Like a Dream

I taught so many hours of code yesterday that I dreamed in code.  (It was the only way to move in my dream.  Thanks Anna & Elsa.)

Code.org puzzle with Frozen characters

But it was an awesome day.  Three classes of Hour of Code 2014 activities from Code.org, Tynker, & Code Kingdoms for 2nd and 4th graders plus two classes of Scratch and then Code Club after school.  A few 4th graders were with me for couple of these hours, too. I wonder if they dreamed about coding too?

For Computer Science Education Week, or “Hour of Code” week, I had the 4th grade math group I work with write math games in Scratch.  The project idea comes from the Scratch resources on Computers for Creativity‘s website.  The students were paired up and given two math periods to work on the project.   I showed them the two math games that students had made last year:

4th grade math quiz game in Scratch, 2013

4th grade math quiz game in Scratch, 2013

I handed out a one page project outline form and a print out of the guidelines to each pair.

Math Scratch Project Outline – Google Docs

With not very much time to work on it, I warned them to keep the project simple.  Get the game working with one math question, then build on it. I also made sure there was a Code Club member in each pairing, so at least one person had some knowledge of Scratch. I then I let them go.

I set their teacher up on Scratch online and he started a math game himself.  That was Monday.  Yesterday my plan was to have them finish up. My friend and co-worker in this class suggested they might need more time.  She had gone home and tried to make a Scratch math game and had some questions.  (How cool it that?  I’ll have to give both adults their “Hour of Code” certificate.)  But it is true,  I did give the students a big, creative project and only a little bit of time to do it.  From what I saw on Monday, only a couple of pairs were making their game too complicated and or not working well together.  We decided to conference with the each pair during the period to see if they had questions, needed feedback and as a general check-in to see if they were going to make the deadline.  First, though, the students “conferenced” and helped their teacher with his math game.

By the end of math on Wednesday, most of the groups were very close to having a working game.  We decided another half period might be warranted.  Then we’ll share them and try them out.

I heard one student say this coding stuff was great and he wanted to sign up for the next round of Code Club.

Oh, yeah, Code Club was great too. Everyone busy working on their own games.  Recording their voices.  Being successful, or at least satisfied, in drawing their sprites and backgrounds. I really enjoy troubleshooting Scratch projects and seeing all the creative and interesting ideas these 4th graders have.  My volunteers are really great, too.

Game Design Review

Last week game designs were due and with the help of my two parent volunteers, we were able to go through and review each design.  I am very lucky to have great volunteers.  We divided the task between us. My high school student volunteer manned the lab while we separately met with each student or pair to go over their design. We had time to meet with everyone and they all had time to start their projects before the end of Code Club.  Now I’m looking back through the designs once again.

Dodge all the obstacles. Get at least 10 points per level and have fun!!

Some chose partners, some were on their own.  Most had filled out the game design document.  Some were very detailed, others just had rough ideas.

It took a while to think about what the game should do… but after awhile one game popped into my head.

In this student’s game you are a hedgehog that moves around trying to catch bugs to eat.  Here’s how this 4th grade designer describes the game flow.

If you eat a bug that isn’t orange, you will get a point.  If you eat a bug that is orange, the bugs get a point and you will lose a point. To win you have to score more points than the bugs.

I think that is a totally do-able project and I look forward to seeing it progress.

Some had trouble using the drawing editor on Scratch.  I don’t know the best solution.  We could try scanning a drawing in.  I know you can take and add photos and import other artwork.  They might have to learn to live with what they can do.

The game design below looks complicated. I’m a bit concerned because I’m not sure I could code this in Scratch.  We’ll see how well they manage.  I foresee them compromising some of their goals to get something working.

Looks like a lot of creative work and debugging will be taking place at Code Club this week! Awesome way to spend Hour of Code week.

Key Steps in Game Design

For the next four weeks of Code Club the students are going to make their own game in Scratch. This is the reason they joined.  This is what they’ve been telling me they want to do. I could just let them go at it but I want to help them be successful so I’m making them follow some guidelines.  In fact, I’m having them create a detailed plan, put their ideas down in a GDD (Game Design Document), and pitch it to me or another adult volunteer before they start coding.

Last time we met I handed out this Scratch_ Game Design Document – Google Docs  GDD template. I created it after looking at a number of sources from the video game industry and from some online teaching projects. It’s a revised, more detailed version of one I used last year with my 4th grade math group when they made Scratch Math Games.  Code Club members have the choice of working with a partner or by themselves.  The game planning was their homework. It is due tomorrow.

I also sent home Code Club World’s Create Your Own Game Project idea packet for some basic directions.

The last time Code Club met, we had a special guest speaker. She is a parent volunteer who manages a team of software developers and she came and gave a nice presentation on key software development steps: Planning, Testing and Time Management. For a fairly dry topic, the students were respectful and attentive, which I greatly appreciated.

Software design steps outlined

Here are some of the great points she touched on:

• Make a plan – think about the steps it takes and how long to do each step
• What if I want to add a really cool thing that was not in the plan? Make your plan flexible
• Sometimes you have to move on even if something is not perfect
• Test and test again – test often, get other people to test

These are real world ideas from, well, the real world.  They seemed to take the presentation seriously and I hope that means they’ll do a good job on their pitch tomorrow. I’m excited to see what they’ve come up with and a little nervous, too.