My 6th grade computer class just finished programming their own Scratch games. We celebrated by having an end-of-unit ScratchFest; everyone got to play others' games, with a little background music of Jimi Hendrix (you can guess that I chose the tunes!).
I asked them, via the Moodle Journal feature, to reflect on what they learned, what they liked, challenges and obstacles, and how they overcame them. Following is a (lightly edited) series of comments In Their Own Words. I'm really proud of these guys!
"The scratch project was exceptionally entertaining. I learned that programming can require multiple hours of your time to get something of even the lowest level of simplicity. I also learnd that computers are incredibly smart but don't have an artificial intelligence so they can also be incredibly unintelligent. I learned that programming might not be as easy or hard as you think."
"I did learn that that gaming and programing are very different because there is way much more programing to make a good game. One of the most important things that I learned was that there is lots of time put in making good games and one thing to make it that's not being tech savvy but trying and giving your effort."
"I learned so much from the scratch subject. I learned that you cannot take shortcuts, and that if you mess up, you have to start all over again. I thought computers were easy to work with, but they are not. They are smart, but also dumb."
"I had already known about Scratch before this class, but I didn't know much; but now, I know much more! I really liked this because it was a challenge. I started out doing a game about a ghost and you were supposed to get the coins and avoid the baddies. Simple, right? Well, if you thought right, then you're wrong."
"I came through with most of my progress by receiving help from other classmates.There were two things I liked doing about Scratch. 1, I really liked the fact that you get a chance to make your own game. 2, I liked playing other peoples' games at Scratch fest."
"What I liked the most about scratch was that it wasn't just a walk in the park. It was hard work but at the same time really very fun to do. If we were still doing scratch I would do something more complex. But all in all I really enjoyed this experience and I would love to do it again!"
"I have to be honest; I really didn't think I was going to finish my Scratch. I didn't have fun at first, but after awhile everything started to fall into place and it was fun. I learned how to make things move and change, because when I first started, I didn't know what I was doing and then I really got it. There were bumps on the way to finishing, but I did it! At the end of the Scratch unit, I loved playing everybody's games."
"While I was making my game, I learned a lot of things about computer programing. Sometimes things didn't work out the way I wanted them to, and I had to alter my plans. To get certain things to work, I had to change the way I thought about the problem. My favorite part about working on Scratch was how I could do whatever I wanted, as long as I could make it work."
"What I learned was that you should first worry about your game and not somebody else's until you're done. I think that that is a very important message to remember. I first started helping others than really working on my game. I am very nice and I can't hear someone asking for help when somebody isn't helping them. "
"I thought that I knew a lot, but there was a lot more knowledge for me to acquire, which I did! I learned that, when trying to solve problems, you have to be specific when addressing them. Just saying that 'this and this doesn't work!' doesn't help anyone in the slightest, especially not yourself. You have to be calm and articulate, with anyone trying to help you and while trying to help yourself. Also, addressing problems in bits is very important, and working as you go. "
"My scratch game was well, I'll admit it, challenging. I'm new to computers and electronics, and this was my first time ever programming something. I learned a lot from this exercise, such as patience and confidence. My scratch game was difficult to complete. Each time a new script was made, it could possibly interfere with another, and I had to recheck it over and over. This taught me patience. As for confidence... For this project, I had to learn computer skills, and each time I learned something new my confidence level got a little higher."
"I have learned a lot of things during computer so far and I think the biggest thing is that you need to go above and beyond to get the computer to do what you want it to do. You can can not just say walk over there to one of your sprites on Scrach, you have to say move left 20 steps and stop when you get to x: and y: ."
"In Scratch, I didn't understand broadcasting at all, so I called the computer stupid a couple of times, but I was honestly being stupid. I thought that if I just put broadcasting in for my game, and just give the broadcast a random name, it would work on it's own. Finally the teacher helped me really understand. He said something like, if I had all these actors, and I wanted them to dance. Well I wanted to, but I didn't tell them to, and that was a problem that resolved quickly. What I really liked about Scratch was how you were in-control, and didn't have to choose from a couple of options, you were able to create any game you could possibly imagine!"
