This week I was able to code with Anna and Elsa! This game is a great introductory tool, especially for younger kids, as coding on its own can be very overwhelming and scary. By using characters that kids are familiar with, it allows them to feel more comfortable with the topic, and by extension, more open to learning! Aside from simply learning to code, this game is a great way to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. If something isn’t working, students must find a way to break it down and figure it out. As well, it fosters creativity, and can force students to come up with out-of-the-box solutions. These are skills that will be useful to students for years to come, across all aspects of life.

After completing the Anna and Elsa workshop, I was able to create the above pattern using all of the skills that I had learned. If I had more time, I would have loved to try and actually make the shapes, instead of simply clicking “create a snowflake” or “create a circle.” By clicking on the photo, you can see my program run in real time!

I was also able to play Bad News, a game that lets you impersonate a corporation or important person and spread disinformation on Twitter. I was able to obtain all six badges– impersonation, emotion, polarization, conspiracy, discredit, and trolling. By the end of the game, I had become a conspiracy theorist, emotional manipulated, and all-around terrible person with a final follower count of 17 684.

Although this is a fun and humorous game, it is all too relevant to our world today. This game is a great tool for students to learn to recognize misinformation as it comes up, as well as just how easy it is for someone to be untruthful online. Because this is such a serious and important topic, introducing it to students through the use of a game is a great way to get them engaged and ready to listen and learn.