Creating My First Coding Game with Flappy Birds
I learned how to code with Flappy Birds and even created my own coding game HERE. Learning step-by-step made it easy to follow, but I feel like I could spend hours exploring how everything works and figuring out ways to make an even better game.
Insights on Computational Thinking: Enhancing Problem-Solving Skills from Digital Literacy + Computational Thinking for Children
From the Best of Digital Literacy + Computational Thinking for Children YouTube video, I learned a straightforward definition of computational thinking and its role in enhancing students’ problem-solving skills. Computational thinking encourages a systematic approach to challenges. Through decomposition, students can break down complex tasks into manageable parts, while pattern recognition enables them to identify commonalities in problems, simplifying solutions. Abstraction helps students focus on relevant details while ignoring distractions, and algorithmic thinking guides them in creating clear, sequential steps to address issues. This approach equips students with a valuable framework for tackling problems effectively across subjects.
Importantly, computational thinking isn’t just for math or science—it’s applicable across various subjects. In language arts, for instance, students might use decomposition to analyze story structure, or pattern recognition to identify recurring themes. Such integration promotes critical and logical thinking, preparing students to tackle problems in diverse real-world contexts.
The BC Ministry of Education’s Computational Thinking Teacher Training Package offers a variety of resources to introduce computational thinking in the classroom through engaging and collaborative student activities.
Available PDF resources include:
What features of games that can make effective learning tools?
Here are some steps to make games effective learning tools from Rich’s lesson:
- Include instruction & explanation about underlying concepts.
- include adaptative scaffolding and mechanism and guidance
- offer gameplay that enhance the player’s sense of autonomy
- Offer gameplay that offers just doable challenges
- Dynamic in-game scores that leaning progress feedback
- Promote a learning attitude without time constraints or penalty score