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Transcript of ICT in Practice issue 9
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P4 / BITS &BYTES Computational thinking unplugged! !
P8 / MINECRAFTMinecraft Club: Content and Reflections !
P12 / ALLCANCODE Allcancode: an adventurous coding game
P16 / PROGRAMMING Programming in the classroom !
ISSUE 9
!www.ictinpractice.com
Transforming education through sharing knowledge and practice Created by educators from around the world
AUTUMN EDITION OCT 2014
ISSN 2053-5104
ICT in Practice
http://www.bitsandbytes.cards
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!“Coding is all about unleashing our creativity, in the process of making something beautiful
through our thinking.” !
(Yasemin Allsop)
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!!!!! !!!
Where did September go? Honestly it felt like a week, the week of September. Now there are poorly translated Christmas lyrics blaring in the Carrefour that serves the community here in Shanghai, while Halloween costumes are for sale. Clearly, these are some of the worst aspects of globalization. Yet I cannot help but be reminded daily that we are all part of that global community. I live with Chinese nationals, Turks, Indians, Germans, Koreans … my days are blessed with hearing many tongues and sharing in the “Third Culture” of overseas life. !As a teacher I experience first hand the clashing and blending of educational philosophies. All expats in Shanghai are tied to education in one form or another. Either we teach at international schools or send our kids there, or both. In my school alone over fifty
nationalities are represented. Of course we debate the proper role of technology. A few families insist that the Waldorf Model, one that eschews the use of technology on campus, is the best one. Other families question why we do not give iPads to our students in addition to their MacBook Pros. !As the high school technology integration coach I find myself in the middle of the debate where, I hope, I can contribute elements of research and reason into discussions that can quickly lose objectivity. My view is simple. ICT in education should never really be about the technology. The focus must always be on efficiently and effectively facilitating learning, among both students and faculty. That means ongoing, robust professional development for teachers and skills development for students. That means taking risks and seeing failure not as a dead end, but rather as iteration to success. It means doing what we have successfully done in the past, yet now seeking means and methods that make our past experience even more relevant, differentiated, and focused on the
specific needs of the students we find before us.!It means risk. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Who dares, wins! ICT in Practice is a wonderful example of that risk taking. From modest beginnings this publication now shares ideas from great minds with thousands of colleagues across the globe. It has branched out to forum talks and monthly seminars that discuss cutting edge issues. These efforts bring together a global community working together, to share and grow, in our chosen fields; to be better than we can be alone. !So put on your tackiest pirate costume and jump on board this one-horse open “slee.” This edition of ICT in Practice is ready to ride! !!Christopher Carter!Social Science Team Lead/Tech Coach/Teacher!Concordia International School Shanghai, [email protected]!Twitter: @christocarter!!
Contents
‘Bits& Bytes: Computational thinking unplugged!’ by Andrew Mills page 4-7
‘Minecraft Club: Content and Reflections ’ by Timothy Weih page 8-11
‘Allcancode: an adventurous coding game’ by Kostas Karolemeas page 12-13
‘Reflections of a teacher on GBL in education’ by Marcin Siekanski page 14-15
‘Programming in the classroom’ by Ben Eilenberg page 16-17
‘Tower Cranes’ by Nicola schofield page 18-19
From the editor
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BITS & BYTES: COMPUTATIONAL THINKING UNPLUGGED! by Andrew Mills h"p://www.bitsandbytes.cards
The beginning of the new school year in
England heralded the introduction of a new
curriculum for primary schools that was
described by some as a “revolution in
education”. In what was a world first, these
changes include the study of computer coding.
!The inclusion of computer coding is a move
that should be applauded, especially given the
increasing pervasiveness of software and the
Internet. Twenty years ago the thought of
shopping online was scoffed but since then the
prevalence of the Internet has grown
exponentially and this is set to continue and
escalate well into the future. We see children
using tablet devices and computers now, and
instantly think these children “know
computers” or that they are experts in
computers, but nothing can be further from the
truth. These children are simply adept at
operating an interface, not a computer. If this
continues then this generation of children will
be nothing more than passive consumers,
unable to influence products and services of
the future. If we want this generation of
children to be a generation of creators then
they need to understand computer coding.
