Recommendations and curriculum resources for teaching programming to kids in Grades 1-12. Tips for programming using Scratch Jr, Scratch, HTML, and Python.
Do you need to teach chatbots as part of a high school course? You likely noticed that most chatbot builders are for adults not teens. Not only that, but often there is a fee associated with use. However, there are two great free options for bot building that are developmentally appropriate – Scratch and Bot […]
How to Teach Chatbots to Teens Using Scratch Read More »
As we teach students programming skills, the goal is to make learning fun and enriching. Let’s look at some creative ways that teachers can design authentic coding projects using Python. We aim to help students build essential coding skills and, as well, foster life skills such as problem solving and perseverance. At the same time,
Empower Students with Authentic Coding Activities Read More »
What Is Computational Thinking? Computational thinking is the skill of solving problems by breaking them into smaller, easy-to-handle parts. It’s like splitting a big puzzle into smaller pieces to make it easier to solve. This ability can help students to learn problem-solving, mirroring how computers approach challenges. So, it’s like a clever way of ‘thinking’
A Beginner’s Guide to the Value of Computational Thinking Read More »
Young students enthusiastically learn game development techniques through coding. But they need to have an age-appropriate learning platform designed for this purpose. This is where TechnoKids comes in with the innovative TechnoArcade curriculum, tailored especially for elementary grades 3 to 6. The TechnoArcade project instills confidence and helps students build coding skills by using Scratch
Easy Game Development Techniques that Empower Kids Read More »
Can beginners learn basic coding and design games for their friends? Yes! TechnoKids has a cool program called TechnoRace to teach game design for kids in grades 3 to 6. This project develops programming skills and builds confidence in coding. Also, it shows students how to use Scratch, an easy tool for beginners, to make
Game Design for Kids: Scratch Programming with Easy Teacher Resources Read More »
Do your students want to make a truly one-of-a-kind Scratch project? Or are they having trouble finding just the right main character or object in the Sprite Library? One option is to use the Paint Editor tools to create your own. But if you are in a hurry, or lack artistic skills like me, you
How to: Upload a Sprite for Scratch Read More »
To personalize a game or story, you can import a sound into Scratch. It is true that Scratch, has more than 350 sounds. That is a lot of effects and music from which to pick! However, your students may want to produce a unique game by downloading sounds from an external source. This allows them
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Consider phases of game development when planning a programming curriculum unit. This framework provides a learning experience that simulates the real-world. For this reason, divide game development tasks into three phases: pre-production, production, and post-production. Now, it is important to realize that there is little agreement on how many phases are in game development. Some
Get to Know the Three Phases of Game Development Read More »
Games should be fun and just the right level of challenge. They shouldn’t be too easy, so that the player finishes quickly and has no incentive to play again. And games should not be too hard. Then the player may give up and abandon play. One way to inspire and motivate players is to script
Game Development: How to Script Obstacles Read More »
Teachers, are you assessing your students’ Scratch coding projects? How do you know that they understand the code that they have written? Here’s a quick tip to have your students demonstrate their learning: ask them to write brief comment notes in Scratch. In this way, they will confirm that they recognize the function of the
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