Community Challenges
General Information
| Age group | For everyone |
|---|---|
| Prerequisites | Basic computer skills. Otherwise no foreknowledge for 1 Star and a lot of foreknowledge for 4 Star challenges. |
| Materials | Interactive challenges |
Setup
The goal is to gain insight into logic, automation, robotics and how a large problem can be solved by breaking it up into smaller pieces which can be solved more easily. These are main components of Computational Thinking which is an important skill students should have in order to be prepared for their future.
A challenge consists of a map and (short) description of the challenge. Possibly images and/or references to other sources are added to clarify the assignment. Within a course the challenges usually get more difficult as you get further.
Hints are defined with the challenges. These are selectively shown depending on the error and are meant to help students improve their program. In addition challenges are automatically checked for success.
Help is available at the bottom of the page. Here all the possible commands are summarized and some example usages are shown.
Content
We have made a preliminary ordering of the challenges according to the difficulty level and amount of foreknowledge assumed. This grouping can possibly change in the future. For instance when more difficulty levels become available. Below you find a listing of the criteria currently used to order the challenges.
| Part | Content |
|---|---|
| One Star | Mainly simple sequencing exercises. Learn to think in the reference system of the robot (what does 'right' mean to Robo?). Otherwise learn some of what the robot can do (instructions). |
| Two Star | Simple repeat loops and conditions. Conditional branching. Simple begin and end conditions. Solution strategies for simple automation problems. |
| Three Star | More complex repeat loops and multiple conditions. More difficult start and end conditions. Solution strategies for more difficult automation problems (modeling). Usage of procedures (abstraction, encapsulation) |
| Four Star | Difficult start and end conditions. Compulsory use of procedures. Recursive solutions. Analyses and selection of different solution strategies (efficiency, speed, ...). |
For you, by you!
Do you have an interesting/fun/difficult/... challenge that you would like to share with others? Please let us know and we add it to the 'Community Challenges'. Always with the proper reference to the contributor(s), of course!
Except where noted, all rights reserved.