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FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2019
‘Girls Who Game’ showcase succesful pilot program
Watching the ‘Girls Who Game’ at work
Photo 1070 — Greg Nikkel
Superintendent of Educaton Aaron Hiske listened as Electra explained her part in coding for the game Minecraft, while teacher Jody Abel and IT specialist Michael Van Betuw did the same. The Grade 4/5 girls explained their role in the pilot Girls Who Game program, which ended in April. The girls put on a presentation to show what they learned, with a demonstration by showing what they coded for the game. By Greg Nikkel A group of girls in Grade 4/5 were selected out of all classrooms in Saskatchewan to pilot the “Girls Who Game” program, along with one class from each province, and learned all about coding in a computer game. The pilot began at the end of April and will end June 20, and the girls put on a presentation to talk about what they learned. They had administrators from the Southeast Cornerstone School Division office, and representatives from Dell, which had put the pilot program forward for classes to try it out across Canada. The girls summarized many of the things they learned in points, and then put on a demonstration on their laptops to show what they were able to code, using the popular video game Minecraft. “We have way more power than we imagined. Before we were regu-
lar girls, now we are like famous YouTubers,” the girls said in one point. Among the things they learned was how to code, and the fact that coding is different from gaming, explaining in their powerpoint, “It’s like the difference in building a car and driving a car. Coding is building, it takes a lot of thinking and working out problems. Sometimes it works, but usually it takes lots of tries.” They pointed out that many things used commonly by people in normal life use coding. “People can code robots or make cool things. Lots of things take coding to work. We are kids, and already are learning to code, so we will be really good by the time we graduate.” The girls learned such lessons as patience, and thinking and working together to work out problems and difficulties. The lessons in patience were “because we had to wait for codes to work.
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We needed to think about things step by step, and sometimes we walk it out on whiteboards. We learned to code in chunks and test it instead of going too far and not knowing where your mistakes are.” They also learned about problem-solving skills, saying, “It helps us practice a growth mindset where we talk positive to ourselves, sometimes a little bit of help doesn’t hurt. We can be creative with no limits to our imaginations.” Each girl listed some of the things she learned in this program. Asia said, “I learned to be more patient. Now I know to take a break or try something else for a bit then try again. That helps me to focus.” “I have learned that coding doesn’t always work out, so you might have to try more than once to get it. It feels good when I get it to work,” said Saydee. “I have learned to code my agent to move and
build,” said Erynn. “If you think you can’t do it on your own, you might need help, and that’s okay. You can keep trying, ask a friend or go on Flipgrid. You can ask your teacher if they know what to do. Ours doesn’t – that is okay.” One student, Kinley, said she might want to do computer stuff when she’s older, and another, Electra, said, “I learned how to do all these awesome things like Chicken Rain. It’s where you code to make animals rain down.” Aurora noted she’s played Minecraft for most
of her life ever since she learned how to use a computer, and added, “I’ve learned how to work with others and let your creativity flow through and thinking of reality in a very different way. It can get rid of stress, but sometimes it gives stress. Minecraft lets me think in a way of creativity and to let go of stress if I have it.” Their teacher, Jodi Abel, told the group that the lessons were student-driven, and they determined what the lessons were about. “I had virtually no ex-
perience or knowledge. The expertise was the ability to take on a challenge, and that came from the kids as well,” she said, noting there were times that the girls talked out problems on their own without getting her or others to figure it out for them. “We came together not sure what we were going to learn,” said the girls, “but we knew it would be cool because of all the cool stuff Dell sent us. … We were able to solve problems with time and get used to them. After we figured it out, it was fun.”
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Girl who games shows what she learned Assiya Benabdallah demonstrated what she learned in the “Girls Who Game” program to principal MaryAnn Kotylak, at a special presentation Photo — Greg Nikkel the Grade 4/5 class put on at Souris School.