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GAME ON!
GAME ON!
Essential Questions
What roles do games play in our society?
Why is conservation of natural resources and wildlife important?
How can I use design thinking to create something that is useful and meaningful to others?
What does it mean to be a good digital citizen?
Key Projects
Board, card, and/or outdoor games inspired by nature
Digital games in code.org inspired by nature
Adding Velocity to Our Games
Adding Velocity to Our Games
We began coding a new sprite property in Game Lab: velocity. We brainstormed why a property like velocity might be useful in game design.
Digital Citizen Badges
Digital Citizen Badges
We earned Digital Citizen Badges for being Password Security Pros, Courteous Online Communicators, and Conscientious Digital Sharers. We also played Interland to learn more about digital citizenship.
Animating Sprites
Animating Sprites
We continued using Game Lab to create and animating sprites. We also used dot notation to change sprite properties. Sprite properties keep track of the information a program needs to know about a sprite, like size and location.
Coding X and Y Coordinates
Coding X and Y Coordinates
We began learning about how to draw shapes on a coordinate plane in Game Lab on code.org. Game Lab allowed us to use both blocks and text to write our code and learn JavaScript.
We practiced what we knew about drawing shapes and using variables to create a checkerboard animation. We had to use x and y coordinates to create the board and place the checker. Then, we needed to create, use, and update a variable for the y-position of the checker to make it move down the board.
Using Variables and Random Numbers in Game Code
Using Variables and Random Numbers in Game Code
As we continued using Game Lab, began exploring how and why we might incorporate random numbers into our game code.
As we continued using Game Lab, we began exploring how and why we might incorporate variables into our game code. We practiced what we knew about drawing shapes and using variables to create a checkerboard animation. We had to use x and y coordinates to create the board and place the checker. Then, we needed to create, use, and update a variable for the y-position of the checker to make it move down the board.
Introduction to Games
Introduction to Games
We kicked off our digital game design project. We reflected on the games we like to play and why we like to play them.
We watched a video about the history of video games and the contributions of Jerry Lawson, an African American engineer who led the development of the first cartridges for a gaming system.
WHYY Media Lab Club
WHYY Media Lab Club
Students participating in the WHYY Media Lab program began working on news stories about school events (e.g., college tour, soccer game, student government election) and a documentary on Chinatown. Two students (and one alumnus) also won first place at the WHYY Youth Media Awards for a documentay they created last school year.
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