October half term coding workshops

Over the summer we delivered many coding clubs and workshops at some of the libraries in North Somerset. After a short break, we are pleased to be able to offer a couple of workshops in the forthcoming October half term.

Coding in Minecraft

The Coding in Minecraft workshop will be held at Portishead library on Tuesday 25th October 2022.

This workshop will start your child on their coding journey. We will be introducing your child to coding using one of the most popular gaming platforms for young people. It enables children to be creative, learn problem solving skills and learn to code while playing in a safe environment.

This is not a course to teach how to play Minecraft but rather how to modify a Minecraft world with code, create small games and interact with one another. Along the way, children also develop problem solving skills by solving coding puzzles.

The workshop is suitable for beginners and all coding abilities. More information and how to book.

Game Pixel Design

The Game Pixel Design workshop will be held at Yatton Library on Thursday 27th October 2022.

If your child loves playing computer games, why not let them create them too! This course will show the children how to design and make a game. They will draw their own characters and create a story for their game.

Everyone is welcome. Older students (Year 6, 7 and 8’s) will create a more complex game which they will be able to publish.

For more information and how to book.

Minecraft continues to inspire children

Coding in Minecraft

Minecraft has been a part of growing up fro many children – my daughter included. The game has also evolved into an educational resource – with many subjects now taught – at least in part – through the platform.

Learning computer science within Minecraft has been available for quite some time using the RaspberryPi and the Python language. However, in 2017 Microsoft released a set of programming tools accessible for students and educators via is Minecraft Education Edition.

At Codingbug, we have been using Minecraft to learn to code. Children who are familiar with Scratch will find coding in Minecraft a familiar welcoming environment.

During the 2021/22 academic year, our Minecraft coders learnt how to modify a Minecraft World, created mini-games, and automated builds with code. Yes, in Minecraft it is easier to create a wall with code than it is to ‘mine’ it and build!

Coding in a 3D game is harder than coding a 2D game, but the children rise to the challenge and nothing seems daunting or complicated when you can play and interact with it afterwards. Furthermore, the children love being able to see their friends’ avatars and collaborate with one another.

Our next Coding in Minecraft course for primary school children returns this October half term (2022) and we look forward to having more hours of fun building with code.

Coding in Minecraft

This term we have had a group of children learning to code in Minecraft. This course is not about learning to play Minecraft but about making modifications to a Minecraft world with code.

The course focuses on developing programming skills. As the course is targeted at primary school age children, we use an intuitive ‘drag and drop’ interface, similar to Scratch. All of the children have coded in Scratch before making it easier for them to get started. They learn how to create commands, write automated builds, change the weather with code, and so on. They can join the teacher’s Minecraft world or each other’s worlds.

Coding in Minecraft is a creative way of learning to code using a platform already enjoyed by many children.

In order to code in Minecraft students need a licensed copy of Minecraft Educational Edition, which is included as part of the course.

Our next Coding in Minecraft course is now open for registrations.