{"id":1936,"date":"2022-04-14T18:21:03","date_gmt":"2022-04-14T18:21:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kidsengineer.com\/?p=1936"},"modified":"2023-12-08T17:56:52","modified_gmt":"2023-12-08T17:56:52","slug":"coding-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kidsengineer.com\/?p=1936","title":{"rendered":"Pioneer seventh-graders present video games of their own design"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By CHRIS LARABEE\u00a0<\/a> Staff Writer\u00a0Published in the Greenfield Recorder<\/a> : 4\/13\/2022 4:03:37 PM<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Dr. John Heffernan, right, helps Collin Woodward in his Computer Science Class at Pioneer Valley Regional School on Wednesday.\u00a0STAFF PHOTO\/PAUL FRANZ<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Kallie Katz shows her computer game to other students in Dr. John Heffernan’s Computer Science Class at Pioneer Valley Regional School on Wednesday.\u00a0STAFF PHOTO\/PAUL FRANZ<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

NORTHFIELD \u2014 On one screen, a pig hopped over cars and gathered apples as it made its way back to the farm it calls home. On another screen, a player was dodging an evil penguin in a quest to save the Arctic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These scenes were a few examples of games created by seventh-grade students at Pioneer Valley Regional School, who showed off their video game development and coding skills Wednesday. The showcase was the culmination of a two-and-a-half month computer science unit devoted to coding and programming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNationwide, there\u2019s been an emphasis on teaching coding to students,\u201d said John Heffernan, the class\u2019 teacher. \u201cHow do we keep kids coding? We think this is going to help.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the course of the unit, the students learned the basics of coding and were given free range to create any game they wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was really hard,\u201d said student Kallie Kratz, who created a game she described as a \u201csort of penguin version of Mario.\u201d \u201cIt took me a few weeks. I had to come up with all the characters and make the platforms.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kallie said it was really fun to create her game, even though she doesn\u2019t want to pursue programming in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m still glad I got to do it,\u201d Kallie said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nora Cutting, who created the game \u2014 titled \u201cLost and Found\u201d \u2014 about the pig returning home, said coding the game was a great experience and it was nice to see her plans come together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was exciting,\u201d Nora said, adding that it was \u201csomething for fun\u201d as she, likewise, has no desire to be a video game designer in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jackson Glazier said he \u201cdidn\u2019t know what to make\u201d and came up with the idea of a platforming game where the goal is to collect fried chicken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was difficult,\u201d Jackson said, \u201cbut it all came together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coding the games, while fun, also provides an opportunity to build on problem-solving skills that are needed to fix coding errors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven if you don\u2019t become a programmer, it should help you in many cases,\u201d Heffernan said. \u201cIt helps people think in terms of algorithms\u201d and sharpens \u201ccomputational\u201d thinking, which can apply to many aspects in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heffernan said the process has been a great experience for his students and the game showcase was where the kids could share what they\u2019ve made and receive feedback on their creations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s rewarding\u201d for the students, Heffernan added. \u201cIt\u2019s a real audience and their peers get to experience what they made.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.recorder.com\/Pioneer-seventh-graders-present-video-games-of-their-own-design-45923991<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By CHRIS LARABEE\u00a0 Staff Writer\u00a0Published in the Greenfield Recorder : 4\/13\/2022 4:03:37 PM NORTHFIELD \u2014 On one screen, a pig hopped over cars and gathered apples as it made its way back to the farm it calls home. On another … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,25,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-teaching","category-tech","category-technology"],"yoast_head":"\nPioneer seventh-graders present video games of their own design - Kids Engineer!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/kidsengineer.com\/?p=1936\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pioneer seventh-graders present video games of their own design - Kids Engineer!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By CHRIS LARABEE\u00a0 Staff Writer\u00a0Published in the Greenfield Recorder : 4\/13\/2022 4:03:37 PM NORTHFIELD \u2014 On one screen, a pig hopped over cars and gathered apples as it made its way back to the farm it calls home. 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