Creative Coding for Beginners – Art, Games, Stories, and Sounds in Javascript!
Have fun writing code for games, digital art, stories, and animations that you design. Add some intelligence so your computer can change things on its own, too! Learn JavaScript basics while coding 4 projects that apply your new skills.
Terry D [Code & Art, JavaScript, M.Ed]
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(43)
What's included
8 live meetings
7 hrs 20 mins in-class hoursMastery Evaluation
Assessment is done informally during class. Written feedback is provided after class each week via a learner note.Assessment
Assessment is done informally during class. Written feedback is provided after class each week via a learner note.Class Experience
US Grade 6 - 8
Beginner Level
Learners embark on a 8-week journey into the beauty and fun of creative coding. Learners will design their own games and animations and then bring them to life by writing code a language called p5.js JavaScript, simple enough for beginners but powerful enough to create beautiful and lively projects. Through tinkering, discussing, and investigating examples, learners gain a solid grasp of coding as well as a deep appreciation of the endless, magical possibilities that come from writing your own "generative" code – code that enables animations and games to change themselves each time they play. Learners work in small steps, tinkering with teacher-provided code and considering just one idea at a time. New concepts and commands are added in small steps, with plenty of concrete examples and time for invention and collaboration. Learning also proceeds in a spiral fashion, where each lesson revisits the skills of previous lessons and builds on them thoughtfully. Gradually, students make projects independently. Class sizes are small so that I can work with individual students, finding each student's strengths and proposing questions or challenges appropriate for them. In addition, I provide supplementary written or video materials for students who move a little faster than the class. Please refer to the class syllabus for a detailed breakdown of each lesson, tailored to students in grades 6-8. Late enrollment is not allowed in this class because skills build. If interested, or if the proposed schedule isn't convenient, please send a message. Join us to launch your journey into JavaScript coding!
Learning Goals
Students learn JavaScript commands that display shapes, colors and text and respond to key- and mouse-presses. Learners also use coordinates to position shapes and create variables to keep score, make timers and vary the size, position or color of shapes.
Syllabus
8 Lessons
over 8 WeeksLesson 1:
Kaleidoscope – Part 1
Learners create a kaleidoscope app where brightly colored shapes move with the on-screen pointer. In JavaScript, learners explore code for basic shapes and how to fill them with color; how variables can make shapes move with the pointer; and command syntax (how keywords and punctation are arranged). 55 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
Kaleidoscope – Part 2
Learners complete the kaleidoscope app. In JavaScript, they create the 8 required shapes and also add random colors that merrily flicker throughout the animation. In art, learners investigate the concept of reflection and then learn the JavaScript code that makes each shape reflect, or move in opposition, to the other shapes. 55 mins online live lesson
Lesson 3:
Meditation App – Part 1
Learners create a meditation app where shapes move and change slowly and rhythmically. In JavaScript, learners explore the coordinate grid (the numbers we use to place shapes at particular positions); how variables can change the position, size, and color of shapes over time; and how to change the color and size of a shape border. 55 mins online live lesson
Lesson 4:
Meditation App – Part 2
Learners design and complete their own meditation app. In JavaScript, they learn how to place text (words) on screen and make colors partly transparent, so that you can see through them. They also review how to make shapes that reflect each other's movement. 55 mins online live lesson
Other Details
Learning Needs
To support a variety of learning styles, this class provides consistent structure with multiple communication strategies (written, verbal, and visual) as well as flexibility in content, pacing, learner participation and teaching approaches.
Parental Guidance
Students will create a login and join a coding group at Open Processing, where their class will write code and see their animations.
Student logins at Open Processing include many safety features. For example, no personal information is collected, student profiles and projects are visible only to the teacher and classmates, and students are not allowed to comment or annotate projects outside their class. For a full description of these protections, see "Restricted Student Accounts" at https://intercom.help/openprocessing/en/articles/5228489-student-account-types. This free code editor, funded by the Processing Foundation, works on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chromebook computers but isn't appropriate for iPads or phones.
Pre-Requisites
No prerequisites.
Joined August, 2022
5.0
43reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
15 years of experience teaching JavaScript, Python, Scratch, web development, robotics, and artbotics to students from 8 - 15 years old in private, public, and after-school settings. Two masters degrees in education – from Harvard Graduate School of Education with a focus on technology and from Lesley University in mathematics education. And, most of all, great love, patience, and respect for the many different ways that students learn and the gifts they each bring to the classroom!Reviews
Live Group Course
$23
weekly or $184 for 8 classes1x per week, 8 weeks
55 min
Completed by 1 learner
Live video meetings
Ages: 11-14
2-4 learners per class