This is not to say that every child should be a
computer programmer when they grow up but
given the current trajectory of technology it
will be important for them to be able to
understand how computers work and the way
computers approach a problem. In the future
computers will touch every facet of their lives.
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!5
By including computer coding in the na:onal
curriculum we are preparing our children for
the future, but are we?
In some respects referring to it as “computer
coding” in the curriculum is a misnomer
(especially for children in KS1). What is actually
being taught is the mindset – the ability to
approach a problem and devise a step-‐by-‐step
solu:on to the problem. What is actually being
taught is logical thinking – but I guess calling it
“logical thinking” isn’t as sexy on the
curriculum as “computer coding”.
I shake my head with despair when I read
about primary schools and parents rushing out
to buy tablets and electronic devices for
children in KS1 classes simply so they can
comply with the new curriculum. These
purchases stretch already over-‐stretched
budgets and why are we going down this path
when there are countless studies saying we
should be limi:ng the amount of “screen :me”
children have each day why are we
encouraging more screen :me? I know my
children don’t need another reason to stare at
a screen.
Over two years ago, before the announcement
that computer coding would become part of
the na:onal curriculum, I was grappling with
this same issue – teaching children the
fundamentals of computer coding with a
computer or expensive electronic device. APer
several months I had the answer – a card
game. A card game called “Bits & Bytes”.
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Bits & Bytes teaches computa:onal thinking (or as I prefer to refer to it – the fundamentals of computer coding) through a simple card game that children of all ages have fun playing – no computer or knowledge of computers is required.
The rules of the game are simple.
Between two and four children can play at once. Each child takes their turn in moving their “programme” (which resembles a monster and their home planet is called Ram), with the objec:ve being to get their programme home. They take it in turns issuing instruc:ons – turn right, move forward, turn around and so on. If they uncover a wall in front of them they cannot move and need to think of another way to reach home. Sounds simple right? And it is.
But that’s just the basic rules – this is where the children start geVng crea:ve – and crea:vity is incredibly important for computer coding (coding is one of the most crea:ve industries).
If the child uncovers a bug they can be sent back to the start or they can play a different rule where they send somebody else back to the start (for children playing who are age 4-‐5 we recommend everybody goes back to the start). If they uncover the dreaded overlord, Seepeeu (pronounced CPU), then everybody is
captured and sent back to the start. Or the children may be very lucky and discover a precious gem like a ruby on Earth but is called a “Func:on” on the planet Ram. If they discover this gem then the child can play this card and create a func:on – for example: IF <wall in front> THEN <knock down>; or DO
<keep going forward> UNTIL <there is a wall in front>; the limit on the func:on they create is their imagina:on.
APer a few :mes playing, children start crea:ng their own rule for what each card does, which is great. We want children to be crea:ve.
If children master this level of play then it can become more difficult.
Either the children can put two or more decks together, making the game grid much larger and thus more complex, or they can even write their very first computer program (without using a computer). In this version of the game, each child takes it in turns to lay out every step in advance that is required to take their programme from start to home. They then run their programme through each step/instruc:on (effec:vely a line of code). If they encounter a wall, a bug or the dreaded Seepeeu then their sequence of instruc:ons doesn’t work and they have to debug their code. While they do that the next person has their turn and so on.
This en:re process of laying out their code in advance and then debugging is the exact same process as wri:ng a computer program and the children are doing it without a computer (and in most cases they don’t even realise they are coding). Their eyes light up when you explain to them what they have done.
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But the game does much more than this.
Every part of the game has been designed to
make children feel comfortable with
computer coding – ready to actually code.
The terminology in the game (for example:
the character names) uses common
computer terms. The font used is commonly
found in coding user interfaces. The backstory
of the game explains how computers basically
work.
