I have chosen to discuss the challenge I participated in earlier in the week, Programming a Robot (3-4). The Angry Birds game from the Hour of Code website provides students with the knowledge of how to code and program however it doesn't allow them to program their own game using code. Using a site like code.org would be good for younger students to prepare them for learning about code in a more advanced environment in the later years or to remind older students about coding and programming before demonstrating how they can use the code to program their own game. However learning about how to code and program will still allow students to further develop their computational thinking in areas such as algorithms, decomposition, patterns and abstraction. They will be decomposing the information they are provided with, viewing the various patterns to make critical decisions as to which code block is most appropriate for the program sequence, view the hidden codes/patterns behind each block, abstract the necessary codes needed for their game sequence and voila they have their algorithm! Each time they complete a step or algorithm they can see all the previous steps I have just spoken about and move on to the next algorithm to add to their sequence.
In my classroom I could teach students about code through other websites such as the Khan Academy site to see how the code develops the picture. Then move to sites such as the Thinking Myself site, that would allow them to see the computational thinking involved in programming. I would also use unplugged games such as the one mentioned in this video.
Using a game similar to the one mentioned in the video will allow students to see how using code isn't reliant on using computers. Technology is a variant that can be uses in a variety of environments.
Once the students have learnt other lessons such as the ones I have mentioned, I would introduce the Angry Birds game and have a discussion about how it uses code and programming and whether they would like to design their own game and what sort of games they would like to design. Depending on the age we could then move onto designing their own game on Scratch or if to young I could look at designing an unplugged game with simple algorithms such as the one in the video they have previously done or getting students to design a game the whole class can partake in using simple steps they have designed themselves. They could do this collaboratively in groups of four and use online mind mapping of their ideas, draw up their designs and their step-by-step process. They would need to consider sustainability, their prospective audience and healthy and safety. After a week or so of planning this the teams swap games to evaluate each other and provide peer feedback. Then they culminate those ideas and provide their final games for the class to play as one. This is an excellent way to support the students computational thinking, allowing them to further understand programming and coding and how it can be used either with technology or unplugged.
In terms of the curriculum, the students would be, a) creative and discerning decision-makers b) manage data, information, processes and digital systems c) using design thinking d) developing digital solutions e) effectively using digital solutions f) using computational thinking; abstraction, data collection, algorithms, pattern identification, decomposition. (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2015)
References
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2015). Rationale. Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/technologies/digital-technologies/aims
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2015). Aims. Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/technologies/digital-technologies/aims
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