K-12 Game Programming Course Using Textual Programming Vesa Lappalainen, Lecturer PhD Antti-Jussi Lakanen, University teacher MSc Department of Mathematical Information Technology University of Jyväskylä, Finland ACM SIGCSE 2011 Dallas, Texas Room Dallas A1 http://tinyurl.com/jypeli-paper 1
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Vesa Lappalainen, Lecturer PhD Antti-Jussi Lakanen, University teacher MSc Department of Mathematical Information Technology University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
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http://tinyurl.com/jypeli-paper 1
K-12 Game Programming Course Using Textual Programming
Vesa Lappalainen, Lecturer PhDAntti-Jussi Lakanen, University teacher
MScDepartment of Mathematical Information Technology
University of Jyväskylä, Finland
ACM SIGCSE 2011Dallas, TexasRoom Dallas A1
http://tinyurl.com/jypeli-paper 2
http://tinyurl.com/jypeli-paper 3
http://tinyurl.com/jypeli-paper 4
Vesa LappalainenPhD 1985 in MathematicsTeaching programming since 1982Research activities:
InSitu: Interaction possibilities on a mass lectureComTest: Making test-driven development (TDD)
simpleStudents’ perceptions of programmingEarly recruitment in ICT
AcknowledgementsUniversity of Jyväskylä / Department of Mathematical
Information TechnologyFunding courses in 2009, Jypeli development
Technology Industries of Finland Centennial FoundationCourses in 2010—2011
Agora CenterResearch in game development
MicrosoftSoftware, Xbox controllers
Ville IsomöttönenCo-author of the paper
http://tinyurl.com/jypeli-paper 11
IntroductionStudent decline in ICT and science
fields (economics still get students)Amount of students passing the courses
has gone down 50 % since 2004How to get youngsters to
choose science courses in high school? And hopefully to continue
their studies later in university
http://tinyurl.com/jypeli-paper 12
Why this course?What are the young interested of?Something to excite!How to combine fun with “real things”We wanted to show that concepts of high
school math and science apply also in gamesWhy not to target senior high?
We wanted to influence what subjects they pick in senior high
With senior high students we would be late(ca 50 % doesn’t even go to senior high)
http://tinyurl.com/jypeli-paper 13
Finnish educational system
Elementary school, 6 yrs (Alakoulu in Finnish), starts at the age of 7
Junior High School, 3 yrs (Yläkoulu in Finnish)
Senior High School (lukio), 3 yrs
Vocational School (ammattikoulu), 3 yrs
University (bachelor), 3 yrs
Polytechnics (bachelor), 3.5 – 4 yrs
University (master), 2 yrs
Com
pu
lsory
ed
uca
tion
50.2 % 41.2 % (8.6 %)
Pre-school, 1 year (Esikoulu in Finnish), starts at the age of 6
http://tinyurl.com/jypeli-paper 14
Motivation and learning outcomes1. Motivation to physics concepts
Quantities: time, distance, speed, acceleration and force
Causal relationship: dependencies between objects
Gravity, friction, motion, balanceMass and its effectsParticle kinematics
http://tinyurl.com/jypeli-paper 15
Motivation and learning outcomes2. Motivation to math concepts
Problem solvingFunction, interpretation and drawingCoordinatesGeometry: straight line, scaling, shapesVectorsEquations and solving themProbability and random numbersBoolean value, logicAngle, degrees and radians
industrial process programming, e.g. National Instruments, LabView, etc.)
Microsoft Kodu
2. Textual programming Java ACM Task Force XGC1 (UWB)
http://tinyurl.com/jypeli-paper 17
Kodu Game Lab
http://tinyurl.com/jypeli-paper 18
Jypeli library -- Why and objectives“Real programming” by mainstream toolsFirst game should not be many lines of code“Realistic” physics built-inEvent-driven for controls and collisions
Less structures, as few as zero loops and ifsEndless possibilities for
advanced programming Possibility to transfer games
to game consoles and mobile phones
http://tinyurl.com/jypeli-paper 19
Choosing the tool – Motivation to building a new libraryLack of Finnish materialXbox currently only game
console with the possibility to transfer own games easily C# as the language
Lack of physics engines in available libraries out-of-the-box
Limited time available – It also takes time to study a library someone else has made
Faculty interests in bringing knowledge about building game engines, physics engines etc.
Example game:Galaxy Trip
http://tinyurl.com/jypeli-paper 22
using System;using Jypeli;using Jypeli.Effects;
public class Game : PhysicsGame{ static String[] lines = { " ", " ", " ", " X X ", "X ", " * ", " X X ", " ", " ", " ", " ", "* X X ", "X ", " * ", " X X ", " ", " ", " ", " * ", " X X ", "X ", " ", " X X ", " ", };
68 % said that programming was NOT harder than he/she had expected
49 % said their conception of programming had changed during the courseThought it was harderProgramming games was more fun than expectedProgramming was more fun than expected
Conclusion: It’s hard, but fun, and less hard than expected
http://tinyurl.com/jypeli-paper 41
Correlation analysis: Effect of earlier programming experiencePositive correlation with the question ”I will
study in the field of ICT/science in the future”
(Pearson correlation , )Negative correlation with the question ”The
given tasks were hard” (Pearson correlation , )
http://tinyurl.com/jypeli-paper 42
Interest towards ICT/science studies
Pre- questioning
Post-questioning
+ / -
Agree or fully agree
37.9 % 43.6 % +5.7 %
Disagree or fully disagree
27.9 % 17.9 % -10.0 %
Mean 3.16 3.41 +0.25
Std dev 1.19 1.16 -0.03
http://tinyurl.com/jypeli-paper 43
Challenges of the conceptHow much do they learn
Measuring this is challenging Is learning many things really
the objective? Is it enough just to “have fun
with programming”?What happens after the coursePost-course communication