Why a card game you might be asking? Out of
all the poten:al formats Bits & Bytes could
have taken, a card game provided the most
flexibility and encouraged the most crea:vity.
If it had been a board game the players would
be limited to the extent of the board, if it
were an app the player would have been
limited to what the programmer of the app
allowed, but a card game is different.
Children can increase the game grid to make
it more complex (or decrease the size of the
grid to make it easier), they can change the
rules, and within the same game it’s easy to
have different versions of the game to suit
the more advanced children.
Not only that a card game is affordable (the
price of one cheap netbook is the equivalent
of 10 games of Bits & Bytes, which up to forty
children can play at once), it doesn’t take up
space, children from age 4 through to age 11
can play the game, it doesn’t ma"er if they
can use a computer already or if they are a
boy or a girl. It’s a card game.
Children play Bits & Bytes and they are
learning computa:onal thinking – the
fundamentals of computer coding. To be
precise, they are learning:
•Problem solving – Breaking down problems
into their components
•How a step-‐by-‐step process leads to a
solu:on
•The sequencing of instruc:ons (and once a
child has mastered the game they can create
their own programs – just like real coding)
•Algorithms (an algorithm is a series of
ordered steps taken to solve a problem or
achieve an objec:ve)
•Developing a logical mindset
•And much more, and all without a computer
or any required computer knowledge on
behalf of the teacher or parent.
My background is in computer programming.
I’m passionate about it and teaching children
to code (I volunteer to teach coding to
children in years 5 and 6 at the local primary
school). I’m so passionate about teaching
children to code that when it came to funding
the first producAon run of Bits & Bytes
(through crowd funding) I wanted to not only
raise funds but also raise games to donate to
primary schools in the UK. At the Ame of this
arAcle we have raised almost 150 games that
will be donated to 15 primary schools – that’s
15 primary schools that will be able to teach
up to 40 children at once the fundamentals of
computer coding at no cost to them. It’s
something I hope to be able to conAnue in the
future.
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!8
by Timothy G. Weih, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Educa:on University of Northern Iowa, USA
The purpose of this arAcle is to describe a
computer club that was based on the video
game MinecraL in hopes that others interested
in developing either a MinecraL Club or any
kind of a computer club, will find this
informaAon useful. The club met in July of 2014
at a public library located in a rural town, i.e.,
under 10,000 populaAon and not close to a
larger city, in the Midwestern United States.
The members were eight boys ranging in age
from 9-‐12. The structure and organizaAon of
the club followed a format similar to a book
club, but instead of a book, the main text was
MinecraL.
!Content
The club met on Mondays and Thursdays
weekly during the month of July from 10:00
a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and the mee:ngs were
scheduled to fit around the library’s busy
summer schedule. The mee:ngs began with
the boys gathering around an oval table in a
small conference room. This was for the
purpose of developing some camaraderie
between the boys with the common
associa:on of MinecraP through discussion
and sharing. The boys talked about the content
of the game, their personal achievements, and
updates to the game, and they set personal
gameplay goals. In addi:on, the librarians, at
my request, had placed numerous books
related to the content of MinecraP in the
conference room for the boys to browse
through while they discussed the game.
The books included :tles from the following
categories: animals, farming, and crops; rocks,
minerals, gems, metals, and mining; land
features, biomes, and trees; tools and
weapons. Each of these categories was further
defined with specific items that were part of
the game. Moreover, there were nonfic:on
and fic:on books about survival, hun:ng,
camping, engineering, architecture, smel:ng,
masonry, and Medieval Europe-‐all topics within
the game. The books were spread out on the
conference table before the boys, and they
would casually pick them up, browse through
them, talk about the content in rela:on to the
game, and the books were available for them
to check out from the library. The purposes of
the books were to help the boys see the
rela:onships between the game, literature,
and subjects of study in school, i.e., social
studies, science, engineering, architecture, and
math. Equally important, the books could help
the boys have a deeper understanding of the
contents of the game, thereby increasing their
knowledge and enjoyment.
