Teaching Program Resources
Interactive Application "Kodi's Missions"
Who is the algorithmics course intended for?
The coding and algorithmics course is dedicated to students from the fourth grade of primary school. It can be used in various educational activities, especially those dedicated to programming and solving algorithmic problems.
What goals does it achieve?
This is an advanced algorithmics and coding course that introduces programming issues, develops and perfects the skills of constructing complex algorithms in the field of:
- navigating with one, two or three heroes sequentially or concurrently,
- debugging code,
- applying collect and use actions, loop actions, conditional actions,
- applying conditions: if, if-then, if-if not, single and nested conditions, loop conditions,
- using iterative loops, conditional loops, nested loops,
- defining and using variables, with positive and negative values, in a loop, in a function,
- performing arithmetic operations on variables: addition and subtraction, multiplication and division,
- defining and using functions: main, auxiliary, nested, with a loop, with parameters,
- handling events, determining and changing object states.
What does it contain?
Kodi's Missions is a three-part programming course in the form of an interactive game consisting of a total of 422 levels - boards:
- Course I - 130 boards
- Course II - 140 boards
- Course III - 152 boards
The division of courses into three parts reflects the varied degree of difficulty of the courses in terms of applied algorithmic constructions, the number of heroes on the board, and sequential or concurrent programming techniques. In addition, the boards in each course represented by Levels are characterized by an increase in the degree of difficulty with each subsequent board. Raising the degree of difficulty may mean: a more complicated layout of the board, introducing a new programming technique, an additional hero, an event, or all these elements at once.
Active support for child development
Working with the Kodi's Missions application can shape:
- visual perception;
- development of spatial orientation;
- visual-motor coordination;
- ability to concentrate attention;
- ability to classify objects;
- ability to create command sequences controlling one or several objects;
- ability to use programming constructions such as: sequences, iterative loops, conditions, conditional loops, functions, variables, event handling, nested constructions;
- ability to program concurrently;
- ability to solve algorithmic problems;
- ability to work in a group.
Programming language in the application
Programming Kodi is done using a visual language, based on virtual blocks with graphic symbols, which are arranged on the interactive floor - the selected board - into the program code using an interactive pen.
The programming language - syntax and semantics - is described in detail in the document:
Kodi's Missions - Description of the programming language. In the Figure Task: Course III, Level 6, an example of the appearance of an instruction sequence in the Kodi's Missions application is presented. Fig. Task: Course III, Level 6 - Board 276
In the above figure, there are two code sequences - one for Kodi, the other for the wizard. The task concerns concurrent programming with the new concept of Events
Application user guide
Information related to the operation of the Kodi's Missions application and creating code can be found in the user guide: Kodi's Missions - User Guide.
Lesson scenarios
Example lesson scenarios and work with the application are described in the document:
Kodi's Missions - Lesson Scenarios.
Descriptions of individual levels (boards) are presented in the document: Kodi's Missions - Instructions and descriptions of boards.
