codespark Teacher s Guide

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2 codespark Teacher s Guide Dear Intrepid Teacher, Thank you for your interest in teaching computer science to your kids! Knowledge of computer science and algorithmic thinking is increasingly necessary for success in our digital world. This skill is becoming a critical component of 21st century literacy. codespark created The Foos as an introduction to the ABCs of Computer Science. While it s important to prepare kids for the modern workplace, computer science is about much more than getting a job in high tech. Research shows that computer science helps students improve in core areas like math, logic, and even reading comprehension. Often people think of programming or coding as computer science but that is just one element. At its core, computer science is the study of how to use logical thinking to identify, simplify and solve complex problems, not 0 s and 1 s. Studies from MIT and Tufts University show that students as young as five can learn complex computer science concepts, especially when artificial barriers like programming syntax are out of the way. codespark has created a unique and powerful approach to teaching computer science built on cutting edge research and hundreds of hours of prototype testing. codespark s learning games are designed with no words so even pre-readers and ELL students can play and learn from our powerful curriculum. By playing our games, your students will improve their critical thinking skills, and improve in other disciplines, all while having a lot of fun! -- The codespark Team Have questions or feedback? us at info@codespark.org Get our app here

3 Table of Contents Computer Science for K Overview Day 1: Intro & Game Elements Day 2: Game Balance Day 3: Paper Prototyping Day 4: Building in Foo Studio!3

4 OVERVIEW Computer Science for K - 5 Teacher Overview: Our lesson plans provide a fun, flexible and engaging introduction to foundational game design concepts. They target students in K 3rd grade, but we ve successfully tested with students as old as 8th grade. These lesson plans are meant to be highly adaptable and designed for a 4 day camp. We often suggest variations within the plans themselves. You will be the best judge of what your students need to spend more time on and what they seem to enjoy the most. Materials: Our game, The Foos" Code for an Hour. Download it at thefoos.com Available for FREE on ipad, iphone, Android Devices and web (e.g. major browsers Chrome, Safari, IE, etc.) Props as needed: see each lesson for specifics No experience is necessary, but we recommend you review the lessons and play a few levels of the game prior to teaching it for the first time. Note: This curriculum gives you approximately 12 hours of lessons. If you sign up for our Foosletter at thefoos.com, we will notify you when we expand the curriculum and release new versions of the game.!4

5 OVERVIEW Computer Science for K - 5 What Is Game Design? Game design boils down to creating a plan for the experience of a game. A game is a problem solving activity, approached from a playful attitude. It is up to the game designer to plan out what a game looks and feels like to the players. A lot of game design is testing out your game plan and then fixing the plan where it s wrong. What Are Some Common Misconceptions About Game Design? Game Design is Programming - While some game designers know how to code, many others do not. Game design is more about solving problems that might come up when creating a game. In fact, many games don t even need to be programmed (ex. board games) Game Design is Art - You don t need to be a good artist to be a game designer (that s what game artists are for). Game design is less about making the game look pretty and more about defining what the game is (ex. rules). Game Design is just playing games all day - While playing (more like testing out) games is part of game design, most of the time game designers are coming up with and planning out ideas that can create a great player experience.!5

6 OVERVIEW Computer Science for K - 5 Who Are The Foos? The Foos are lovable and cute characters recently discovered by scientists. They are very small and live deep inside every computer, including smartphones, tablets and the computers in your class! Each Foo can walk, jump, throw, eat and navigate their world, called Fooville. Some Foos have special abilities that make them unique, for example: Police Foo - can chase and capture the Glitch Chef Foo - can make many kinds of food Ninja Foo - can shrink or grow bigger Astronaut Foo - can travel in four different directions Construction Foo - can make crates and also blow them up But, just like computers, the Foos only do what they are told. Students must learn to give them specific commands, or program the Foos, in a specific order. Look out! The blue character with the white horns is the Glitch. He is a force of chaos in Fooville. Sometimes he makes a mess, sometimes he throws things around and sometimes he appears unexpectedly.!6

