About the project
This website has been been created to be used as part of an education resource to be used in a Computing setting for Primary School Practitioners. The project involves an interactive 'Scratch' game that can be connected to a physical interface I created using a 'Makey Makey invention kit'. This website contains examples of how an educational practitioner could use these resources to teach learners the Computing subject and assistance in understanding the new National Curriculum (2013) 'Computing Programmes of Study, particularly looking at Computational Thinking.
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About Pong Football
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Pong football is a simple game I created on Scratch much like the traditional pong game. The game itself is easy to use for any age as it only requires the up and down arrow keys. The coding behind the game is fairly complex and is designed to be used with children in Key Stage 2 and above.
The aim of the game is to hit the football with the paddle into the green zone on the right hand side, but if the ball hits the red zone on the left side of the screen then the game is over. The game starts off slowly but every time you hit the football, it speeds up! Have a go yourself with the game on the left; or click below to follow through to the original Scratch game: |
About Makey Makey invention kit
Makey Makey is a two-sided circuit board which plugs into a computer through a USB connection. One side of the board is simple and includes inputs for the up, down, left and right arrow keys, the space bar and left mouse click. The other side of the board is more complicated and includes inputs for more keys, such as letters, and moving the mouse pad. Crocodile clips are attached to the board and connected to objects that conduct electricity (e.g. copper wire, lead, PlayDoh, etc.). In order for the circuit to be completed, a crocodile clip must also be connected to one of the 'earth' inputs on the Makey Makey board, whilst being held or somehow connected to the person playing the game/completing the activity.
Using Makey Makey's in your computing lessons will allow children to build an understanding of how parts of a computer work together, they will start to understand that programs respond to different sorts of inputs and learn that one object can be used to control another. By using Makey Makey in your lessons, learners will gain a better understanding of how the part of a work together; begin to understand how programs respond to different inputs, and how an object can be used to control an input. The pictures on the right are examples of how Makey Makey can be used with different materials, taken from their official website: |
Using Pong Football with Makey Makey
In order to support the Scratch resource most effectively, use the game with a 'Makey Makey invention kit' as shown by the image on the left.
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The videos below demonstrate the Pong Football Scratch game being played with the physical device I made connected to the Makey Makey board:
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