BHMS Digital Literacy Students Create Innovative and Entertaining Video Games
It was all fun - and video games - in David Kane’s 6th grade digital literacy class at Bunker Hill Middle School on November 13th.
On the last day of the marking period, the students were invited to sit back and enjoy the video games that they and their classmates had developed using a free online program called “Scratch.” The program allows students to use blocks of code to bravely and creatively venture into video game design. The program has a world-wide following where designers are encouraged to share their creations and “remix” others’ designs.
“Scratch was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a fun, understandable way to teach concepts of coding,” Kane said, who also helps with an after-school coding club. “It is a really accessible but really powerful program that allows kids to create their own animation, even use a microphone to record sound effects for their game. In the beginning, there is a lot of nervousness, but once the kids jump in, they discover that coding is easy and fun, and they really love it. There is such a need for kids to learn and embrace computer science.”
Kane’s students clearly flourished in both categories, inventing video games that offered varied layers and levels of difficulty with characters that traveled through caves, swan through oceans of fish, navigated mazes and even presented a challenge in archery.
Sixth-grader Andrea Cardamone encouraged guidance counselor Jenny Kerfoot, who stopped in to enjoy the creations, to test out her game “Andrea’s Cave Surfer.”
“I like that I was able to design my game to have multiple levels and caves with different difficulties,” said Cardamone, who added sound effects to enhance her game.
“It’s fun to program and make the characters do what you coded them to do,” said seventh-grader Tyler Fitzpatrick, whom Kane described as among his most innovative and talented designers. “I like that you can make anything you want and that you make your own platform and original designs.”
The thoughtful Karen Cao designer her “Pac Man”-type game “Egg Escape Maze” by using storytelling to introduce an egg that attempts to travel through a maze while a bat tries to prevent its successful journey. Her creation included options and controls, even a block where the egg could hide out of sight of the bat.
“I like art, so I was excited to create a game using my art. It thought it would be a perfect fit,” said Cao. “After we finish a project in this class, I have such a sense of accomplishment. It took a really long time, but when I start something, I want to finish it.”
BHMS school counselor Jenny Kerfoot enjoys playing the video game designed by 6th grader Andrea Cardamone.
BHMS seventh-grader Tyler Fitzpatrick shows off the archery video game that he developed.
Sixth-grader Karen Cao shared her video game, “Egg Escape Maze” with teacher David Kane.