7 OVERVIEW Computer Science for K - 5 How Does The Foos Help Me Teach Game Design? The Foos combines both structured and open-ended experiences to scaffold learning. Foo Studio allows students to create their own games and share them in a global community! With hundreds of commands and items, students can be as creative as they want with programming and designing their own game to share. Each Foo is like an animated little computer. Students program them to solve problems, gain new abilities and explore Fooville. As the student progresses through the game, the programs required get more complex. Programming helps solve all kinds of problems in the lives of the Foos, just how the skills learned from programming can help solve problems in real life! Most importantly, The Foos is really, really fun to play! This means students get deeply engaged with sophisticated concepts and look forward to learning more and testing their knowledge of the game and of programming. Computer Science quickly becomes a favorite subject!!7

8 OVERVIEW Computer Science for K - 5 Tips and Tricks Here s the Main Selection screen, click on the puzzle levels. Puzzle Levels Mini-game Foo Studio Tutorials My Levels Foo Store Published Levels!8

9 OVERVIEW Computer Science for K - 5 To unlock all the Levels in that chapter: If you want kids to skip ahead, simply click and hold the last level in that chapter (circled). Reset your progress: To reset your progress go to the profile screen (in the Main Selection) you can make a new profile. If you already have three profiles you can delete one. Make New Profile Delete!9

10 Day 1 Introduction & game elements The Foos Chapter 1 Time: 3 hrs (or 2 90 min sessions or min sessions) Materials: Tablets or Computers with The Foos Game element worksheets for each student Feedback sheet for each student Learning Goals: Understand that computers are powerful, but need help to work - They only do what they re told, in the specific order instructions are received - Understand that some sequences are more efficient, and thus more desirable, than others. Understand why a loop is powerful - Recognize the use of loops in favorite video games. Understand that every game requires core design elements - Games include 5 essential elements: components, mechanics, space, goals, and rules!10

11 Day 1 Introduction & game elements The Foos Chapter 1 Vocabulary: Programming: Creating a sequence of instructions, or an algorithm, that makes a computer do something Algorithm: Instructions to solve a problem or complete a task Sequence: The step-by-step order in which instructions should occur Loop: A set of instructions that is repeated over and over again Space: The look and feel of a game Components: The parts of a game like the avatar, blocks, and enemies Mechanics: The actions in a game like jumping or collecting Goals: What the player is trying to achieve to win the game. A game needs a clear goal so they can perform meaningful actions within the game. Rules: What guides the player on how the game should be played. Rules have to be unambiguous, understandable, and apply for all players.!11

12 Day 1 game elements The Foos Chapter 1 Introduction (Sequences and Loops): Begin with a group discussion of favorite video games. What is their favorite game? Why do they like it? What do they have to do in it? Discuss some instructions we give in games and what they do. For example, we can tell our avatar to jump, run forward, or collect items. In computer science, we use the word algorithm to describe the instructions we give computers to solve problems. The specific order of those instructions is called a sequence. In games, we use sequences when we we program different elements in a game. For example, making an enemy to walk back and forth when guarding something is a sequence. To make an enemy walk back and forth forever, we would have to use a loop. Explain that loops help make code more efficient since computers only have so much power. Give some other examples in games that would use loops: - An endless runner (like Temple Run) that has the avatar running forward forever - In Angry Birds, whenever you launch a bird another one automatically jumps into the slingshot!12

13 Day 1 game elements The Foos Chapter 1 Puzzle Activities: Let students explore and play levels They can play individually or in partners. If they play in partners, make sure they take turns playing the levels. Ask what kinds of sequences they had to use to get Police Foo to the donut. After playing the Police Foo levels (level 1-8), the tutorials for Foo Studio will unlock. For the sake of consistency, make sure everyone plays through levels 9 & 10 before playing through the Foo Studio tutorials.!13

