Desining materials for teaching programming with Scratch

It is hard to imagine a day without the computer. To cope with such rapid development of technology, it is not enough to only know how to use certain software tools. We strive to make children understand the computer concepts and change the application with creation. In line with this, the curriculum is also changing. In the second trimester of the school year 2014/15 an optional Computer and Information Science subject is introduced. The purpose of the thesis is to assist teachers with the help of teaching materials by using visual programming environment Scratch, in which children start to program. ACM Computing Classification System K.3 Computers and Education K.3.1 Computer Uses in Education K.3.2 Computer and Information Science Education In the first part of the thesis we will present the theoretical basis of cognitive psychologists. Teachers still design lessons in schools based on cognitive psychologist research and we also want to promote students creativity and self-construction of knowledge, based on their research. We will continue with a description of some visual programming tools that promote the understanding of basic computer concepts. We will present the teaching of computer-related content with the new curriculum through a visual programming tool Scratch. This will be followed by the realization of one of the teaching materials for Scratch In the end we will describe the layout of the web portal, where we will publish learning materials and will serve as an aid to teachers who will teach new optional course Computer and Information Science for the first time

Mysterious Surini

Skrivnostni Surini je izobraževalna računalniška igra, namenjena učencem in dijakom, ki se v osnovnih in srednjih šolah srečajo z iskalnimi algoritmi. Igralca popelje v gusarski svet pustolovščin, v katerem skozi izbrane aktivnosti spozna in usvoji delovanje Dijkstrovega algoritma. Algoritem reši problem iskanja najcenejših poti v grafu, v računalniškem kontekstu pa je za učence in dijake smiseln kot algoritem, ki nastopa pri usmerjanju na omrežnem sloju TCP/IP modela. Igra je postavljena v učencem prilagojeno učno okolje, v katerem so učni cilji zakriti in je v ospredje postavljeno zabavno reševanje problemov. Igralec nastopa v vlogi prijaznega pirata, ki poglavarju otoka Fantan pomaga rešiti hči Arabelo, ki jo je ugrabilo sovražno ljudstvo Tantami. To mu lahko uspe le tako, da se prebije skozi štiri sovražnikove otoke. Na teh otokih mora poiskati najmanj nevarne poti do sovražnikovih hišk, saj s tem zbira cekine, ki jih v zadnji fazi igre potrebuje, da doseže cilj. Otoki sovražnikov v igri predstavljajo posamezne učne etape, ki jih v celoten učni proces povezuje zemljevid otočja. Ta igralcu omogoča pregled nad napredovanjem v igri, ki je pogojeno z usvajanjem učnih ciljev. Skrivnostni Surini je nova priložnost za učitelje in profesorje, da v svoje pedagoško delo vključijo, tako z didaktičnega kot tudi s tehničnega vidika, posebej za njih zasnovano eno izmed izobraževalnih računalniških iger, ki so se v svetu pokazale kot dobra praksa v najrazličnejših okoljih.Mysterious Surini is an educational computer game created for children attending both elementary schools as well as high schools where they may find themselves learning the basics of search algorithms. The game gives the player a piracy-themed adventure, where he learns and internalizes the workings of the Dijkstra\u27s algorithm through well-selected activities. Dijkstra\u27s algorithm is used for finding the cheapest path in a given graph. The algorithm is used in various fields of science, for example computer science, where it is used for routing packages of information that travel through the Internet, making it useful for children to know about it. The design of the game is adjusted to the school environment, making its learning objectives hidden and offering a fun gaming experience. The player embarks the game as a friendly pirate, where he helps the governor of the island Fantan to find his missing daughter Arabel, who was kidnapped by a hostile tribe, the Tantams. He can only succeed if he successfully finds his way through four islands. To do that, he must find the least dangerous paths to all hostile tribe houses on each of the four islands. In this way he collects coins, making it possible to complete the game. All the four islands together represent a complete learning process of the above mentioned algorithm, whereas an individual island is used for the representation of a single learning stage. Mysterious Surini is a new opportunity for all teachers to embed a learning game in their curriculum, making it more interesting and diverse for the children as well as simplifying the process of learning while getting better results than ever before