After my students have a good understanding of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and how to produce a flowchart, my favorite project to introduce to my Intro to Programming class is the Escape Room Game. Students are asked to design, create and code their own game idea working in groups or on their own. They begin with a flowchart to organize their thoughts and end with a reflection about the process to identify their learning and issues encountered, but watching their growth in between is quite rewarding.
The excitement that they share with their creativity, design, troubleshooting and collaboration is always something special to observe. Giving them a blank slate and allowing them to each incorporate their own ideas is a key element of the project. Every game's goal and coded example is different and every student is given the opportunity to use their voice and ideas in various ways. The students are excited to learn, eager to demonstrate and in the end learned much more than how to code. They learned how to work together to solve problems and think outside the box to come up with a product that they can call their own. This is what teaching and learning is all about.
No comments:
Post a Comment