Minecraft Club: Content and Reflections
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!9
The boys also brought items from home to talk about and share that were connected to MinecraP (ar:facts of the game). These items included things they made, books, ac:on figures, legos, paper craPs, plush figures, clothes, and soP tools and weapons. The purposes of these items were to further build conversa:on around the contents of the game, thereby fostering a game-‐based culture within the club. During the first club mee:ng, the boys were each given a booklet that contained a statement about the purpose of the club for the members which was to play and have fun with MinecraP and to talk about the game and learn more about the contents and gameplay with each other. The booklet had the mee:ng agenda, which was to first meet for 15 minutes in the conference room to talk, share, look at books, and set personal goals for gameplay for that mee:ng. This was followed by one hour of gameplay on the computers during which members can talk, share, and help each other. The mee:ngs concluded back in the conference room for the last 15 minutes to talk about gameplay, achievements, and game strategy. The booklet contained the club rules, which were the following: use school or library volume for your voices; when someone is speaking listen without talking; it is okay to disagree, but act kindly and use friendly words; and always let your club leader know where you are in the library, for example, if you go to the restrooms, or if you are leaving to go home. Finally, the booklet contained some basic direc:ons for how to get started in the game and some essen:als about how to play the game. Following the conference por:on of the mee:ngs, which lasted about 15 minutes,
the boys met at the library’s desktop computers to actually play the game. There were eight computers, separated into groups of four computers to a table, with a large library reference desk service area that separated the two groups. This was located in the central, open part of the library surrounded by the library’s bookshelves, and not in a separate room. The library had reserved and set aside these computers just for the club’s use. The boys played the game on these computers for the remainder of the club mee:ng :me. !Reflec7ons about the Club Loca7on The library performed as a central loca:on within the community that most of the boys were able to ride their bikes to, thereby providing for easy access for them. Some boys were brought by their parents along with younger siblings and the parents remained in the library browsing books, a"ending other programs with their younger children, or doing their own job-‐related work on their personal, portable computers. Some:mes the parents, along with the boys’ siblings, interacted during the :me the boys were playing the game, thereby making the computer club more of a family literacy event, than a detached club. Addi:onally, other children in the library frequently stood next to the club members while they played MinecraP, which furthered a sense of community. !Schedule The club met twice a week for four weeks during the month of July. There were many advantages for this type of schedule. !
!
!10
Since the club met on Mondays and not again un:l Thursday, I had an ample :me to create any materials that I saw the club members needed and get them ready for the next mee:ng. I also had :me to work out any details that came up with using the library and the computers. Most importantly, the members had a long dura:on to get to know each other and develop trust and friendship, and this scheduled frame also gave me plenty of :me to develop working rela:onships with the library staff. Mornings worked out well because most adults from the community were at work and not using the library, and the hour and half of each mee:ng period gave us enough :me to develop camaraderie before gameplay, and s:ll have enough :me to play the game. I had ini:ally planned for the boys to meet back in the conference room to discuss their gameplay and have some kind of a conclusion or wrap-‐up for each mee:ng, but from the start, it was difficult to get the boys off of the computers, so this never did workout. So, to conclude, I would tell them when our mee:ng was almost over, and then they either leP with their parents, or rode their bikes home. !Procedures The club was structured around the format of a book club with the video game taking the place of the main “book” or text. Book clubs were planned ac:vi:es that the library frequently held, therefore, something that was familiar not only to the library staff, but also to many of the children in the club. Giving each member a booklet that contained the purpose of the club, what happens during the mee:ngs, club rules, and some basic direc:ons for how to play the game, proved to be very useful. I saw many of the boys reading through the booklet during
the conference :me and using it during gameplay on the computers. The same procedures and rules were followed for each mee:ng, thereby lending a sense of stability for the children.
