The story of The Three Little Pigs dates back to the 1890's. In Mr. Ryan Learn's 2nd grade class, these popular pigs are meeting their modern day match - the Bloxel Box.
A parody of the fable, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, came to life as students used Bloxel technology to design video games.
"Bloxel is a way to create and program video games using a tactile board," explained Lower School Technology Coach Christian Cloud. "It's a great way to engage even the youngest students in making their own video games."
"In our game, we are trying to get away from the enemy, the wolf!" explained Reilly.
"It's really cool getting the feeling of building characters," shared Mason.
"I decided to use Bloxels as a means of tech integration through literacy. Our young students cherish every opportunity they are given to complete a task using technology," explained Mr. Learn. "I know if I can tie in a technology component, I've hooked my class and created an engaging assignment. I try to expose students to as many different forms of learning as possible because every child is different and finding their niche is crucial to creating a culture that is centered around a love for learning."
Students design their game on a board with small, colorful squares and then take a photo on an iPad through the Bloxel platform which transforms the image into a video game.
"When it came time to use the Bloxels, each team created their plan of attack, divvied up the workload amongst their team, and created components that were beyond belief for a new second grader," said Mr. Learn.
"We are putting our ideas in our head onto the board. That is the best part," said Reeve.
"They have to jump on top of the enemy," said Avery. "Let's see if it works!"
"Students were given the task to complete a story map to identify the story elements, including character, setting, plot, problem, and solution," said Mr. Learn. "Throughout this book study, students also learned about point of view, perspective, and comparing similar texts. We did a lesson where we read the original 'The Three Little Pigs' and used a Venn diagram to show similarities and differences."
"I love creative things," said Lucy. "I am a big artist and scientist. Using the color of the cubes to make the characters is the art. The science is translating it to make a video."
"The purpose of tying in Bloxels was to provide a more interactive way of giving a retell and to further explain point of view and perspective. By creating a video game based off of the story, they are giving way more than a retell, they are creating and using their imaginations, which is critical at this age," shared Mr. Learn.
Students love using Bloxels," said Mr. Cloud. "It allows them to create something they love, video games, without having the prerequisite of coding."
"Our class was excited from the very beginning of this project," said Mr. Learn. "The excitement for Bloxels was awesome to see and something we will continue to use throughout the school year as a tool of understanding, creativity, and motivation across all curricular areas."