Would you like to create a story with you as the star, interactive art, or a 2D game like pong? Would you like to make and program a musical pickle or potato? Would you like to see how fast you react to a sound or a light? During this week of camp you will use free software from MIT called Scratch to create 2D animations and games. You will use PicoBoards to make digital arts and crafts and food that react to sound, light, and touch. You'll use LEGO WeDo sensors to control Scratch characters and will control WeDo motors, using Scratch programming. For more information on Scratch see http://scratch.mit.edu. For more information on PicoBoards see http://www.picocricket.com/picoboard.html. You will do hands on activities that will introduce you to computing concepts such as repetition (loops), conditionals, variables, and random numbers.
Monday
9:00am Pre surveys: http://findings.Pre-Camp.sgizmo.com/s3/
9:45am Ice breaker game - Snowballs,Find Some Who... or Team Brainteasers
10am-12pm Introduce Scratch
Scratch is free software created at MIT that lets you create 2D animations, interactive art, and games. We will will use both the new Scratch 2.0 and Scratch 1.4. Go to the Scratch website http://scratch.mit.edu and students create their own account to keep their Scratch creations in so they can access them at home as well as at camp.
Show the students the support page at http://info.scratch.mit.edu/Support/ and the video page at http://info.scratch.mit.edu/Support/Videos. Have them view the "How to use Scratch intro" video (the one on the right). Show them how to open the Examples folder and look at the Animation folder and pick 8-DayDream and in the Music and Dance folder show them 6 BreakDance and maybe 2 ChickenNoodleSoup. Then show them how to do start a Scratch project using the green flag and how to end it with the red stop sign. Show them where to find the documentation on a Scratch project (in the File menu).
The students will see, then create the Cassie Dancing animation. to prepare for the Scratch project they make Tuesday that has their green screen photos in it. Students will have time to brainstorm for ideas for their own animation, do a simple storyboard, and think of/sketch (stick figures) poses that will fit the actions of themselves in their own animation.
12-1pm Lunch break
1-1:30 pm green screen pictures, three poses per student for use in Scratch animation
1:30-2:15pm Explain what a Remix is. Show how broadcast works. Students have 30 minutes to just open and play with Scratch projects. They pick a project to change the Stage, change the costume of a sprite, add a new sprite, add a "special effect" like color or ghost, make and add their own recording for a sound for one of the sprites. Give them time to work on their storyboard for their animation
You can also show them the Scratch cards (at http://info.scratch.mit.edu/Support/Scratch_Cards) and have them try out one of the ideas from a Scratch card.
2:15 to 2:45 - CS Unplugged - Binary Dots - Binary "Deciphering" Challenge
2:45pm Ask for questions from the day
Tuesday
9:00-9:45am Scavenger Hunt
9:45-10:45pm Show them how to create an interactive art project in Scratch. See http://ice-web.cc.gatech.edu/dl/?q=node/610.
10:45-12:00 Show how to create a simple 2d animation in Scratch http://ice-web.cc.gatech.edu/dl/?q=node/197.
Show them how to import their green screen photos into their Scratch project. Their photos will have green removed already, but show them how they could use the transparency and eraser tools at home to delete the green background from their green screen photos, making themselves the stars in their 2D Scratch animation.
12-12:30pm Lunch break
12:30- 1:00 CS Unplugged "Magic Card Trick" - Illustrating Parity. error detection and correction card trick (see http://www.csunplugged.org/error-detection).
1:00 - 2:45 - Students create their own 2d animations, featuring themselves in the leading role, and show their creations to the group. (TAs work with two sets of two students to let them each do the card trick and be sure they can show it to others.
2:45pm Ask for questions from the day
Wednesday
9:15am- 11:30 pm (Using Scratch 1.4, not 2.0)Students work in pairs with the PicoBoards doing the musical pickle, reaction game, and kinetic sculpture.
Encourage them to try all the reaction game parts (use touch sensor, try with light and sound, try with resistance sensor, try with hands and feet).
Give them the Reaction Time Record sheet to record their times. Ask who had the fastest reaction time. If they finish early add another of the placement activities.
Introduce the sensor modules. Have a sprite that dances based on sound sensor input and change colors or shape based on varying light sensor input.
Make a musical pompom (pickle, grape or potato) that plays different notes depending on electrical resistance.
