Well it's not that they are running down the center of town like Archimedes supposedly did, but there has been lots of WHOO, high fives and YES! in the computer labs lately. It is wonderful to hear the successes and see the perseverance that the teams are demonstrating to get the programs completed. We are now in overtime and the girls don't seem to mind that I have taken their study halls for two weeks to finish the games.
The thinking and cooperation that is happening in the class is outstanding. I love watching them discuss and try different ideas. They are really starting to develop skills that a programmer needs when working collaboratively. In addition, many can tell you something about objects, loops, if-statements, parameters (indirectly through messages), and variables.
The best thing I see happening: those students who thought they could never never learn programming are actually enjoying programming. Most of the girls (regardless how capable they felt they could be) are really working with their teams to build the games. Most everyone is offering some suggestions to try when debugging and it is great to hear the passion in their suggestions and the brainstorming that is happening when the debugging doesn't work. They keep trying; keep rearranging the code and then EUREKA!! I can't wait to see the finished products.
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