If you haven't tried Hopscotch yet, put it on the top of your priority pile.
The Pros:
So...I challenge you to download and give it a go within a week of reading this. Just put it in the hands of your kids and see what happens.
Here are some tips to get going:
Let's face it...most classes do not have 1:1 iPads so you need to get a bit creative...what's new? That's what teachers do best. I have run coding as part of my maths session in the past. I try to get kids working in pairs as it fosters the sharing of skills and knowledge as well as focused conversations. If you need to have groups bigger than that and have access to iPhones then you could have the kids working in groups of 4, with 2 on the iPads working on the coding activities and 2 on the iPhone playing games and working out what the app is capable of.
The Pros:
- It's free
- It's a great introduction to the language of code - enabling students to create content, not just consume it.
- It's an extremely authentic context for learning maths. If kids didn't understand angles, measures and coordinates before this, they'll know it by the end because (good old just-in-time teaching) they'll want to know it so they can get the game to do what it needs to do. So...don't think of it as another layer of learning and one more thing to add into the curriculum...think of it as a place for authentic and engaging learning....way better than any worksheet and with instant feedback.
- You will very quickly see your students' problem solving abilities, their ability to persevere through challenges and...complete and utter engagement.
- Students publish their games in the Hopscotch community and can see how many times it has been played by others around the world.
- Very little knowledge is needed from you as the teacher...you'll be amazed at what the kids work out for themselves. I learn something new from the kids every time I do this with a class.
- As the games load, there are random facts and sayings...of no great consequence but quite a nice touch.
- At the moment you can only create games on an iPad. You can play games on an iPhone, but not create them. The Hopscotch team is working on an android version of this app.
So...I challenge you to download and give it a go within a week of reading this. Just put it in the hands of your kids and see what happens.
Here are some tips to get going:
Let's face it...most classes do not have 1:1 iPads so you need to get a bit creative...what's new? That's what teachers do best. I have run coding as part of my maths session in the past. I try to get kids working in pairs as it fosters the sharing of skills and knowledge as well as focused conversations. If you need to have groups bigger than that and have access to iPhones then you could have the kids working in groups of 4, with 2 on the iPads working on the coding activities and 2 on the iPhone playing games and working out what the app is capable of.
Opening the App:
Levels:
Explore:
In this section you can play games developed by other people. The headings along the top can filter the searches as well as the search feature itself.
When you play a game, you can also see its code so this can help kids to steal like an artist when they go to make their own games later.
When you play a game, you can also see its code so this can help kids to steal like an artist when they go to make their own games later.