Hey all! It’s time for a catch up post!
During week 9, we discussed code and the different ways to introduce it in a fun classroom manner. Using the Hour of Code resource we discussed, I learned that it is a fun activity to do, and it definitely makes a person use their problem solving skills.
I chose to do the Minecraft version since I have used Minecraft for a few projects in the past, and since I have no experience coding I felt like using a style I am visually used to would make the learning experience more comfortable. It worked!!
The program starts off pretty easy, with the user only doing one basic movement.
The First Level!
After the second level, it got a bit more intricate with the amount of code it requires. On the 4th level, it actually starts you out with the first movements to help you out!!
The code was preset in for this one!
This actually helped quite a bit with how long the level took, as it set the groundwork to finish the level faster. This is a good inclusion since this website is made for educating, and by helping from the start it gives the student using it the push to keep it going.
Level 4 completed code
By the end of level 4, this is how long the code was. If there was the option to just “Repeat 3 Times” It could have taken 1/3 as much time to set it up. This is a good way to show students the long way to do something before introducing a shortcut, much like in math where we would show a larger equation before simplifying. It shows students the steps behind the shortcut in a way!
Like this!!
The start of level 5 introduces exactly what I was talking about. It gives the option for a repeat!! This coding game is actually implementing teaching by scaffolding! It’s really cool!!
oops
Accidental win!
Just like learning anything, mistakes are bound to happen. I went too fast and didn’t properly read the instructions. Can you see what went wrong here? When I clicked run, the character build walls until they ran into the wall and couldn’t build anymore! However, since I technically completed what was asked, it passed me anyways!
I did it!
The last 3 levels of this were pretty cool, and it definitely made me think!!! It felt like a chess match, where I could try it step by step by step, or try to solve it all in one go before pressing run. Overall it is definitely a resource I would use in the future!!
– Dallas Thody