14 Day 1 game elements The Foos Chapter 1 Introduction (Game Elements): Introduce the idea that all games are made up of 5 essential game elements. These elements connect to each other in a game and if one element of the game is changed, than the other elements would also change to adapt. Ask students to break down a simple game like checkers into it s elements: 1. Rules: Rules are what guides the player through the game. Checker pieces go on the dark squares. Players take turns moving pieces diagonally forward. Pieces can capture opponent s pieces by jumping over them. Pieces can jump multiple times in one turn. A piece is kinged when it reaches the opposite end of the checkerboard. King pieces can move diagonally back and forward. 2. Space: Space is what a game looks and feels like. Checkers is played on a red and black checkerboard. 3. Goals: Goals are the objectives you need to complete to win. You win at checkers when you capture or block all your opponent s pieces. 4. Components: Components are what goes into a game. Building blocks, characters and avatars, enemies, gems and stars are all different components of a game. Checker s used black and red checker pieces. 5. Mechanics: Mechanics are the actions the components can do in the game. Checker pieces can move diagonally forward (and backward if it s a king), jump over other pieces, and flip when they re kinged. Also mention that while checkers does not have a story, many other games also include a storytelling element. Some games have simple stories (like Angry Birds), while others have more complicated ones (like Kingdom Hearts). The story helps to push the player to continue in the game.!14

15 Day 1 game elements The Foos Chapter 1 Game Activities: Have the students play through all 9 tutorial levels to unlock the Foo Store, My Levels, and Published Levels sections. Students will be designing their games in this section of The Foos. Watch the Build An Alligator tutorial on the codespark YouTube channel ( youtu.be/yavkrjdifgs).!15

16 Day 1 game elements The Foos Chapter 1 Have students identify the core game elements in the video. What are the rules of this game? (use arrows to move, collect start to win) What kind of game is it? (Platformer) What is the goal? (collect the star) What are some of the mechanics? (walk, jump, collect) What are some of the components? (environment blocks, health meter, goal block, damage block) For the remaining class time, divide students into small groups of 2-3 and have them design their own alligator game. Make sure to emphasize the use of space and components when students are building their games. Ask students to change one element in their game. For example, have students add a new component like a trampoline or a lava block. Or change a mechanic like show/hide teeth to jump teeth. If time allows, have students present their game with their changes. Debrief Discussion: What are the different elements in a game? What happens when you change an element in a game? Ask students to think about changing one element of a playground game like Tag (ie. players can t run, only walk). What else would change in this situation?!16

17 Day 2 Events & Game balance The Foos Time: 3 hrs (or 2 90 min sessions or min sessions) Materials: Tablets or computers with The Foos" Learning Goals: Understand that events allow us to have options in algorithms. They are not predetermined but cause things to happen only when the event occurs. Understand that a game needs to be balanced. It should be easy to play, but hard to win. Vocabulary: Event: an action or cue that signals a new line of code to run. For example: - When a student raises their hand (the event), you call on them (resulting action of the event). - When the alarm clock goes off (the event), you wake up (resulting action of the event). Balance: keeping a game s components from being ineffective or undesirable For example: - In games with two players like chess, making rules that each player alternates turns!17

18 Day 2 Events & Game balance The Foos Introduction (Events): Introduce the concept of events by telling students you are going to ask them a question and you want them to raise their hand if they want you to call on them for the answer. Then ask a simple question that most students will be able to answer: What is the color of my hair? What is the weather today? What day of the week is it? Call on a student who has a hand raised and let him/her answer the question. Then ask the class how you knew the student wanted you to call on him/her. The class should mention that the student raised his/her hand. Explain that when the student raised his/her hand, it is an event because it was an action that prompted something else to happen--you calling on the student. Ask the class if they can think of any other types of everyday events. You might need to clarify that you are not talking about events in the conventional sense, like a birthday party or a sports game. In computer science, events are actions that cause something else to happen. Here are some examples: - When the alarm clock goes off (the event), you wake up (resulting action of the event). - When the street light turns green (the event), cars start driving (resulting action of the event) - When you click the power button on a computer (the event), the computer turns on (resulting action of the event).!18

