Hour of Code - Flappy Santa

Today, I created my first online game using Hour of Code. Hour of code scaffolds you through the basics of block coding in a series of puzzles/lessons and then at the end gives you the opportunity to create your own game. You create your game by assigning a command to an event e.g. When Santa hits a chimney he falls to the ground or loses a certain amount of points. As you build your game you are given the opportunity to test the game along the way - this was extremely valuable as you notice changes that you need to make which you didn't initially think of e.g. how does the level of gravity you have associated affect how possible it is to flap through the width of the gap you have associated to the chimney spaces Santa flies through. When you are satisfied with the game you simply click Finish to get a shareable link. Hour of code is extremely interactive and I could just imagine how much fun students would have creating the games and sharing these with their friends!

Here is a screenshot of the coding for the game I created and a screen recording of the game being played:

To play Flappy Santa click the following link - Play here!

After I had finished Hour of Code I then also had a look at Scratch and Gamefruit. Osmo is another great piece of technology which includes activities on the basics of how to code for younger students.