Take your Pong game and modify the programming to control the paddle with the picoboard slider instead of arrow keys. (The slider becomes your game controller) or create a paper puppet, connect with alligator clips to PicoBoard and have your puppet interact with Scratch characters in a story you make in Scratch. Video students with puppets, etc. interacting. Have them narrate video
Downloads for Picoboard projects on website http://roboticscamp.us/picoboard-projects.html
If you want to see the code or just a sample of one of the projects we'll do, download one of the ones below. REMEMBER!! Currently, you have to use the older Scratch (version 1.4) for these to work. It's a free download from http://scratch.mit.edu/scratch1.4/
Download PicoBoard Reaction Time Time to using alligator clips Sound (SB)
Download PicoBoard sensor sample code program (SB)
Download PicoBoard Reaction Time to Movement (SB)
11:30-12:00 -CS Unplugged - the Oranges Game
In this game you five people are in a circle. Four of them have two unmatched objects. One person has only one object. Each object has one matching object (like two yellow tennis balls, two orange ping pong balls) You and your team have to pass the objects around so that the matching object are in the hand of the person wearing the matching color card. Oh, yes, there is a small problem. You can only pass to the person next to you and only if that person has an empty hand.
To help you get the idea, here's a Scratch game that lets you try to Win the Oranges Game. http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/24926419/
12:00- 12:30 pm break for lunch
Swimming in the afternoon
Thursday Video the students doing activities. Have students take turns doing videoing.
9:00 am Answer questions from the previous day
9:15 10:30 am Exploring WeDo sensors and motors and interactivity with Scratch sprites, sounds, etc. using Frogger, Tilt pen, Crazy Helicopter with Tilt, distance, and motor, SpinArt, UpDownDuck, Catapult. (Links to all game samples and builds are at http://www.roboticscamp.us/wedo-projects.html
Explain that well be using Scatch 1.4 for WeDo.
Show them where to find Scratch 1.4 and How to open and save their programs.
Hand out kits.
Bring out WeDo kits and show them different parts motor, hub, tilt and distance sensors.
Show them where the programming blocks for WeDo motor and sensors are.
Guide them through build and programming First Motor Program.
Give them a copy of the step-by-step sheet for this build and program.
Next WeDo Sprite Motor Creature and motor sync - They make an alien creature, ballerina, ninja, or just fuzz ball with googly eyes and attach to the axle on the motor.
They draw a Sprite to resemble their creature in Scratch.
Program motor actions for creature and matching actions for Sprite.
WeDo SpinArt Students can follow PowerPoint or Video for build of SpinArt base http://www.roboticscamp.us/wedo-projects.html
Talk them through code/flowchart (What do they want the machine to do?)
Give out sheets with steps for code. (need to make and print out.)
Students can make three spin art discs each with circles we have cut out so far.
10:30 11:00 Flowchart Hopscotch
11:00 12:00 Tilt Sensor
Bat Tilt program for first tilt Scratch.
Tips to give them Hold Tilt sensor parallel to straight hand or screen (angles make sensor trickier). Tilt sensor has four values 1, 2, 3, 4 Learn which value is up, which is down, which is left, which is right.
Have them do a remix of the program.
Optional Make a bat from the pompoms, foil, etc. building materials.
Attach it to the motor and have it and bat sprite fly together.
Add spooky music or sounds.
Crazy Helicopter Tilt
Create the crazy helicopter game program with just a sprite at first and play with flying the helicopter with the tilt sensor.
Build blades for the helicopter from three pipe cleaners and add two finger flashlights on blade tips. Photo of sample blades at http://www.roboticscamp.us/wedo-projects.html
Attach to axle on WeDo motor.
Add to your programming so that the real motorized blades spin as you steer the helicopter on screen.
Add scoring to your program.
Website has photo of sample blade build and programming download http://www.roboticscamp.us/wedo-projects.html
12:00 1:00 - Lunch
1:00 1:30 Distance Sensor
Guide them in programming beginner distance sensor program.
Let them play with/remix that.
1:30 2:00 Frogger Game with Tilt sensor control
Make a new Frogger game that uses tilt sensor instead of arrow keys for control. http://soundbible.com has many free sound downloads.
