Animation or Game

DEFINITION

An animation can be a dynamic, visual representation of an idea or process. A game or simulation can be interactive, requiring user input. A game is an activity based on rules involving play and user interaction. Games can be competitive.

WORKFLOW

Initial Setup

1. Teacher obtains and installs authoring software
2. Students create individual accounts to publish and share their inventions.

Ongoing Use

1. Teams brainstorm, plan, design and storyboard an idea.
2. Individuals create different elements required in and for the project.
3. Project elements are combined into a final product and shared with others.

TOOLS (laptop/desktop software)

1. Scratch Software (free, Win/Mac/Linux, from MIT)
2. GameSalad (free, ports to iOS, Android & more)
3. Platinum Arts Sandbox Free 3D Game Maker (free)
4. Trimble SketchUp (free, formerly Google SketchUp)
5. Lego Digital Designer (free)
6. Sketch Nation Studio (free)
7. Hopscotch HD (free, for iPad)
8. AppArchitect

TOOLS (iOS apps)

1. HopScotch (free)
2. Sketch Nation Create (free)
3. Codea ($10 – used to create the Cargo-Bot app)
4. Daisy the Dinosaur (free – primary age students, pretty limited)
5. Eden ($1 – world builder)
6. GamePress (free)
7. Make It (free)
8.  Minecraft Reality iOS app ($2 – use with MinecraftReality)

TOOLS (browser-based)

1. Yapp
2. MinecraftReality (upload Minecraft creations and place them in specific locations in the real world, use Minecraft Reality iOS app)
3. Code.org Flappy Bird
4. learn.code.org (First create a teacher account, then create a SECTION for your class, the site will give you an enrollment code for students to use without an email address. Then have your students create accounts using code.org/join using your enrollment code. See this code.org curriculum resource page for an example student handout.)

SCRATCH EXAMPLES

1. Scratch Simulations
   1. Mitosis (Scratch)
   2. New Year Fireworks (Scratch)
   3. More Outstanding Scratch Simulations (Scratch gallery)
2. Scratch Games
   1. 3 Level Maze (Scratch, created by an incoming 3rd grader)
   2. Don’t Be Seen (a clever 8 level avoid the laser / get to the wizard game, created by an incoming 3rd grader)
   3. 9 different Scratch games created by 3-6 graders (March 2013 Scratch Camp)
   4. More Outstanding Scratch Games (Scratch gallery)

MINECRAFT EXAMPLES

1. Minecraft – San Diego Mission Project (4 min, 13 sec, created by a 4th grader, backstory)
2. Jamestown Project – in Minecraft (3 min)
3. Sod House Project (3 min, 44 sec)
4. Minecraft Used To Reconstruct Historical Settlement (6.5 min, created on iPads!)

More MinecraftEDU lesson ideas & resources are available on Wes’ STEM website including the MinecraftEDU Redstone Engineering Challenge and the MinecraftEDU Treehouse Challenge (on perimeter & area).

RECOMMENDED READING

1. “Good Video Games & Good Learning” (PDF) by James Paul Gee
2. “Don’t Incentivize Games And Play in The Classroom” by Lucas Gillispie @lucasgillispie
3. “6 Steps to Successfully Integrate Minecraft in Your Classroom” by Zack Gilbert @edgamer
4. Minecraft Novels by 14 year old (in 2014) Sean Fay Wolfe

MORE RESOURCES

FREE  eBook: “Hopscotch Challenges” (more info)

Video Tutorials:

1. Create a Video Game with Scratch (a 9 part “Mentor Mob” tutorial)
2. How to Embed a Scratch Project on a Google Site Page (2.5 min)
3. LearnScratch.org videos (organized  into 4 video courses with 32 total lessons)
4. BotLogic (educational puzzle game teaching programming logic)
5. Coding Symbaloo Gallery by Shannon M Miller

Scratch and Microworlds Resource site by Lois Smethurst.

Learn Coding

1. Code.org Tutorials – Hour of Code Tutorials
2. Code Academy
3. The Elsewhen Brainery (free coding classes)

See these April 2012 posts by Wesley Fryer for more information about GameSalad:

1. Why Every Teacher Should Become an App Creator by Chris Thompson
2. Hands-on Introduction to Mobile Learning App/Game Creation for Non-Programmers

More info and curriculum suggestions about Scratch are available on the Scratch Camp Wiki.

* Image attribution: Digital art created by Wesley Fryer using the iPad app “Brushes“