The Books The library staff gathered several dozen books all related to the content of MinecraP from the categories and topics that I had given them. These books were placed in the conference room, and I sca"ered them around the oval table that the boys sat at so they could readily see them. Ini:ally, the boys expressed surprise to see the literature connec:ons of MinecraP, and the boys frequently picked up the books and looked through them, but they did not bring them to the computers, and they did not check any out during the mee:ngs. The reason for this could be that they were very focused on playing the game, rather than reading books. They may have checked out some of the books aPer the mee:ngs or even at a different :me while visi:ng the library. Seeing literature related to the content of the game, rather than only manuals on how to play the game, was a new experience for most of the boys, and one that may have delayed results, so I recommend keeping this component of the club. The Ar7facts The ar:facts were objects either self-‐created or purchased by the boys that were related to the game. This went over very well. All the boys brought items to talk about and share. There was some mock sword figh:ng that took place, but all in good fun. A standing source of an:cipa:on, amusement, and challenge was to be the first one to spot the ever-‐roaming plush Creeper that hid in different loca:ons around the conference room. !
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!11
I stressed that they could bring something self-‐created, and this is very important considering not all families have the same abili:es to purchase items and specialty clothing. For example, one boy brought his self-‐developed journal of handwri"en craPing recipes (a major component of MinecraP).
Library Spaces and Materials The library conference room with its large, oval table situated in a smallish room with huge windows overlooking the library’s prairie gardens provided a place, away from the computers, during which the boys could develop some camaraderie with each other. It was a :me to joke around, have mock sword ba"les, talk about new updates to the game, plan out game strategy, browse books, and to share personal MinecraP ar:facts. I had hoped that we could also conclude each mee:ng in the conference room, but once the boys were actually on the computers, they did not want to leave un:l the very end. The library computers were sufficient to play the game, but somewhat slow in loading it. The boys made good use of the :me wai:ng with con:nued discussion started in the conference room. A major drawback was that the two tables of four computers each were separated by a large library reference desk area. This hampered collabora:ve gameplay since they all wanted to play together, which they could online, but they also wanted to be physically close to each other for talking, sharing, and helping each other. The loca:on of the computers in the middle of the library was somewhat bothersome for a few of the adult library patrons because of the noise the boys made while playing. Even though the game itself has very soP internal sounds, the boys got excited when playing and their volume would rise. The library staff were not concerned about this and said they just
wanted the library to be an interac:ve learning place for children. Having the computers in a central loca:on also made the gameplay component of the club accessible for the boys’ families and other children in the library who frequently par:cipated lending a community context to the events. I had purchased a classroom teacher’s version of MinecraP from MinecraPedu that I downloaded onto the library’s computers. When choosing this version, members, who did not have personal accounts, could play without having to purchase an account first. This worked out well, because several of the boys did not have their own account, and the ones that did, did not know how to log in with their user name and password. Since I already had a version downloaded on the computers, members were ready to play immediately.
Conclusions This was the first video game club that the library had ever hosted and the first for all of the boys as well. The library staff were very suppor:ve and helpful which made for a posi:ve learning environment. The boys were very excited during each mee:ng to talk about and play MinecraP together. Even though the game can be played online with mul:ple players, these players are usually not actually physically with each other, and most of the boys had never experienced playing a mul:player game, on their own computer, alongside the people they are playing with. When this happened during the club, collabora:ve gameplay took on mul:ple levels of communica:on with the boys helping each other, sharing roles and tasks within the game, narra:ng their gameplay aloud, and in essence, collabora:ve gameplay became very real and very exci:ng. A game-‐based culture emerged through MinecraP Club. !
!12
Computers a re everywhere! In our
smartphones, in our TVs… even in our
refrigerators!
!These incredible machines have changed the
way we do things. Think about a text editor
that helps us write down our thoughts. Also
think about social networking and messaging
apps that helps us communicate with each
other. Computers have also changed the way
we think and make decisions. They give us
access to informa:on in ways it was not
possible before. Think about the knowledge in
Wikipedia and the power of Google Search.
!They are arguably an extension to our brain!
