New Senior Pathway Extension Class
At the Academy of Code, we are always looking to improve our offerings and our latest new offering is our Senior Pathway Extension class. We often encounter students who want to do more than one coding class a week and explore more of what computer science has to offer. The Pathway Extension classes are our solution for these students.
For the past few years, these classes have been a huge success among our Fresher and Junior age groups and we want to extend this great opportunity to our Senior students as well.
What will our Senior Pathway Extension class cover?
The Senior Pathway Extension class focuses on game development using the Godot game engine. Game engines are used by developers to build their games. Godot provides students with a powerful and versatile tool, fostering creativity and technical skills simultaneously. As an open-source game engine, Godot is known for its ease of use, making it an ideal choice for beginners while offering advanced features for experienced developers.
One of the standout features of Godot is its scripting language, GDScript, which is similar to Python. This similarity makes GDScript easy to learn for those already familiar with Python, such as students who have completed our Fresher and Junior Extension classes, while also being accessible to beginners.
Python is also the primary coding language of the Leaving Certificate Computer Science course and learning GDScript will be of benefit to any students considering completing this course in the years ahead.
Who are these classes suitable for?
These extension classes are suitable for brand new beginners and experienced coders alike. Beginners will get the opportunity to learn Godot alongside their core coding classes, while more advanced students will get the opportunity to really use their knowledge from the core coding classes to create exciting and creative games in Godot.
What material will you cover in our classes?
Students will begin these classes learning about the fundamentals of programming in Godot. This includes learning about Godot specific features like nodes and scenes and learning the fundamental concepts of programming such as variables and functions.
At the end of Unit 1 of the course students will work on creating their first simple game in Godot. This will bring together all of the concepts learned throughout the unit to create an interesting side scrolling game including choosing their own parallax backgrounds.
Side scrolling game
Then in Unit 2 students will learn about more game development techniques such as adding user interfaces, timers, and keyboard controls. This will allow students to create their own target shooter game at the end of the unit.
Target shooter game
Particle special effects
As students continue to advance through the units they will learn even more about how to create their own games in Godot and will cover topics such as player animations, lighting effects and particle special effects.
Platformer game
How will this class be tailored to each student?
As with all of our classes we tailor our courses to each student’s level. Students will mostly follow the structured lessons, but we also encourage students to take ownership of their learning. This allows students to explore the aspects of coding that they find most interesting. As always our friends and experienced tutors will be on hand to ensure that learning is both fun and effective.
When are our Pathway Extension classes?
The classes are 1 hour a week throughout the school term and there are three time slots available. You can see our full class calendar here.
Monday, 18:15-19:15
Thursday, 18:15-19:15
Saturday, 10:00-11:00
How to book our Pathway Extension classes?
You can learn more about all of our Pathway Extension classes and book your class here.
As always if you have any questions or queries please get in touch at info@olusedu.com
We look forward to you seeing you all in classes in September.