Designing and Coding Games for Learning in K-12

 Designing and coding games reminds me of the coder's camp each summer where I work.  It's a two week program where students come in each work day to learn how to code.  During this camp, they have guest speakers, including women who work as engineers and programmers, and they also go on field trips to see different work places and learn about what coders can do.  Between all of that, they design their own games and present them to their families and friends on the very last day.  It's a very fun time to be at work, and I always join in the audience to see them present their prides.

"Early computer games" by Timitrius is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

 

One of the topics that will likely come up many times in this blog overall is computational thinking.  There are different aspects of learning coding that can help students develop computational thinking skills.  A study conducted by Karakasis and Xinogalos (2020) suggests that this is a skill that should be developed (and possessed) at a young age.  Students use BlocklyScript to learn the basics of programming, including how to locate patterns and the ever-important skill of evaluating mistakes and testing new solutions.  BlocklyScript is a different program than most block coding apps, though, because it also incorporates a role-playing game (RPG) adventure.  This gives students direction throughout the game in the form of character debriefings and tips, goals to accomplish with coding, and even enemies and obstacles.  It uses scores, badges, and timed goals to provide a high reward learning environment.

Another topic that is frequently intertwined with learning to design and code is digital literacy.  As a librarian, digital literacy is as close to my heart as information literacy.  Digital literacy includes being a critical and active citizen in a digital society (Weitze & Majgaard, 2020).  In the study by Weitze and Majgaard, students had a 1.5 hour class every week for five weeks.  During this time, the students used CoSpaces Edu, another tool that like BlocklyScript is intended for novices, to create and explore games.  The students were able to share these games with smart phones with their peers.  It was found that at the end of the study students had achieved digital design and design processes, computational thinking competencies, digital empowerment, and they were able to successfully program their games.  These findings showed that the program helped students meet these digital literacy competencies that had been outlined in the curriculum.

Some of my research on designing and coding games led me down a different path -- games designed for health, either social or physical health like anti-bullying games.  As a librarian, one of my liaison areas is the allied health program.  Part of what the students have to do is come up with plans to educate their patients on different health problems.  While it seems unlikely that a college student in an allied health program would necessarily have the time to learn coding, block code apps would give them the opportunity to teach their patients using gamification. One such project was done to help children between the ages of 7 to 12 with Type 1 Diabetes address behavioral changes related to their health (Sparapani, Fels, Kamal & Nascimento, 2019).  This is something I hope I can bring up to the students I work with as a research opportunity.

The long and short of it is that designing and coding doesn't have to be hard!  Especially with programs like Blockly, students can benefit from design and computational thinking without having to immediately know all of the ins and outs and coding.

 

References

Karakasis, C., & Xinogalos, S. (2020). BlocklyScript: Design and pilot evaluation of an RPG platform game for cultivating computational thinking skills to young students. Informatics in Education, 19(4), 641-668. https://doi.org/10.15388/infedu.2020.28 

Sparapani, V. D. C., Fels, S., Kamal, N., & Nascimento, L. C. (2019). Conceptual framework for designing video games for children with type 1 diabetes. Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagen, 2019(27). https://doi.org/10.1590/1518-8345.2764.3090

Weitze, C. L., & Majgaard, G. (2020). Developing digital literacy through design of VR/AR games for learning. Proceedings of the European Conference on Games Based Learning,674-683. https://doi.org/10.34190/GBL.20.111

 

Exploring Empathy and Creativity with Design Thinking in Classrooms

What is Design Process/Design Thinking?

Design process, or design thinking, describes the art of coming up with ideas and creatively making, troubleshooting, and reassessing them.  Instead of being a one-lane street, it’s a highway with multiple lanes, on- and off-ramps, and roundabouts for when your idea gets all turned around.  This can be really important for students, especially students who are graded on competencies as opposed to standardized tests.  One of the benefits of this is that the student can demonstrate information literacy skills, including the ability to research and explore information, while also demonstrating their creativity and room for growth.  According to Shively, Stith and Rubenstein (2018, p 157), “deliberately assessing the process emphasizes the importance of student effort and the value of specific creative and critical thinking strategies.”

Benefits of Implementing Design Process/Thinking in the Classroom

Based on the importance of creative and critical thinking strategies, it makes sense to let students explore these skills at each stage of development, though obviously with less complication at a younger age.   Hatzgianni, Stevenson, Falloon, Bower, and Forbes (2021) address this in their research and focus on students between kindergarten and second grade.  They suggest implementing design thinking at a young age with the use of makerspaces to scaffold experimentation and problem-solving skills.  The design thinking model suggested for implementing a makerspace for students this young was the IDEO model which uses the following five stages: discovery, interpretation, ideation, experimentation, and evolution. 

