Computer scientists at the
University of California, San Diego, have developed an immersive, first-person
player video game designed to teach students in elementary to high school how
to program in Java, one of the most common programming languages in use today. The
researchers tested the game on a group of 40 girls, ages 10 to 12, who had
never been exposed to programming before. They detailed their findings in a
paper they presented at the SIGCSE conference in March in Denver. Computer
scientists found that within just one hour of play, the girls had mastered some
of Java's basic components and were able to use the language to create new ways
of playing with the game.
CodeSpells is the only video game
that completely immerses programming into the game play. The UC San Diego
computer scientists plan to release the game for free and make it available to
any educational institution that requests it. Researchers are currently
conducting further case studies in San Diego elementary schools. Teaching
computer science below the college level is difficult, mainly because it is
hard to find qualified instructors for students in elementary to high school. Researchers designed the game to keep children
engaged while they are coping with the difficulties of programming, which could
otherwise be frustrating and discouraging.
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