Skip to content
New issue

Have a question about this project? Sign up for a free GitHub account to open an issue and contact its maintainers and the community.

Sign up for GitHub

By clicking “Sign up for GitHub”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy statement. We’ll occasionally send you account related emails.

Already on GitHub? Sign in to your account

Jump to bottom

Create beginner-skillmap.md #8025

Draft
wants to merge 2 commits into
base: master
Choose a base branch
from
Draft

Create beginner-skillmap.md #8025

Changes from all commits
Commits
Show all changes
2 commits
Select commit Hold shift + click to select a range
adf4b68
Create beginner-skillmap.md
kiki-lee Mar 29, 2021
d4ed248
Update beginner-skillmap.md (#8027)
kiki-lee Mar 30, 2021
File filter

Filter by extension

Filter by extension
Conversations
Failed to load comments.
Jump to
Jump to file
Failed to load files.
Diff view
Diff view
24 changes: 24 additions & 0 deletions docs/blog/arcade/beginner-skillmap.md
View file
Open in desktop
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
# Beginner Skillmap Sneak Peek


Next month, Microsoft MakeCode will release a sneak peek of our newest adventure, the Arcade Beginner Skillmap!

![image](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/1633958/112923392-10cfac00-90c3-11eb-9a51-9e274d8f04db.png)


### The Motivation Behind Skillmap

The MakeCode Arcade Beginner Skillmap was designed to help address the rise of students learning at home, and improve the current inequities found globally today in computer science education. This lack of diversity stems, in part, from the belief that programming is too hard or too boring. The Beginner Skillmap is designed to provide a simple drag-and-drop interface that engages students through an exciting and purposeful first set of coding experiences.

Designed using research-based pedagogical strategies, the Skillmap is an easy-to-follow pathway that introduces computer science concepts and game development without the need for instructor intervention. Students who progress through Skillmap tutorials will learn coding fundamentals (such as loops, variables, and conditionals) and game development skills (like design, storytelling, rules, and end conditions) as they create retro-style arcade games. Even better, all of this has been created to speak directly to the interests and goals of the student to ensure that they’re learning skills that matter to them.

The Skillmap combines elements of gamification with traditional learning path progressions to engage and guide students who are new to coding. At each stage of the Skillmap, there are animated GIFs that provide previews of the activities ahead.

![image](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/1633958/112923119-82f3c100-90c2-11eb-8c57-31e78c87f01a.png)

It also features celebrations at each path’s end, including certificates and confetti, as a reward for a job well done. Future versions will incorporate additional gamification elements to incentivize persistence and pushing beyond comfortable limits. All Skillmaps will center around the creation of fun, engaging arcade gaming experiences that students love coding (or creating), playing, and sharing with their friends and family.


### Try It Today

To preview Beginner Skillmap, visit aka.ms/skillmap.