Imagine the power of being able to control
these machines. We would know how to give
them step-‐by-‐step instruc:ons on solving a
problem. Then we would just feed them with
relevant pieces of informa:on just get the
solu:on fast and without geVng :red. The
solu:on that could make our personal of
professional lives be"er!
The art of programming a computer (coding) is
about puVng together those step-‐by-‐step
instruc:ons. Everyone can master it. It takes
:me as it is the case with any art but we
founded Allcancode just to make it doable!
!Our game
We believe that the best way to master
programming is by making it a fun process
through games. Star:ng from younger kids (6
to 12 y.o.) we designed an adventure game
where Marco is the main character. He starts a
long journey towards learning more about
himself. Down the path friends will help him
and enemies will hinder him. Levels or series
of them present a goal that the player needs
to achieve by giving step-‐by-‐step instruc:ons
to Marco.
!A writer of children's literature provides the
storyline. He works close with the game
designer while the end result is validated by
teachers in classrooms.
!
WHY WE CREATED
ALLCANCODE? by Kostas Karolemeas
!13
Our visual programming language
We have chosen a custom visual programming
language over a real one. It is easier to
understand and more fun to apply.
Professional developers tend to argue on
which is the best programming language. In
reality there is no best or worst but more or
less suitable for a specific problem /
applica:on. Once one masters the art of
programming using any language she can then
learn and apply any other really fast. The
computer language is a means for expressing a
solu:on so that the computer can execute it.
The goal is to learn how to put together the
solu:on in the first place. Our visual
programming language avoids the syntac:c
sugar of real ones. This makes it easier to read
and understand without sacrificing its
expressive power.
Current Status
We have delivered the first 10 levels that
teach simple instruc:ons, repeat-‐n-‐:mes and
repeat-‐while. The next 10 levels due in
October 2014 will introduce if-‐then-‐else. This
will complete the first set of levels. The next
set will introduce the concept of memory (i.e.
variables). In parallel that set will foster the
development of simple algorithms. The goal is
to gradually present goals, which are more
difficult to achieve and thus require complex
logic.
!The game is available:
For browser on Windows and Mac:
Directly: h"p://marco.allcancode.com
T h r o u g h C h r o m e S t o r e : h " p s : / /
chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/run-‐
marco/objdeaibfajdoeikopmgincdhjiufle
!On Google Play for Android tablets (7" and
up):
h"ps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?
id=com.allcancode.runmarco
!On iTunes Store for iPads:
h"ps://itunes.apple.com/us/app/run-‐marco!/
id919554969
!!!!
!14
The history of humanity is a consequence of
educa:on and the ability to teach and learn.
Almost all inven:ons have had to follow the
hard road to being accepted by socie:es or
cultures. The ability to read or write hundreds
of years ago, had magician s:gmatas and
problems with social affirma:on. In our recent
history we see the same problems with
medical inven:ons, electricity, photography,
the beginning of movies ... and finally
computer games. Every young genera:on has
their own way of learning and exploring.
Technological and scien:fic progress is moving
very fast. Almost every country has a problem
of “educa:on lagging behind the cogni:ve
abili:es” of the young genera:on. Games
could improve the educa:on process and also
make it more a"rac:ve. The biggest and most
important world resource isn’t oil, gas or
uranium but the youngest representa:ves of
our society.
!The old-‐fashioned way of teaching is making
educa:on dull and una"rac:ve. It does not fit
with their needs, whilst computer games, on
the contrary are an ideal fit. I’ve been thinking
for many years about how to best use games
to improve the learning process. Finally a year
ago I created a small group of students aged
14-‐18. I’ve improved lessons using various
games. I’m teacher of history and history and
society, so the game bias has been targeted
towards the humani:es horizon.
