Corona and Game Design for Middle Schoolers

General (non-technical) K-12 / University
#1

Hi folks,

I teach 5th grade (11 year olds) and have also developed a few iOS games. Currently, due to a quirk of the schedule, I’ve got some extra time with my homeroom kids. After much discussion, we’ve decided to use our time to learn about game design. My kids are in 5th, but they’re precocious, so think of them more as middle school kids.

Has anyone else used Corona with kids this young? After we’ve dissected the code of some of my games, a few of the kids are really taking to it. Soon we’re going to split up into groups (code, design, art, UI) and go from there, but I’d love to not constantly reinvent the wheel. If anyone has any suggestions/resources for teaching game design to this age group, I’m all ears.

Thanks in advance,
Evan
BoredKidStudios.com
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#2

Well, despite the lack of responses, I’m still moving forward with this experiment.

Here’s the website I set up for the project: http://RecessStudios.com

Check out the blog to follow our progress.

Evan
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#3

May I wish best of luck to you and the students and hope that they may continue in the path of game design in the future. For now the only advice I can give is to let them make what they want to make and they will want to learn even more.

Luke [import]uid: 75643 topic_id: 18712 reply_id: 73128[/import]

#4

Hey there,

Sorry for the lack of response - sometimes posts get swallowed or overlooked.

I haven’t heard of anyone doing this with children quite so young however I have spoken to fairly young kids (10 being the youngest IIRC) who have made little things in Corona. (Although they didn’t have a teacher assisting.)

Certainly a very interesting idea!

Peach :slight_smile: [import]uid: 52491 topic_id: 18712 reply_id: 73162[/import]

#5

Evan,
Sounds like a great idea! If you would like a review copy of my eTextbook to see if it would meet your classroom needs, drop me an email (DrBurton@BurtonsMediaGroup.com). It was written for college/high school age, but I’m sure would be useful to younger age groups as well.

I have taught programming to students that young when I was a K-12 teacher. It can be done with some amazing results.

Let me know if I can assist!

Brian [import]uid: 6551 topic_id: 18712 reply_id: 74734[/import]

#6

I’ve heard of similar programs, however many of them use programs like Game Maker, since it teaches the principles of logic, flow, design, and doesn’t focus as much (or at all) on syntax.

I wish I had an opportunity to learn more about programming and game design at an earlier age, so I’m a big believer in what you are doing. Looking forward to reading about any progress via the blog. [import]uid: 49447 topic_id: 18712 reply_id: 74736[/import]

#7

Thanks for the encouraging posts!

The kids are on a two-week holiday break at the moment, but they’re all working on their skills.

The next milestone will be to add an editable Game Design Document to the website that the kids can add to as we go.

Thanks again,
Evan & the kids of RecessStudios.com
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#8

Hi Evan, I think your idea sounds great…and I hope it’s going well.

I just wanted to say I am using Corona with my 11 year old daughter (grade 6), and 9 year old son (grade 3). She’s taken to it very well without any problems. The three of us have been working on a game called “Aniballs” for the past several months and it’s nearing it’s launch date.

It’s a game centered around endangered animals.

Here’s a link to a recent video:

http://youtu.be/5NOdRdHE14Y

I’ve been in the games industry going on around 10 years at this point and I firmly believe that with the elements required to make a game you can teach a kid everything they need to know. From English, to algebra, to biology, or history, art, and music it’s all covered.

I wish you the best with the project and the future.

Todd [import]uid: 66426 topic_id: 18712 reply_id: 89561[/import]

#9

This looks beautiful Todd! [import]uid: 52491 topic_id: 18712 reply_id: 89591[/import]

#10

Thanks, we’re all pretty happy with how it’s shaping up. I’m totally with Evan on using game design to teach kids.

We learned a lot on Aniballs. We all learned lua, and Corona of course. The kids took in some basic physics. We did a little study on different music from around the world and we all learned a lot about endangered animals. Did you know polar bears are so well insulated they virtually invisible to infrared cameras? Or that there are 40,000 muscles in an elephants trunk? Wild stuff (no pun intended).

I’m glad I stumbled upon Corona, before then I was working with XNA and it was a much different process.

I can’t wait to see what Evan and his crew come up with. :slight_smile:

Thanks again,
Todd [import]uid: 66426 topic_id: 18712 reply_id: 89775[/import]

#11

Wow, I took a look at the website you’ve set up, and I’m impressed! I wish I had that opportunity when I was in the 5th grade. I can’t remember doing anything productive in the 5th grade except writing an 18 page story with my friend. I guess you can’t expect better from NYC public schools…

Anyway, I look forward to seeing the result of this project. I’m sure you’ll get tons of press attention with a little effort :slight_smile: [import]uid: 7116 topic_id: 18712 reply_id: 89780[/import]