Computer Programming: What Can Student Clubs Achieve as Outcomes?

Published on Jun 26, 2019

First started in October of last year, the piloting project of the Computer Programming program at NGS schools is now entering the phase of producing tangible outcomes based on what the students have learned. Students are actively engaged in working on various projects. They form groups of four or five people to collaborate on ideas and projects that they are passionate about.

There are a total of 12 student clubs across the four NGS schools. Hun Sen Kampong Cham has four student clubs, Preah Sisowath has one student club, Prek Anjanh High School has four student clubs, and Prek Leap High School has three student clubs. The project ideas from these clubs span various areas such as game development, mobile apps, website creation, and robotics. These projects will be ongoing over the next few months leading up to the Parent Night Show, which is scheduled to take place on various dates between June 20 and early July.

Parent Night Show is an event organized with the purpose of providing a platform for NGS students to showcase and display their project work to their teachers and parents.

The existing interest of students in computer programming courses, coupled with the excitement about the upcoming show, has motivated the students to work tirelessly on their projects to ensure they have a product to display to the audience.

Before diving into the coding process, students are given time to brainstorm ideas and create a draft or design of their games or apps. They receive guidance and mentoring from our developers at InSTEDD. They have come up with numerous interesting ideas that have impressed both their teachers and mentors. One particular project, titled 'Jumping on the Road' by a seventh-grade team at Prek Anhjanh, serves as an excellent example of the intriguing nature of these projects.

"Jumping on the Road" is a game that shares a similar concept with a popular game from the 90s called Mario. However, the key distinction is that Mario was created by experienced adults with years of computer programming expertise, whereas "Jumping on the Road" is developed by kids aged 13 or 14 years old.

Creating a game may sound simple, but in reality, each step of the process presents its own set of challenges that students must overcome.

During the first visit of the mentor in early April, Kim Lita, a team member of 'Jumping on the Road,' mentioned that her team was facing difficulties in adding screens and designing the background of the game. Lita also mentioned that she had tried exploring solutions on her own several times, but they did not work.

Now that they have reached the actual coding stage, the challenges have multiplied. Recognizing the ongoing issues faced by the students, mentors from InSTEDD are dedicating their time during weekends, even during their holidays, to visit and assist their mentees. Meanwhile, the students are ramping up their hard work, effort, and commitment towards their projects. Lita stated, "We have presented our problem to our mentor, and she provided us with some clearer insights that we believe will allow us to continue. However, we are aware that there may be other challenges ahead."

Stay tuned for the upcoming results of their projects as well as the Parent Night Show!