For Example:
The history of Europe and World
•Ancient :mes-‐ Rome Total War, Europa
Universalis Rome, Ceasar, Mount and Blade…
•Medieval :mes-‐ Rome Total War BW,
Crusader Kings, Sims medieval, Mount and
Blade…
•Modern :mes-‐ Europa Universalis, Empire
Total War, Victoria, Mount and Blade, Hearts
of Iron, Capitalism…
!I’ve highlighted only a few of the computer
games. I’ve used many more but these are
simple biased towards history and wri:ng
about the whole project / in:a:ve would have
been very long and elaborate. APer entering
into the world of game educa:on, my new
role started, nevertheless the teacher posi:on
isn’t disappearing at all, on the contrary, it is
evolving to a higher level and it’s going to
become much more conscious. Because of a
lack of scenarios to match to lessons, I’ve
saved many of them. I’ve copied them to
every computer so that students know what to
do and had the same materials to use.
Reflections of a teacher on GBL in education
by Marcin Siekanski
Books were used to describe events, names
and various concepts founded in the game.
I’ve changed the tasks to be undertaken from
those that were old and dull, oPen made by
people, who had some:mes never seen
school, par:cularly since the fall of the iron
curtain to new tasks.
For example:
•Take a screenshot when you see a gothic
castle, an Arabic castle and describe them…
•Try to win the ba"le of Waterloo as
Napoleon.
•Find the names of medieval clothes in your
book and make a screenshot of everyone
men:oned in the task.
•Write about various scenarios and why
you’ve chosen these op:ons?
Of course there were many more tasks. A
number of posi:ve conclusions exceeded my
expecta:ons. These abili:es/skills were vastly
improved:
•Crea:vity
•Ability to self-‐ educa:on and seeking for
answer
•Ability to communicate both orally and also
in “wri"en word”
•Students found an a"rac:on in books to find
solu:ons to ”quests” in a game
•There was a higher tendency to explore
internet for wisdom than for “:me-‐killing”
sites
•Imagina:on
And much more… the game market is like a
gold mine. I’ve been researching it for many
years. For open-‐minded educators it could be
a great tool to teach with. For games
corpora:ons, it could also be an invaluable
source of money. Profits taken from
connec:ng educa:onal systems with game
producers would be beneficial for both sides.
The simplicity of this “task” is lying between
the group of open-‐minded educators and
game producers. If we could connect these
groups and create a communica:on link, GBL
could create real fundamental advances.
Throughout my years of research, I’ve found
basics to biology, geography, social sciences…
for almost every subject found in every
curriculum.
I’ve put below screenshots of various games.
Try to imagine that every screen is a por:on of
names, conclusion. Every second is huge step
in a process of learning and remembering, but
there is of course the teacher’s part which is
always the most important.
Written by Ben Eilenberg Generalist Teacher/Robotics Coordinator at Silverton Primary School.
One of the big ques:ons being asked these
days appears to be, ‘how can we integrate
programing into the curriculum? It is also an
important ques:on as the Na:ona l
Curriculum, in Australia is slowly introduced.
One of the key requirements is having
students learn to write computer programing.
As a grade 1-‐2 teacher, I believe that it is
important to introduce students to simple
programing at an early age
and make i t fun and
educa:onal. Within the
classroom, I first introduced
the students to ‘Kudo’. (A
game making plazorm
created by MicrosoP). The
aim was to get students
engaged in using a fun
interac:ve plazorm, which
linked in to game consoles
that they already use, such
as Xbox.
Ini:ally it is important to not just have the
students’ sit in front of the computer and
create a program but actually be introduced to
a process and encouraged to take risks and
understand how to problem solve. The grade
1-‐2 students got in to small groups and played
some games that other people had created in
Kudo. In my opinion, it is important to have
the students reflect upon what was good or
bad, what type of game it was and how did
you win or finish the game. As a class, the
students also discuss what other styles and
types of games they have played that they
enjoyed. From there, they then think about
what type of game that they want to create,
the audience that they would create it for,
how the game would be played and how the
game will be finished.
