This week, we talked about bigger projects, in particular one in which we could make Angry Birds using Hopscotch. Everyone was really enthusiastic about this possibility. However, we all agreed that one more stepping stone might be a good idea. The fourth lesson in the Hopscotch series on You Tube involves the creation of the Flappy Birdgame ... and this was the focus of our lesson on Friday afternoon.
This video goes for just over 16 minutes and is a bigger project than we've done before. Hence, not a single photo was taken during the lesson. The students were totally focused on the steps (as was I) and most kept up very well. One student required some one-to-one assistance from me, but with persistence, he also managed to finish the project by the end of the lesson.
We've decided to have a go at the even more challenging project called "Make Angry Birds in Hopscotch!" next week ... a 30 minute video with many new concepts. I promised the students that I would add the video early so that, if they chose to, they could watch it before next week's coding class ... so here it is.
Last Friday was our first coding session for Term 4. With only 8 teaching weeks left for 2015, we have much to explore before the long Summer break.
In my 'ideal world', the students would have spent some of their September/October holidays exploring Hopscotch ... however, the reality proved to be very different. None of them played around with coding. I find myself asking why this might be the case. I'd hoped the students would become excited about being able to code and create ... and might become self-motivated. Alas, we're not quite there yet!
All is not yet lost though. Once we started the lesson and everyone had a chance to refresh their memories with what they'd achieved last term, we were off and coding again.
There was a small group of three who hadn't quite managed to finish the Geometry Dash project ... or who needed to debug what they'd done and find the error or errors that were interrupting the flow of their game. This group worked with me ... and, yes they were successful and managed to debug or finish their first project and build upon it by adding the scoring option.
The rest of the class worked independently ... or sought help from a peer ... to add the scoring option to their own Geometry Dash game.
The You Tube video for part 2 of the project, Geometry Dash Part 2 - Keeping Score is short and very easily achieved in a short time.
At the end of this video, the presenter challenges students to have a go at changing the background or adding another component to the game. Some of the students had a go at this ... but found it to be more challenging than expected. I've changed the challenge to be a homework task and am really looking forward to seeing what they achieve.
