Code Combat forum for teachers

[John Baglio]

I have started using Code Combat as a way to get students started in working with text-based programming.  The game aspect is certainly compelling for the kids and the analytics are great.  I would love to know if there is a teacher forum or something to troubleshoot stuff as it comes up.  Any thoughts on this?  Do other people use it?

Thanks,

John

[Katie Ree]

Hey John,

I've used it with my MS students for many years - they love it. I don't think there is a forum but the support from the company has always been great! 

Have a lovely day,

Katie

Innovation Director

Duke School

Durham, NC

[Colleen Larionoff]

Hi John,

Ozaria by CodeCombat is meant for schools and has more robust teacher resources.  My students did the first python unit, which is free, and really enjoyed it.  We chose not to purchase the full license this year but if we were to purchase a text-based program it would be that one! 

Colleen

On Apr 26, 2021, at 9:16 AM, 'John Baglio' via K-12 Fab Labs and Makerspaces <k-12-f...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

I have started using Code Combat as a way to get students started in working with text-based programming.  The game aspect is certainly compelling for the kids and the analytics are great.  I would love to know if there is a teacher forum or something to troubleshoot stuff as it comes up.  Any thoughts on this?  Do other people use it?

Thanks,

John

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[Maggie]

We've used it the last two years in MS and our girls have enjoyed it although their enthusiasm for it fades as the year goes on. I'm interested to see if the Ozaria setup would be more engaging long-term but I'm waiting for CC to build it out a bit more. I've found the support via email to be very good when I've run into challenges that the guides/answer keys don't help resolve. 

[Rob Gilson]

That's super helpful Maggie. I've been back and forth on text coding platforms, and in general, for several years. I wonder whether it makes more sense to do a short-term immersion (requesting some more class periods if available in a given timeframe) or if it is robust enough to sustain a longer-term exploration. May I ask how long your students engage with it?

[Maggie]

We've used it all school year but every 4-6 weeks we take a break for a few weeks to do physical computing/robotics or app development to help break things up. That seems to help, as well as mixing up what we're doing in CC (CS lessons, game dev, web dev) but I think the issue is there's not enough creativity/flexibility. For example, once they find out they can design a game, they want to design the characters (dogs, cats, wizards, etc) and items in the game instead of being limited to the assets and abilities that are part of CC.