The concept of this game is really quite simple. You control a large robotic claw, which you use to pick up crates and place them in a specific place and order. That’s it! What a great and easy way to introduce coding concepts. And that’s what I love about this app; its’ simplicity, well at least in the beginning.
Coding Concepts
What else do I like? Well, I like that coding concepts are gradually introduced over time, such as repeat, loops, and if statements; disguised as only picking up a crate if it is a particular color. After you solve a puzzle you will be awarded 1,2 or 3 stars depending on your efficiency with coding, for example, use fewer blocks to get the most stars. This has students coming back again and again, in pursuit of getting 3 stars – which in my opinion is a great opportunity for reflection.
Learning Curve
There is one thing to be developed here – the learning curve. At first, it’s all rosy, the challenges are straightforward with new functions/buttons introduced as you progress through the levels, then BOOM – suddenly puzzles become quite difficult. The claw gets a coding superiority complex and throws some pretty tough tasks for you to solve. This proved particularly frustrating for most of my students, but then again that’s coding; it’s frustrating. Perhaps it is an opportunity for them to grow some resilience and adaptability…
Summary
It’s a useful app for 2-3 lessons, for grades 4/5, before going into something with a lot more depth like Scratch. To bypass the frustrations mentioned above I made some queue cards with parts of the coding solution removed, thus making the problems a little more solvable. This app is a worthy addition to the growing arsenal of apps to introduce programming to your students.
- Title: Cargo Bot
- For: Coding
- Ages: 8-12
- Cost: Free
- Release Date: 2012