19 Day 2 Events & Game balance The Foos ProTip: Clarifying Events - If students are confused about events, ask them to think about their favorite game and the ways in which they let the character know what to do. You can also bring up The Foos" to show them a specific example. Point out that if there were no events in the entire game, it would be really boring to play. Game Activities: Astronaut level Ask: Which parts of the code were events? How do you know?!19

20 Day 2 Events & Game balance The Foos Introduction (Game Balance): Introduce the concept of game balance by asking students if they have a favorite game. What makes it fun? What makes it challenging? Would it be more fun if it were easier or harder? Explain that a balanced game is one that is easy to play, but hard to win. This makes the game fun for the player. The challenges of a game should ideally match who s playing - you don t want to make your game too easy (that s boring) or too hard (that s frustrating). Some ways of balancing a game are: Beginning levels are easy and then get progressively harder Rewarding the player with gems (or a you win! message) when they succeed and taking away hearts when they mess up Making sure a game isn t too long or too short Making sure that a game is fair (ie. having one character be slow but do lots of damage and having another be fast but do less damage) In Foo Studio, you can make blocks do different things. Do you want to make spikes take life and have enemies give life (if you re extra silly)? You can! But, you also have to make sure that what you re programming in the game makes sense. If all of the environment blocks gave you life, the game would be too easy and players would find it boring. But, if touching every block makes you instantly lose, then the game would be too hard and no one would want to play it (plus, you might not even get to your goal of collecting the star). With games that are really unbalanced, you risk the possibility of the player not liking or wanting to play the game. Making a balanced game is one of the toughest things to do in game design. In fact, most games aren t perfectly balanced.!20

21 Day 2 Events & Game balance The Foos Foo Studio Activity: Play the Build a Brick Breaker Game from the codespark YouTube channel ( Ask students questions about game balance: - What did the designer do to make the game more challenging? - How did the behavior of the blocks change? Did it help make the game more fun? - What other things could you do to make this game more fun? Have students create their own brick breaker game or another type of game that uses events. If there is time, let kids test each other s games and get feedback.!21

22 Day 2 Events & Game balance The Foos Debrief Discussion: What were the events in the Brick Breaker game? What are some other everyday events? What happens when a game is not balanced? What are some ways to balance a game?!22

23 Day 3 prototyping and Testing The Foos Time: 3 hrs (or 2 90 min sessions or min sessions) Materials: Game Kit for each group of 2-3 students Learning Goals: Understand that when designing a game, many designers first make a paper prototype to test out what their game will look and feel like. Understand that one of the best ways to know if people will be able to play your game is to have them test it. Vocabulary: Paper Prototype: A rough sketch of a game's design to test if players understand what to do in the game Playtesting: Having other people try out your game in order to see if there are any design flaws Feedback: Giving helpful information about what was good/bad about a game s design so that the designer can make improvements Iterative process: To take an idea, build a prototype, test it, and then make adjustments to it.!23

24 Day 3 prototyping and Testing The Foos Introduction: Begin the class with a discussion on prototyping. Ask students if they know what a prototype is and what they re used for. Some examples of prototypes are: - clay models - drawings - wire frames (usually for websites) - paper-based models Explain that one of the best (and cheapest) ways to test out a game design is to create a paper based model of what the game would look like. Creating a paper prototype doesn t require having you code anything, which helps save designers (and the coders on their team) time because they don't have to go back and re-program things that need to be changed. Paper prototypes are also easy to move around to different locations, so that more people can test out the game. Give the example that The Foos actually started out as a paper prototype. Coding a game takes a long time, and it s harder to make changes to a code than it is to just cut out more pieces to paper to test with players. That s why The Foos started out looking a lot more like a board game than a video game:!24

