notice where learners may stall, which terms need plain-language explanation, and where the group may need a pause.

During the dry run, check these items:

  • Identify where learners will need the clearest instructions.
  • Identify which stage creates the first visible success.
  • Choose the best pause for a prediction or comparison.
  • Decide which career connection fits the group most naturally.

Fallback Plan

One simple backup plan should be ready in case devices or connectivity are uneven.

  • Keep one facilitator machine ready to demo a step live.
  • Be ready to pair learners into Driver and Navigator roles on a shared device.
  • Choose the shorter-format path to use if time is cut short: 60-minute classroom version or 30-minute event-floor version from Agenda.
  • Decide which discussion element will be protected even if time is reduced: one prediction, one compare-and-explain pause, or one closing reflection.

If Time Is Tight

At minimum:

  • Confirm the skillmap opens.
  • Confirm the projector is readable.
  • Prepare one short explanation of tradeoff.
  • Choose one end-of-session reflection prompt.
  • Decide what to cut first: remix time, longer share-outs, or one later-stage extension.