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Hands-on Technology

Think Like Programmer: Learn to Code with a Deck of Cards!

Presenter
​Eva Ruiz
Advanced Application Engineer Analyst
​Accenture 
Activity Description
For this Computer Science based activity, students will get an introduction to how a programmer thinks(procedural/logical thinking). This is a very important characteristic of a programmer, so we will tackle this in the activity!

The student will first need to lay out a 7x7 grid with a deck of cards. Then, they will need to designate any small household item that can fit on top of a card as the "robot", another item as the "destination/prize," and various other items to be scattered across the grid on top of the cards as obstacles. Next, we will place the robot at the starting position, which is the bottom left corner card. The destination/prize will be in top right corner card and the obstacles can be placed in any random manner. This activity requires a "programmer" and a "robot," so two participants. The programmer will have to give detailed instructions to the robot as to how they should navigate through the grid in order to get to the destination (e.g. rotate 180 degrees, move left 3 cards).

This activity can be done by giving out the steps one at a time or having to write out the code all at once (slightly more challenging) and then having the robot run it.

​This activity will help students understand how a programmer needs to think, by paying close attention details and steps.
Materials needed
  • Deck of cards
  • Small objects/household items
  • Sheet of paper
  • Pencil

Program Your Own Game

Presenter
Natalia Duchini
Global Innovation Director
Chemours
Activity Description
​For this Computer Science-based activity, students will get an introduction to block programming using Scratch. Students will learn the types of blocks available to code a game. A series of steps will be described from the creation of an account in Scratch, to defining the type of game, mechanism to get points, and the logic for the game to end. The student will be able to create the setting for the game, the main character, and the scoring board. At the end, the student will be able to play their own game and share with others.
 
​This activity will help students understand how a program can be developed to create a video gam
Materials Needed
Computer with access to the internet

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