Posts Tagged computer science
Adventures: Kids Learn Video Game Creation
Digital Media Academy News + Events | March 17th, 2009 by Ben
I’m Ben Jaffe, one of the instructors for Digital Media Academy’s Adventures Program. I teach Game Design and Web Design.
On the surface, the Game Design class may look somewhat straightforward. But it’s much more than simply creating fun games with our students. In our classes, we also teach important programming concepts, which can be the foundation for a future programming career.
Game Building can be frustrating for somebody who has never done it before. As games become more and more complex, the instructors are there to help them understand how to build their games well. Programmers call it “extensibility.” Here’s an example of how students encounter this in DMA’s Adventures Game Design class:
A few days into the week, we usually start working on an RPG game. The player controls a character who interacts with bystanders in the game to get information or collect items. The students quickly discover how frustrating it is to program actions for every single bystander in the game individually. The same goes for other objects in the game, such as allies, enemies, keys, coins, and projectiles. It’s much easier to group them together, and make a rule saying, “Whenever the character talks to any bystander, run this action.”
Extensibility is not the only programming concept that we teach to the kids. They learn the importance of game planning, bug testing, and proper pacing to effectively meet deadlines. They also develop an understanding of variables, and an introductory understanding of object-oriented programming. Instead of lecturing to the students, we let them discover and understand the concepts by themselves, with guidance.
Most importantly, we teach the kids programming concepts without them even realizing it! If they pursue a career in computer science or game design, they will already understand the importance of extensibility, testing, planning, and pacing. Though it may seem like just another fun summer course, every student gets much more out of it – skills they can use for the rest of their lives.
See you in the Summer!
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Google for Educators
Digital Media Academy News + Events | March 2nd, 2009 by Margaret Lim
In my last blog entry, I talked about the importance of incorporating computer-based instruction at a young age in order to narrow the gap between boys and girls in the use of technology. One challenge to accomplishing this is finding lesson plans that are both engaging and provide meaningful learning. I have found Google for Educators to be a valuable resource in this regard.
Google for Educators has a growing library of resources for grades kindergarten through grade 12. In addition to being organized by grade level, the lessons are also organized by subject. All subjects are represented, including history, earth sciences, literature and computer science.
There is even a lesson on teaching computer science to students in primary grades! Tim Bell, Ian H. Witten and Mike Fellows, contributing teachers, have created a wonderful series of lessons called Computer Science Unplugged: An enrichment and extension program for primary-aged children. The lessons draw students in with games and activities while teaching challenging concepts in age appropriate ways. Many of the topics are math based, including exploring binary numbers, graphing, searching algorithms, and sorting problems. The lessons help students understand how computers draw pictures, how modems and the internet work, how computers search and sort information, and how we can tell computers what to do through programming languages.
What I like about these lessons is that they draw students in with how things work. The lessons teach kids fundamental concepts about technology and help them develop analytical and critical thinking skills. If we can incorporate more of these types of lessons in the classroom, we as teachers can help foster a curiosity about technology and computers that can benefit students for many years.
What I also appreciate about Google for Educators is that they use free online resources. Google Docs provides allows teachers and students to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations for free, so having to install Microsoft Word, Excel or Powerpoint on every classroom computer is no longer an issue! With Google Docs, math lessons can easily utilize Google spreadsheets, and writing lessons are enhanced with Google word processing. Similarly, lessons in Google for Educators on environmental and earth sciences utilize Google Earth, which provides historical imagery from around the globe (including ocean floors!) Because a major challenge to incorporating technology in the classroom is cost, I appreciate that lessons provided through Google for Educators utilize free resources. The lessons only assume that the classroom have a computer and internet access.
