Weeks 4 & 5
During weeks 4 and 5 of EDP4130 our task was to extend on our previously created games and animations.
In week 4 I extended on my race car game to include levels, different race tracks on each level and out of bounds areas. This activity pushed me to go beyond my comfort zone because the programming of these processes were not given to me. Therefore, I relied more on my higher order thinking abilities to break down what commands I would need to input and where in the programming sequence these belong.
In week 5, I changed my initial ping-pong game to make the game harder and more enjoyable. I achieved this by reprogramming the ball to go faster each time it rebounded off the moving block. Again, re programming the commands proved complex because it was beyond what was scaffolded.
The skills required to complete these extension modifications link directly with the intentions of the Australian Curriculum Technologies learning area. This document identifies the importance of providing students with opportunities to develop critical and creative thinking skills through problem based approaches to teaching and learning (ACARA, 2013).
Extension activities play a pivotal role in supporting the development of higher order thinking skills and in developing deeper understandings. These skills are essential within the classroom and Scratch provides an innovative and engaging platform to nurture in the development of these skills. Scratch allows students to plan their own extension activities and program the appropriate commands to achieve their desired extension outcome.
References:
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA]. (2013) Draft Australian Curriculum: Technologies, Retrieved March 3, 2013, from:
http://consultation.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Static/docs/Technologies/Draft%20Australian%20Curriculum%20Technologies%20-%20February%202013.pdf
Weeks 1, 2 & 3 of Scratch
During phase 1 of EDP4130 Technology Curriculum and Pedagogy, I was introduced to the program computer programming software called Scratch. This programming environment was explained to me over the following three weeks when I was scaffolded to complete the following simple tasks:
- program a simple race car to travel along a race track
- program a simple ping pong game
Links to relevant sections of theAustralian Curriculum Technologies (draft document):
Digital Technologies processes and production skills: Specification, algorithms and implementation
- 2.5 Follow, describe, represent and play with a sequence of steps and decisions needed to solve simple problems
- 4.6 Design and implement simple visual programs with user input and branching
- 6.6 Follow, modify and describe simple algorithms involving sequence of steps, decisions, and repetitions that are represented diagrammatically and in plain English
- 6.7 Design and implement digital solutions using visual programs with user input, branching and iteration
- 8.8 Trace algorithms to predict output for a given input and to identify errors, and describe algorithms diagrammatically and in plain English
- 8.9 Develop and modify programs with user interfaces involving branching, repetition or iteration and subprograms in a general-purpose programming language
Throughout phase 1, I have learnt how to navigate and use Scratch to create commands to make simple games and animations. I have been re-introduced to basic programming skills and the importance of understanding process has been reinforced.
Scratch is a program that can be adapted to suit all Primary aged students. This can be achieved by differing the amount of scaffolding that is provided to them, the complexity of task that is set and also by asking the students to program the entire animation or game independently. As students get older, they will begin to understand that each command choice they input when organising a simple 'process block' results in a particular outcome and why this outcome occurs. For example, they will begin to understand the differences between turning clockwise 60° and turning 60° anti-clockwise.
