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| The Davis Academy Arcade Banner |
Today I had an "it worked" moment that got me excited! For weeks, 7th and 8th graders in the Technology elective have been working hard to create games, which ultimately would come together to create The Davis Academy Arcade. As the project evolved, there were several stages of "aha moments". The first was that while working in pairs, if one teammate was super serious about the tasks at hand, well then the other teammate best get with the program. The second realization was a reminder that often times, the students have much better ideas than the teacher. While I was busy focusing on the teaching and learning aspects of the project- the technology, the designs and the organization of the arcade, the students reminded me that thinking about the add-ons is just as important and sometimes, more important. One student suggested that we charge players to pay and then donate the proceeds to a charity. This led us to pick the Kids Code Free camp led by Tech Talent South. This idea led to another student building a coin slot into their design, which then inspired every team to do the same. Another student was then motivated to actively market the arcade to others to attract more customers. For them, this meant making signs and carrying them through the halls to encourage participation. The third big realization, one of which I know so well and yet really appreciated the reminder, is that hard work deserves an audience. Creating something that spills out beyond our core class and brings people together is so rewarding.
Some students used makey makeys to create mazes, while another team created a racing game in Scratch. They designed their own game controllers, which were in a constant state of revision. One team went through pencil drawn game controllers, to clay modeled game controllers to ultimately settle on a game controller made of play-doh. Two other teams used the Hummingbird robotics kits to create a rolling ball game with a twirling windmill (not so dissimilar from a putt putt hole) and another team created a ball toss game with moving propellers. For some teams, the game objective proved tricky while other teams had more difficulty in perfecting their designs. Ultimately, however, it was not only a fun learning experience but it was a celebration of our efforts, a chance to invite others into our classroom, an opportunity to do a random act of kindness for a deserving organization, and a time to share our talents.
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| Figure 1: Evan and Eric's Soccer Xtreme |
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Figure 2: IT Coordinator & Winner of Amazing Pass
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| Figure 3 Crowds Waiting to Play Airplane Toss |
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Figure 4 Rabbi Micah Trying to Complete The Maze
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| Figure 6 6th Gr LA Teacher Playing the Maze |
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| Figure 5 Middle School Counselor Winning Points at Rollie Pollie |
