The Loyalty Foundation partnered with the Bessemer Housing Authority (BESHA) to donate 100 Chromebooks and provide their staff members with the training and curriculum to offer an enriching 2D game design program to students in their community.
About
Client: Bessemer Housing Authority
Location: Bessemer, Alabama
Program Details
Program(s): Devices4All, Gaming4Good
Services: Computer Donation, Professional Development, Enrichment
# of Computers Donated: 100 Chromebooks
# of Technology Students: 55
How We Helped
BESHA had all the pieces to support an enriching coding and game design environment: a passionate group of students, plenty of classroom space in several community centers, and a talented team of facilitators eager to learn. Wendy Brantley, Resident Services Manager, was the client lead on this project and requested the Loyalty Foundation complete the puzzle for a successful tech program. We provided Wendy and BESHA with 100 Chromebook laptops and brainstormed how we could bring a coding class to a group as small as 5-10 students or up to 90-100, depending on community needs and interest.
Train the Trainer
The model we settled on was “train the trainer”. BESHA employs a group of four dedicated facilitators and plenty of space for them to operate. They were willing to learn our game design curriculum and motivated to teach it to the students. This model allowed the freedom for the class to run at any time, in any location, without the dependence on a virtual teacher provided by LF. BESHA facilitators proved to be excellent students, as they were able to learn the basics of Scratch using LF in-house training videos and teach the students using our interactive slides curriculum.
2D Game Design with Scratch
Scratch is an excellent first foray into computer science, as it’s a visual programming language that allows students to develop games, animations, music, and more. In fact, it is the first unit in the most popular coding class in the world: Harvard’s CS50 Intro to Computer Science course. BESHA students developed over 3 original 2D games, starting with a seemingly simple maze that involves keyboard inputs, event/color sensing, and object collision. From there, the projects advanced to include conditionals and variables.