PROGRAMMING IN THE CLASSROOM
As a group, they then go away and plan
their game. This involves answering the
previous ques:ons and crea:ng a
storyboard of their game. Once they have
planned, then they create their game in
‘Kudo’. At the end of each session,
students have to reflect upon 3 areas,
how did they work as a team, what
challenges did they face, what did they
work on and what do they s:ll need to
work on?
They then use this at the start of each session
to remember what they needed to work on
and tackled any challenges that they have
faced, using problem solving skills.
APer the students complete their games, they
invite other groups to play them and reflect
upon what they liked and what could be
improved. This gives the students a chance to
go back and improve upon their games before
releasing it to the rest of the school
community.
Throughout this whole process, other
parts of the curriculum are linked in to the
process. Within literacy, students read ar:cles
and books on computers, programing and
technology. In the area of the humani:es,
students research the history of computers,
how it has changed over :me and what affects
it has had upon society.
By star:ng this process within lower
levels of the school, their programing and
problem solving skills can become more
complex and detailed as the students move
through the school. From
using Kudo, students can
move on to wri:ng their own
code using program such as
Python, following the same
process. The process also
helps the teachers to assess
the s tudent s on the i r
u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f
programing , teamwork,
wri:ng and computer skills
within the classroom.
So, I passed a building site for Crossrail in
London and I started puzzling about tower
cranes. I looked around me in London and
there are SO many cranes – oPen building
huge skyscrapers. How did they even get the
cranes into place on the building sites?
!This is a tower crane and here are the
ques:ons I have about tower cranes in
par:cular:
Image from www.krhicranes.com/
!!!!
▪What’s their purpose?
▪Where are they used?
▪Why don’t they fall over?
▪How much weight can they liP?
▪What couldn’t we do without them?
▪How do they work? (takes you to a
web site which may contain unsuitable links,
be warned – “Think before you click”)
▪How do they get on site?
▪Who controls them? where from?
▪How were tall building built
before cranes? What are the
alterna:ves? What’s the benefit of a
crane?
▪What other types of cranes are
there? Next :me you are out &
about, why not look out for different
types of cranes and take some photos
for this blog?
▪Which birds/ animals look or
move like a crane? Why? How do
they get food?
!PS If you are interested in Crossrail
and how they made the tunnels
under London you can watch the BBC
documentaries here -‐ it’s fascina:ng!
!!
COMPUTER SCIENCE UNPLUGGED! TOWER CRANE
by Nicola Schofield
!19
US Mega Geography Quiz—FREE by Margaret Taylor Owl & Mouse Educational Software !1100 varied and interes:ng ques:ons about the United States. The ques:ons challenge the player to think, to make connec:ons. Playful and intriguing , Professor Quill’s Quiz is a great way to learn about the United States. APer students learn “Where is Arizona?” they need to learn “What is Arizona?”. In order to have an idea of the en:re US you have to know what the various parts are like, the differences between them, and how they connect; what
happened where and why there. It is not important to know the state bird of 50 states; it is important to understand that the Saguaro Cactus Flower would belong to a state which is largely desert , and select Arizona, not Michigan or Louisiana or Kansas. www.yourchildlearns.com/quiznew/us-‐geography-‐quiz.html
Can you:
▪Draw a crane
▪Design a crane
▪Make a crane in Lego/ Meccano/
wood etc
▪Test your crane & modify/ stabilise it
▪How much weight can your crane liP?
!In school, we will be using Phil Bagge’s Human
Crane ac:vi:es to start thinking like a
computer-‐controlled crane! We will develop
prac:cal algorithms and look for pa"erns that
can be turned into procedures and repeat
instruc:ons. We will then develop these ideas
using a Logo program.
!Can you program a tower crane or a grab
machine game? You could just write an
algorithm or you could have a go in Scratch 2.0
eg h"p://scratch.mit.edu/projects/2520260/
h"p://scratch.mit.edu/projects/100080
EDITORIAL TEAM!!Yasemin [email protected]!!Christopher [email protected]!!Elliott [email protected]!!Published by!ictinpractice.com!London, UK
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