25 Day 3 prototyping and Testing The Foos The Foos paper prototype helped the designers test out different ideas and answer questions they had: - Do kids know how to use commands if there aren t any words? - What kinds of characters do kids like? Ask students why they think testing is important in game design. Emphasize the fact that many different kinds of people would play your game, and so what you think is easy to do in a game might be hard for someone else. Activity: Students will design and test their own paper prototypes for a game. Design Divide students into group of 2-3 students. Pass out a Game Kit to each group. Have students design a game using the materials in the game kit: 1. The game must be playable - the player must be able to do a series of actions in the game. There also must be a way to win (must include the star). 2. Ninja Foo must be included in the game as the avatar and can only walk left, right, and jump. Have students spend 1 hour brainstorming and designing their game using the brainstorming sheet and component pieces. Test & Feedback Each group will spend 5-10 minutes playing another group s game. As you re testing your game, fill out the observations sheet and watch what the players are doing.!25

26 Day 3 prototyping and Testing The Foos Here are some things to look at: Do the players get bored at some point? Is this game taking too long? Are the players ever confused? Do the players get frustrated? Giving feedback is something of an art form. You have to be willing to be honest about what you liked and didn t like about the game, while also telling them why. Just saying I don t like this game is not helpful for the designers to make improvements. Ask your players questions on the Feedback Sheet so that you know what to fix. That said, receiving feedback is also tough! You have to be able to not take criticism personally. Your testers aren t trying and don t want to hurt your feelings. They want to help you make the best game possible! Iterate Groups will read feedback about their game and spend minutes making adjustments. If groups finish early, they can test with other groups to gather more feedback and make any other changes. Debrief What are the components of the game you created? How would it change if you had other types of components? Did you have to change some parts of your game after testing? What did you learn from your testers?!26

27 Day 4 Designing in Foo Studio The Foos Time: 3 hrs (or 2 90 min sessions or min sessions) Materials: Tablets with The Foos for each student group (Foo Studio should be unlocked) Blank feedback sheet for each student group Learning Goals: Understand that many games need to be built and programmed digitally. Understand that there are many different roles in a game team. Vocabulary: Bugs: Mistakes or problems in algorithms that cause the computer program to do something we don t want it to do. Debugging: Finding and fixing problems in algorithms or computer programs. Demo: A demonstration of a product Introduction: If students didn t finish designing and testing their paper prototypes, let them do so now for 15 minutes. Students will now take their paper prototypes and recreate their game in Foo Studio.!27

28 Day 4 Designing in Foo Studio The Foos Design Have students rebuild their game inside Foo Studio for min: Their Foo Studio game must resemble their paper prototype. They can use any type of block as long as they are similar to their paper prototype. Each group should test out the game first on their own, and make changes to their game if needed. The game may not do things it was intended - these are called bugs. Groups should spend time debugging their games. Test & Feedback Each group will spend 5-10 minutes playing another group s game. As they re testing your game, fill out the feedback sheet with player commentary. Students should not tell testers what to do. Instead, they should see if the testers can figure out what to do. Iterate Groups will read feedback about their game and spend minutes making adjustments. If groups finish early, they can test with other groups to gather more feedback and make any other changes.!28

29 Day 4 Designing in Foo Studio The Foos Presentation A big part of games is presenting, or giving a demo, of the game created. Have the groups present their games to the class: Groups should describe the game using game element terms (the goal of the game is to, we used components to create the game) Groups should show everyone how to play the game Ensure there is time after each presentation for feedback Debrief: Were there any parts of designing the game that worked better on paper than in Foo Studio? Were there any parts of designing the game that worked better in Foo Studio than on paper?!29

30 game kit!30

31 Brainstorming Sheet MECHANICS COMPONENTS GAME IDEA RULES SPACE GOAL: The player has to get to the star.!31

32 Peer Review Feedback Form Group Name: Peer Group Name: 1. 2 things we really like about this game: 2. 2 pieces of advice we have for this game: 3. Suggestions we have for the next iteration:!32

33 Build Your Level Instructions: Draw your level using the blocks below. Each block can take up 1-9 squares. Ninja Foo can jump up to 2 squares.

