KidsTek Instructor Michelle Lim has been keeping students busy with fun and creative programming projects in her “Introduction to Programming” class at Hinkley High School. The semester started off with discussions about the nature of programming languages and the different types of computer languages that exist today. The students were then introduced to JavaScript, the language taught in the course.
Students first learned how to use functions and loops to generate digital drawings with randomized parameters. After that, they moved on to creating interactive apps while learning how to create screen elements, variables, if statements, and event handlers. Miguel Hernandez-Betancourt, a sophomore in the class, shared, “You sort of come in blindfolded because everything is new, at least for me specifically, so class is always interesting and exciting because I learn something new every day.”
As KidsTek’s biggest fundraiser of the year approached, Ms. Lim readied the students to present their work for guests.
As a group, her class built an “Eye Spy” app, in which students created different levels where the object was to find a specific item in a variety of scenes. The app is a great showcase of all the hard work that the Hinkley students have been putting forth so far this semester. KidsTek student Mario Rodriguez-Gonzalez said, “I really liked making a group app. It was cool messing around with the code to make it do what I wanted and fun to see what everyone else made.”
Guests at KidsTek’s fundraising gala were then able to meet the students and give the app a try while also hearing more about what the students have learned. Play their “Eye Spy” game app here: http://bit.ly/hinkley-app