Show them how to create/modify/add scoring to the Frogger game
Optional- Add a real LEGO from and attach to motor to have it move when you move the Sprite Frog
2:00-2:45 (student skits video these)
Live Programming teams of three pick one or two programming blocks (loop forever or repeat, if-then-else, if touching color, while, >, , glide x and y, and make ups a skit showing what that block does
OR
Computer terms team Jeopardy - 4 teams of six. Two rounds for each team. Each team has a whiteboard - no talking - person writes answer, shows to team members. If another member has different answer, writes it down. They vote silently to decide which answer to show. All four teams show answer at same time. All teams with correct answers get point. top team - each team member gets 4 pieces of candy; 3 for second place, 2 for third place, 1 piece of candy per team member for fourth place.
If have time, these are other projects:
UpDownDuckMotorLaunch You can launch a minfig instead of a duck
PenTilt for drawing (2 programs)
Catapult (uses motor only, can add sensor for firing)
Build video and PowerPoint , programming for Catapult at http://www.roboticscamp.us/wedo-projects.html
More activities on next page if needed
TILT sensor
Show them how to make a new Frogger game to use a tilt sensor (like a game controller) to get the frog across the road.
Show them how to download free sound effects from sources like http://soundbible.com and import the sound effects into their animations. Save their games.
Download link and screen captures of programming for WeDo Tilt sensor Frogger game.sb on WeDo Projects page of this site. http://www.roboticscamp.us/wedo-projects.html
Add scoring to the game if there is time.
WeDo Tilt sensor Froggerwith score game.sb
WeDo Pen tilt code.sb
WeDo Pen tilt code for drawing squares and making lines larger smaller.sb
Helicopter sprite control by tilt sensor, tilt sensor "game controller for maze game, WeDo LEGO flower (or gear) spinning while corresponding Sprite on screen is spinning. UpDownDuck program. Can make it a gear or minifig instead.
10:00 - 12:00 - (Scratch 1.4) More interactivity experiments between WeDo motors, distance sensors, and Scratch animation, using tilt and and distance sensors to control sprites and motor.
Make Binary Bracelets with their initials in binary if didn't get to do yesterday.
Friday
9:00am Answer any questions from Thursday
9:15am - 10:30 pm Work on items for parent show - Green screen Scratch, interactive art, Scratch, WeDo motor-Scratch, Picoboard-sensors-scratch, WeDo sensors scratch,
webcam "Kinect" Scratch.
10:30-12:00 Scratch 2.0 -WebCam projects (not 1.4 so these will be in their web Scratch accounts.
New Kinect-like feature of Scratch 2.0 Make your own Kinect game!!!
on the links below to play with programs that use the webcam feature of Scratch. Look at the code to see how the program works, then click Remix to make a copy you can change and keep.
You MUST be using a computer with a webcam for these to work.
List of links at bottom of page .
Start with:
1. How to program a Scratch project incorporating webcam action by
The Scratch Team http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/10454508
2. Starter Webcam Project - Virtual Pet Gobo http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/10172401/
After they have played with this one, explain how the webcam blocks work.
Give them 10-15 minutes to play with other links. Have them pick one to do a remix where they change values of the webcam blocks and see what happens.
Then they pick one like Save the Minifigs (easy) or Bubble Pop or Fruit Ninja (harder) to do a serious remix and make it their own.
3. Another good starter webcam program - Catch the Pizza http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/24870968/
4. Jumpin ' Cat to play and Remix http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/24194236
5. Save the Minifigs!!
http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/24870899/
6. My First Webcam revised http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/24744124/
7. Musical Doodle with webcam http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/24581327/
8. Beat the High Score (Good intermediate project) http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/18089259
9. Webcam Bubble Pop
http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/24578690/
10. Web-Cam Fruit Ninja http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/24194187/
The tutorials page on the Scratch site has more samples to learn from and modify. http://scratch.mit.edu/help/videos/
Links are on website on Friday page http://www.roboticscamp.us/webcam-and-scratch-projects.html
12-12:30 pm lunch PIZZA!!!
12:30pm Show kids the http://www.dotdiva.org site and look at some of the profiles such as http://www.dotdiva.org/profiles/kendal.html, http://www.dotdiva.org/profiles/macherie.html
and http://www.dotdiva.org/profiles/maitland.html. Talk about how what they
have been learning relates to jobs.
1:00pm Do post surveys: Post survey http://findings.Post-Camp.sgizmo.com/s3/
1:30pm Do group picture
2:00pm Do parent show - have ACM career brochures and Image your future in
computing brochures.