"2-22 3-D printer" by uacescomm is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

One of the benefits of teaching students to use the design process or design thinking in the classroom is that it creates a culture of empathy.  Students practice skills including communication and observation, as well as other skills, that help expand student awareness of others as they relate to their own projects and self. “By connecting design thinking with project-based learning, the students can see how innovation and imagination can solve not just local challenges, but also the challenges faced by people around the world via social innovation project” (Hashim, Aris, & Fook, 2019, p 17). 

This week, we explored different problems we could use to implement the design process into classes for students of all ages.  With all of the benefits, such as learning to use critical thinking, exploring creativity, and expanding empathy and awareness of others, it is my hope to introduce more projects using the design method into my own work with students.  I’m already thinking about how it could be used to help students see research as an evolving process instead of a pre-determined formula!

References

Hashin, A., Aris, S. R. S., & Fook, C. Y. (2019). Promoting empathy using design thinking in project-based learning and as a classroom culture. Asian Journal of University Education, 15(3), 14-23.

Hatzigianni, M., Stevenson, M., Falloon, G., Bower, M., & Forbes, A. (2021). Young children’s design thinking skills in makerspaces. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2020.100216

Shively, K., Stith, K. M., & Rubenstein, L. D. (2018). Measuring What Matters: Assessing Creativity, Critical Thinking, and the Design Process. Gifted Child Today, 41(3), 149–158. https://doi.org/10.1177/1076217518768361 

Launching a Coding Program in K-12 Classrooms

By Bonnie L.

Coding programs and coding camps have been becoming more popular across the nation, and perhaps even internationally.  With everything we can do online nowadays, it is perhaps no surprise that this is the case!

When to code?

One thing to consider is when students should be introduced to coding.  Some argue that it should be introduced in early years.  Part of the argument for this is that learning coding will also introduce students to digital literacy skills (Campbell & Walsh, 2017).  Campbell and Walsh argue that children benefit from hands-on and playful learning experiences.  

 The answer to when to code during K-12 is that there really is no bad time.  Some studies show that younger students may not necessarily experience learning curve accelerations while learning to code (specifically students as young as those in the second grade), but students in the 6th grade do begin to experience an acceleration in learning curves (Moreno-Leon, Robles & Roman-Gonzalez, 2016).  The younger students don't experience a deceleration, either, so there is no reason younger students can't begin to learn coding.

"DNA Sequence Bracelets from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute / European Bioinformatics Institute" by dullhunk is licensed under CC BY 2.0

 

Where to code?

But where does coding, programming, or computational thinking belong in the curriculum? It can help students understand so many different subjects differently that this can be hard to answer!  Since students experience an improved understanding in sciences and math (Saez-Lopez, Sevillano-Garcia & Vasquez-Cano, 2019), and computational thinking can also help students with writing and research literacy skills, this is not easy to answer.  Unless, of course, the answer is that a coding program could be introduced across the board.  Teachers can design tasks or programs that help students explore relevant skills to both the teacher's subject area and skills such as computational thinking. 

Starting point

The starting point is getting all your ducks in a row.  

 

Figure out if you have the manpower for a larger scale program, such as including it as part of the curriculum in multiple subjects, or if you only have the manpower for a smaller project, such as starting a lunch-time coding club.  

Brainstorm with other educators, and also students, to come up with projects that will be exciting and interesting for the students while providing the foundation they need to grow and experience the different facets of coding.  I found this Edutopia post on teaching coding to be a good starting point to get ideas: https://www.edutopia.org/article/want-teach-coding-heres-where-begin.

Conclusion

There isn't really a wrong place or time to launch a coding program in K-12 classrooms.  Younger students may benefit from creative, hands-on experience and as students age up they will also benefit from digital literacy skills, collaborative skills, and creative problem-solving skills.  Coding programs are being introduced around the world and can be tailored to the needs of your students, your classroom, and your school.

References

Campbell, C., & Walsh, C. (2017). Introducing the “new” digital literacy of coding in the early years. Practical Literacy: The Early & Primary Years, 22(3), 10–12. 

Moreno-León, J., Robles, G., & Román-González, M. (2016). Code to learn: Where does it belong in the K-12 curriculum? Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 15, 283–303.  

Sáez-López, J.-M., Sevillano-García, M.-L., & Vazquez-Cano, E. (2019). The effect of programming on primary school students’ mathematical and scientific understanding: educational use of mBot. Educational Technology Research & Development, 67(6), 1405–1425. https://doi.org.n/10.1007/s11423-019-09648-5