Computational Thinking

Curtis, one of my classmates had posted a working version of a 2-player maze game in his blog post and I wanted to follow his example and post a working version of my game.  So began my troubleshooting to find out the steps to accomplish this seemingly simple feat.

All it took was an online account, building a project, allowing the sharing of the project, and then finding the 'share link' and embed code for the game.  It did take some fiddling, but the 'fiddle and figuring' is computational thinking!  Thanks for the inspiration, Curtis; it's fun to play a game inside a blog post!  You can give my rough draft of DinoClick a try:

 

At our school, we also use Lego Mindstorms robots and Micro:Bits for computational thinking activities in STEM-related classes.  Micro:Bits, like Scratch, has an online coding environment that lets students create and test code before they download it on to the Micro:Bit processor for some real world application.  What I like about Micro:Bits is their simplicity, their inexpensive price tag, and their physical presence.  A student's code now exists on a new device that can provide function (e.g. a moisture sensor for plants) in the palm of a student's hand.  This provides a tangible, physical benefit to the student and it makes coding real.

Lego Mindstorms also has this benefit.  Students can design and program a robot to move about and interact with the world.  If it hits an object, the robot must be programmed to respond.  It is senses a color with its light sensor, it could respond in a variety of ways, all dependent on the imagination of the programmer.

Lego Mindstorms allows block programming and JavaScript.  Micro:Bits provide those two options AND Python.  It also has the ability to program for the Mindstorms robots. This is useful for the students looking who want to start practicing with computer syntax and take on an additional (and fruitful) challenge.