In classrooms and homes around the UK, children are learning how to create simple computer games in a way that opens their eyes to the magic of the digital world. In one of the games they build, a shark chases a colourful fish. In another, monsters help teach times tables by dancing across the screen. And in a third, players help a witch find her bat after it flies away.
“The kids put these blocks [of code] together and then something happens – the shark moves, for instance. And their eyes light up,” says Kevin Garner, senior Digital Eagle at Barclays, which is behind the Code Playground sessions. “The best thing for me is when a kid gets it; it’s absolutely incredible.”
