Level 1 - My first steps in the world of visual programming
My first steps in the world of visual programming is the entry level for our youngest programmers. It is the first meeting of children aged 6 and 7 years with the world of programming. During Level 1, children learn basic computer system features, get to know concepts such as software and hardware and the difference between them, and which of these parts they will study in the course. Kids are also introduced to the concepts of program, instructions, priority, programming environment as well as algorithm. They learn all of the above as they program the behaviour of robots and create interesting animations. At this level, children aged 6 and 7 years are introduced to recurring actions and program branching as well as events while creating interesting games in various programming environments. The purpose of this level is to familiarise children with basic concepts of the programming world as well as to lay the foundations for children to start building up additional knowledge in the next levels. Tools used by the children are fully tailored to their age; they are not even expected to be able to read and write. At this level, we start working with instructions in the form of images which children arrange in order to propel the characters. To achieve better results in the level, we use various tools such as programming robots, special software and hardware tools, various programming environments in order to keep children’s attention and to enable them to understand their concepts while working with various tools and programming enironments.
Certificate
The student will receive certificate for each completed level.
Bonus points
500 points
Each completed module is bringing you 100 points and the full level 500 points.
Tools
Some of the instruments and programming environments used by the students in this level.
100 POINTS
Module 1 - First steps into programming
In this module students are introduced to the world of programming. Students learn what a program is made of and how we can control the behavior of robots and game characters by applying different types of instructions. In this module students learn how ordering instructions in a logical sequence allows us to create programs with clear, exact instructions that lead to an expected result.
Topics
- What are an instruction and a program?
- Instructions priority and consecutive actions in creating a program. Using various interfaces
- Basic maths and logical problems
- Preparing a project 1 (6-7)
100 POINTS
Module 2 - Repeating actions (Looping a cycle)
In this module students are introduced to loops in programming - constructs that allow us to repeat a fragment of the code or all of the code. By using loops we can optimize a program and include various conditionals like an event that ends the loop.
Topics
- Consecutive and repeating actions
- Counter loops
- Decision loops
- Preparing a project 2 (6-7)
100 POINTS
Module 3 - Conditional constructs in the program
In this module students expand their knowledge with the introduction of conditional constructs to their algorithms. Using a conditional operator they will find out how a certain part of the code can be activated depending on the conditional.
Topics
- What is a conditional?
- Types of conditional if – then/If – then – else
- If – then conditionals
- Preparing a project 3 (6-7)
100 POINTS
Module 4 - Introducing events in the program
In this module students are introduced to the concept of events in programming. Having an event in the algorithm allows us to carry out various actions such as controlling sprites in games or robots. Students learn how robots can communicate with each other or with software sprites.
Topics
- What is an event?
- Throwing and catching of events
- Initiators and consumers
- Preparing a project 4 (6-7)