A Game that Emphasizes the Importance of Programming Statements
The objective of this workshop is to make coding entertaining for participants by simplifying concepts that can be applied to several different programming languages.
This workshop has participants code an unused sprite within a pre-existing game as they learn how to program a resource management system and simple character movement using variables, if-else statements, and while-loops.
- Difficulty Level: Intermediate
- Target Audience: 6th grade - College
- Duration of Workshop: 1 hour
- Needed Materials: Computers with keyboards, Access to Scratch.com OR CS First Scratch.
- Learning Outcomes: The primary goal of this project is to teach participants the importance of programming statements and the fundamentals of programming.
- Scratch is a block-based programming language developed by the MIT Media Lab as an educational tool for children. Through our classroom workshops and outreach activities, students get to learn how to program character movement and sprite animation in Scratch, using the fundamental programming concepts such as variables, if-else statements, and loops. These experiences will help them develop problem-solving and logical reasoning skills that can be applied to other programming languages as well as other fields outside of computing.
- Technology Ambassador Program (TAP) is a project-based class that provides a collaborative environment for students to work with their fellow classmates on a semester-long project using technologies of their choice. TAP strives to increase participation in IT through numerous outreach activities and workshops that are designed to showcase the creative and fun side of technology.
PLANIMALS_COMMERCIAL.mp4
- Joshua “Mart” Miller
- Sarah Pak
- Ruth Whitehouse
- Ahkeelah Lindo
- Dr. Anca Doloc Mihu
- Dr. Cindy Robertson
The game has a grow and regress feature; if a plant/animal touches an undesired object, they will regress, and if it were to encounter their desired item, it would grow. Ideally, the animals/plants are developing through different stages of life. For instance, a bird would start in an egg, hatch into a baby bird, then develop into an adult bird.
One of the main elements that make this game challenging is that the path to winning is not a straight line. Everyone will have an individual experience depending on their skill set and how fast they catch onto the game. While it might take one person a couple of minutes to win, it may take somebody else longer. This adds a resonance of frustration and eagerness to develop your skills, change your approach and ultimately win the game.
- TAP Expo, April 1, 2021, Georgia Gwinnett College: to promote the IT field and encourage college students to sign up for TAP.
- Class Workshops, April 13-15, 2021, Georgia Gwinnett College: to promote the IT field to non-IT students.
If you're interested in more workshops that utilize Scratch, check out Space Mechanic!
- Scratch is a block-based programming language developed by the MIT Media Lab as an education tool for children to learn computing in a fun and interactive way.
- Scratch has drag-and-drop interfaces. Unlike working with a text-based programming language like Java or C whom you must physically type every line of code, in Scratch, you can drag and drop pre-made codes and organize them into an algorithm. It's like solving a jigsaw puzzle!
- We picked Scratch for our project because it's a fun medium to teach beginners about programming without overwhelming them with syntax.
You don't need a Scratch account to follow along with the lesson or to play the game.