THE FUN
By the end of the camp, your child will be really excited to show you his/her programming projects. The joy that comes from a sense of achievement builds esteem in general, and passion of learning permeates every aspect of his/her life. This joy is beyond easy-going fun. This camp is intended as a fun and easy way for students of any age to learn the basics of animation and game development using the Scratch language. Your child will learn the design, modeling, simulation, and receive hands-on training in an engaging workshop setting. Through visual interactions and easy to manipulate block-based elements, your child will learn fundamental computing principles. While it is a stress-free curriculum that does not require any prior knowledge, they will have the opportunity to develop their own project and leave camp with a copy of their work.
- Get familiarized with different functions in Scratch programming environment
- Acquire basic computer programming principles, which include using variables, conditional statements, loops, creating and using lists of variables, and calling subprograms
- Apply the programming concepts to animate with sound, colors and images, movements
- Apply the programming concepts to games development; develop thinking and design skills on user interactions and command
- Gain confidence as a budding coder and develop passion of future learning
THE BIG PICTURE
Scratch is a block-based language that helps children feel very comfortable in learning coding skills. It is a stepping stone before taking up text-based programming, which young children may find challenging before their language skills become more mature. Learning to code is not only limited for “techno-kids” as it is commonly perceived. “Creative-leaning” kids would also find artistic joy in the creative process of animation and game development process. After all, art and science are the two sides of the same token. They both require, and thus, build patience to problem-solve, and give rise to the same joy and satisfaction from success. Taking college and career interests exploration into consideration, the animation industry is one of the most lucrative industries in media and entertainment and there are more opportunities available in game development than ever before.