Year 5 and up

by

Hopscotch

Using Hopscotch in the Classroom

Subject

Digital Technologies

 

Year Level

6

 

Strand

Digital Technology Processes and Production Skills

 

Sub strand

Digital Implementation

Implement and use simple visual programming environments that include branching (decisions), iteration (repetition) and use input (ACTDIP020)

Link to Resource

https://www.gethopscotch.com/

 

Cross Curriculum Priorities and General Capabilities

Numeracy, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capacity and Personal and Social Capacity

 

Links to other Learning Areas

Literacy, Numeracy and Science

 

A classroom activity using this resource

Hopscotch can be used to teach students core coding concepts and language. Students can create their own mini-games on Hopscotch which, when published, their peers can play! If it is the students first experience with the App, explain what Hopscotch is first and what they will be creating as an end product. Telling students they will be publishing their own game for peers to play will spark their interests and give them the incentive to actively participate. Firstly, ask the students to click on Geometry Dash. This will be the game they will be creating. There is a YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO4II-DZTeo&list=PLOdVzumQi5YC-TaJloe9J3EqHpDJJWvWg&index=1) which explains how to create the game. This video can be paused and played by the teacher at the pace suitable for the class. Once students have had experience with the App and the game and are confident enough, they can make up their own Geometry Dash game which can be published for their peers to play.

 

How to use this resource

In order to use this resource, the app needs to be downloaded onto the class iPads. It is a free download from the App Store. Hopscotch can be used in many ways, such as creating own mini-games, drawing and patterns, Minecraft remakes, mini-websites, 2-player combats and much more. When using Hopscotch, students will be learning core coding concepts as well as problem solving, computational thinking and programming. There are many YouTube videos which help explain how to make a mini-game or use other parts of the App. It is recommended before teaching it to try it out first to get a good understanding of what you will be teaching. YouTube videos can be played on the IWB in the classroom where students can follow along at the pace needed. If students already have experience can move on ahead or help others in the class who are struggling. The Hopscotch website also has plenty of resources, even a curriculum, for teachers to use when they are teaching. When students are happy with their creation, they can also publish them so their peers can have a go at playing the game they created. Hopscotch is easy to use and student-friendly which is perfect to use in a classroom.

 

by

Alice

Resource Name:

Alice

Year Level:

Best suited for years 5 and up. Since the program is able to increase in complexity as you go, it can continue to be used as the students increase in ability.

Curriculum Strand:

Design and Technology – Processes and Production Skills

Content Descriptor:

  • Collaborating and Managing: Work creatively to safely plan and publish steps in a process.
  • Producing and Implementing: Select, and safely use, appropriate components with given equipment to make a solution.
  • Investigating and Defining: create a sequence of steps to solve a given task.

General Capabilities:

Literacy, ICT capabilities, critical and creative thinking, personal and social understanding

Other Learning Area Link:

English, Geography, History, Arts

Link to Website:

http://www.alice.org/index.php

This website is a great resource to get a feel for the program. It includes: how to download the program, teaching points, tutorials, teacher workshop links and background information and videos about the program.

Description of resource:

This is a free educational resource that teaches computer programing through the creation of a 3D environment. It teaches the fundamental programing skills and allows students to create and animate simple videos and games in a virtual world. It introduces them to programming language and demonstrates the relationship between the programming steps and the behaviours of the characters in the game. The Alice program exposes students to all the aspects of programming that would usually be taught in an introductory programming course.

How you can use it in the classroom:

The program begins very simple where students are simply dragging actions and ideas into an order. As they grow in confidence and ability the program becomes more complex enabling students to use the programming language they have learnt through using Alice.

It can also be used by teachers and students to create stories and presentations to be used as a resource in many other subject areas such as literacy, arts, history and geography.

Students are able to work individually or in partners to create their stories/presentations or videos. This way they are able to collaborate, communicate and learn from and with each other as well as the program.

How to use it (what program or piece of technology):

The Alice program can be downloaded via the above website and is compatible with: Windows, Mac and Linux.

There are two software’s you can download for this program. The first is Alice 2, which is designed more for teaching logical and computation thinking as well as the basic principles of programming. The second option is Alice 3; this software focusses on object-orientated ideas and concepts.

 

Alice

The following is a link to a mind map I have made using Mind Meister. It shows aspects of the Technology Curriculum taken from SCASA which I found this resource worked very well for.

https://www.mindmeister.com/733109738#