Saturday

Programming for kids - Play Lab

In this article we will learn about the sixteenth stage of the first Course in Code Studio of Code.org. This is called Play Lab - Create a story. This is a programming Course for kids in the age group (4-6). You can learn more about Code.org non-profit organization's initiative on their website.  

If you have already opened an account on this site, you can access this stage from the following link
 https://studio.code.org/s/course1/stage/16/puzzle/1

Please feel free to complete the earlier levels. I wrote about them in my Marathi and Hindi blog. I am writing in English from this stage only. I felt it would be unnecessary as the course itself was self explanatory. But just for the sake of my readers, I will be writing in English from now on.




We can see an image of a dog in the picture above. There is a code block in the middle. You need to drag the code block in the right panel below the orange Colored block 'When Run'. Click on the text box in the blue block and write "Hello World" in it. Now press the orange colored "Run"button in the left panel. You will now see "Hello World" text appearing in a bubble next to the dog.


This is the second level. We see a dog and a cat in it.And a code block in the mid panel. Take the blue code block to the right and place it below the orange block. Take one more copy of the blue block and place it below the previous block. Now click on the Dog's image, you will see a cat below it. Select the Cat. 

   

Click on the text boxes of each block and write something in it. If you press the Run button you will see the Dog and the Cat saying something in the bubbles. 


This is the third level. We need to take the Dog towards the Cat, that is to the right side. We will use the Right Arrow block. Drag a Right Arrow block in the right panel and place it below the Orange block. There is a Dog seen in the block. If you click on it you will see a Cat below it. You can select either the Dog or the Cat in it. And the command will be applied to whoever you select. For this level we will apply this command to the Dog. 

Now press the Run button. You will see the Dog moving towards the Cat. We have created our first animation sequence

This is the Forth level. We see only the Code blocks in it for better visibility. We need to take the Dog to the Right first. We see a new Green block. This is a Conditional Statement. It says when two objects meet then do something. These two objects are a cat and a dog. They can be anyone. Hence there is a drop down menu, from which you can select any two objects in your program.

You can add another command block below it. It will be executed if the two objects specified in the Green block meet. Here we will make the Cat say Hello. Drag the Blue box below the Green box and then select Cat in it and then type "Hello" in the text box.

If you press the Run button, the Dog will approach the Cat and when they are close to each other, the Cat will display "Hello" words. 
  


This is the Fifth level. We see an Octopus with closed eyes. We need to change it's mood. Select and drag the Blue block named "set mood" in the right panel. Place it below the Orange colored block. 
Press on the Smiley icon which will open more smiley images. Select a Happy smiley. Now if you press the Run button, the Octopus will change it's mood and will be seen smiling at us. 



This is the Sixth and the Final level in sixteenth stage. We saw how to use commands to move and to add text to images. There are more command blocks shown in this level. You can use them all and create an animation sequence of your own. 
  



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