34 Commands Walk: Jump: Hide/Show (makes objects disappear & reappear):

35 Loop:

36 Loop Parameter: Throw: Blank Commands (in case need more of a command): Ninja Foo:

37 Coding

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39 GLOSSARY Algorithm: Instructions to solve a problem or complete a task Balance: keeping a game s components from being ineffective or undesirable. Bugs: Mistakes or problems in algorithms that cause the computer program to do something we don t want it to do. Components: The parts of a game like the avatar, blocks, and enemies Debugging: Finding and fixing problems in algorithms or computer programs. Demo: A demonstration of a product Event: an action or cue that signals a new line of code to run. Feedback: Giving helpful information about what was good/bad about a game s design so that the designer can make improvements Goals: What the player is trying to achieve to win the game. A game needs a clear goal so they can perform meaningful actions within the game. Iterative process: To take an idea, build a prototype, test it, and then make adjustments to it. Loop: A set of instructions that is repeated over and over again Mechanics: The actions in a game like jumping or collecting Paper Prototype: A rough sketch of a game's design to test if players understand what to do in the game Playtesting: Having other people try out your game in order to see if there are any design flaws Programming: Creating a sequence of instructions, or an algorithm, that makes a computer do something Rules: What guides the player on how the game should be played. Rules have to be unambiguous, understandable, and apply for all players Sequence: The step-by-step order in which instructions should occur Space: The look and feel of a game!33

40 Rubric for Student Evaluation Unsatisfactory Competent Proficient Excellent Concepts Puzzle levels are not completed. Puzzle levels are completed with 1 star. Puzzle levels completed with 2 stars. Puzzle levels completed with 3 stars. Execution Code does not work or has major flaws preventing it from working correctly (Foo does not get to the objective). Code mostly works, or has minor flaws (garners 1 star). Code works in the way the student intended but is not the most efficient (garners 2 stars). Program is functional, refined, and is executed in the most efficient way possible (garners 3 stars) Grasp of Materials When asked, student cannot describe how their code should work and are unaware of their process. Worksheets incomplete or less than 50% correct. When asked, student can mostly describe how their code should work and some understanding of content. Worksheets completed and 50-65% correct. When asked, student can describe how their code should work and troubleshoot problems preventing their desired results. Worksheets completed and 66-80% correct. When asked, student can describe how their code works, how they wrote it, and help others troubleshoot their code. Worksheets completed and % correct. Effort Student shows minimal effort, does not use class time effectively, and work is incomplete. Student refuses to explore more than one idea. (ex. puzzle levels incomplete, games created have no code) Student does enough to meet minimum requirements. Student has more than one idea but does not pursue. (ex. puzzle levels one starred, games created use only one type of command) Completed work in an above average manner, although more could have been done. Student explores multiple solutions. (ex. puzzle levels 2 starred, games created use more than one coding command) Completed work and exceeded teacher expectations. Student displays willingness to explore multiple ideas and solutions and asks questions. (ex. puzzle levels 3 starred, games created use multiple items and commands) Rubric inspired from:

41 REFERENCES Common Core Standards: Student Rubric: Tufts & MIT University Studies:

42 Acknowledgments We would like to thank our advisors Dan Leyzberg (Professor of Computer Science, Princeton University), Colleen Davis (Professor of Computer Science, Harvey Mudd University), and Kent Steen (Teacher and Curriculum Specialist for Computer Science). We would also like to thank Courtney Blackwell, Bethany Martin, Evan Rushton, and all the educators who reviewed and gave feedback on the curriculum. Special thanks to Michael Harvey s 3rd grade class, who found great alternative solutions for our quilt making exercise! Lastly, we would like to thank everyone who has supported and played The Foos!!36