Digital Resources and Software to support Digital Technologies curriculum If you are an educator looking for simple ways to implement the new Digital Technologies Curriculum, try out some of the following resources and software. They can help anyone to grasp the basics of thinking and planning to make things happen and understand how to make things happen. They will help young people to start to understand the core principles of programing, computational thinking and problem solving, which is a big component of Digital Technologies. The great thing is that a lot of them are free and require no previous experience Foundation – Level 2 Start teaching the Digital Technologies curriculum with problem solving and activities that involve role play and working through problems collaboratively. If they love Legos, they’ll love programming. 1. BotLogic (free, web) - great for young students. It is an educational puzzle game that challenges students to solve logic problems as well as valuable programming concepts. Students are able to select their age to start on the appropriate level. Select the correct instructions to help the robot to go home. 2. Daisy the Dinosaur (iPad, Free) - Intro to programming via iPad for beginners and a great app to start with when working with young kids. The basic controls and characters are easy to use for a young child. It features easy to drag and drop interface that kids of all ages can use to animate Daisy to dance across the screen. 3. Kodable (free, Web, Apple, Android) - great for youngers–learn to code before you can read. Kodable teachers kids to basics of any programming language in a fun game. It is self-guided and designed for children aged 5 and up. Students learn about strings, integers, and arrays. 4. Primo–a wooden game, for ages 4-7 5. Scratch Jr. (free, Apple and Android) - is aimed at young children (ages 5- 7) and allows them to program their own interactive stories and games. The interface is based on the MIT designed Scratch program, but easier for younger students. However it is a powerful tool for teaching kids to code while they create a story. Students have many choices through the block coding that allows them to choose images, characters, movement and scenes to tell a story. In the process they learn to solve problems, design project and express themselves creatively. 6. Lightbot (free, web/multiplatform) and Lightbot Junior ((paid $3.79, iOS)– Lightbot Junior is designed for ages 4-8 and is an easier verion of Lightbot. It is an iPad app and features a gentler learning curve and not too complex puzzles. Light bot is a web or apple/android app which can use used on multiple devices. Move through the levels learning more about programing language such as repeat to move the robot around the puzzle. See the website for teaching resources and explainations http://lightbot.com/resources.html 7. Bee Bot (iPad app, free) - This app help children to improve their skills in directional language and programming through sequences of forwards, backwards, left and right 90 degree turns. It provides a good introduction before using the real bee bot floor robots. Save a screen shot of students work to keep a record. https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/bee-bot/id500131639?mt=8 11. The Foos (free, multiplatform including IOS, android, and web) - increasingly challenging drag and drop coding puzzles that introduce kids to the logic of programming using visual blocks of code. http://www.thefoos.com/hourofcode/ 12. Code.org (web, free) –learn to code, for students of all ages. Find the most appropriate activity for your students depending on the age and ability. 13. Primo (paid, wooden board game) –a wooden game that invites children to explore programming in a developmentally appropriate experience that is challenging and exciting. For ages 4-7. Students can arrange the wooden blocks onto the wooden board and press a button to make Cubetto move. Teacher resources can be found at http://www.primotoys.com/education 14. Google Spreadsheets–decode and fill in color coded pictures (like the popular gingerbread house, penguinpicture, or shapes and pictures) 15. Robot Turtles (paid board game, approx. $24) – Robot Turtles is a board game which can support students learning about the basic principles of programming. Each player chooses a turtle and makes a maze on the board and play the instruction cards. If you get the jewel you win. http://www.robotturtles.com/ 16. Dot and Dash Robots (Paid, programmable robots) – these robots can be programmed using an ipad or android device. The robots can do anything a student can set their mind to. Complete with lesson plans for teachers https://teachers.makewonder.com/ Level 3 - 4 1. BotLogic– (free, web) - great for young students. It is an educational puzzle game that challenges students to solve logic problems as well as valuable programming concepts. Students are able to select their age to start on the appropriate level. Select the correct instructions to help the robot to go home. 2. Blockly (free, web) - it can also be downloaded in an offline version if schools have poor internet connection. Blockly Games is a series of educational games that teach programming. It is designed for children who have not had prior experience with computer programming. By the end of these games, players are ready to use conventional text-based languages. 3. Studio code org (free, web) – students can complete 20 hour courses. Different courses which are sequential and require more expertise. https://studio.code.org/ 4. Cargo-Bot – (free, Apple app) – a touch based coding tool. Solve problems with coding based instructions, the student needs to teach the robot (program it) how to move the crates. The app introduces students to key concepts such as loop repeat, etc. Program the game to solve the levels. See website for more information 5. Kodable (free, Web, Apple, Android)--great for youngers–learn to code before you can read. Kodable teachers kids to basics of any programming language in a fun game. It is self-guided and designed for children aged 5 and up. Students learn about strings, integers, and arrays. 4. Hopscotch (Free, Apple) –programming on the iPad. No typing, just drag and drop blocks to create your own games. Students are able to add their own artwork and share games so that their friends can play them too. Hopscotch is an intuitive friendly programming interface designed for everyone. Support resources including how to videos can be found here: https://www.gethopscotch.com/resources Download the free Hopscotch Challenges iTunes eBook here. 5. Build with Chrome–kind of like Minecraft, more like Google Earth Warehouse; use virtual Lego blocks to build in your browser 6. Minecraft Edu (paid license per student structure, Windows, Mac or Linux computer with Java installed) - is a school ready remix of the original game. Minecraft contains a set of powerful yet simple tools to customise the user experience for learning. Intuitive tile-based programming. Schools will need to purchase a license to use the software, based on the number of students using the program. 7. Move the Turtle (cost, $3.99, iOS app) –programming via iPad, students need to use computational thinking to solve the problems. 8. Scratch (free, on-line or offline editor) - Scratch was developed for young people develop their visual programming language made up of block code which they drag to the workspace to animate sprites. It is multi-platform and web based that makes it more accessible. Students can complete a range of projects including programming and sharing interactive stories, games, and animations. The Scratch website includes a range of quality resources and education community. http://scratched.gse.harvard.edu/ Use the following FUSE package for resources to get started with your class. http://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/?XZTR8Q Or more advanced resources can be found here http://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/?SX92X5 9. Snap! (free, web) - Snap is a visual, drag-and-drop programming language. It is an extended reimplementation of Scratch that allows you to Build Your Own Blocks. Use this teacher resource https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/education/computing_materials/Itching%20for%20Mor e%20TUTOR.pdf and student workbook https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/education/computing_materials/Itching%20for%20Mor e%20LEARNER.pdf to support students to use Snap (Itching for More) https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/1053_AnIntermediateCourseinComputingScience.html 10. GameStar Mechanic – web GameStar Mechanic teaches kids, ages 7-14, to design their own video games. Students complete different self-paced quests while learning to build game levels. The site integrates critical thinking and problem-solving tasks. An app embedded within Edmodo makes logins easy for students. 11. Tynker – (Free, Web or Apple App) with the option for Premium upgrade - Tynker was built to teach programming. The app features starter lesson plans, classroom management tools and online showcase of student created games and programs. Everything is self-paced and students are able to follow without assistance. Students can use the built in characters and graphics to create their own games. If using the iPad version students learn to program with puzzles and easily build their own games. 12. CS is Fun (free, web) – a resource bank of resources for students in age categories. Explore the different programming resources available. 13. Made with Code (free, web) - this website teachers students the basics of programming while completing a project. It supports students to start thinking about digital solutions and how they could create their own creative digital solutions to solve problems. The projects use drag and drop blocks to make something work.