Pictoblox coding – Basic of coding (teachers)

Yann KIDSHAKER 19 mars 2025

Session 1: Basics of Coding

Objectives

After this lesson, students will be able to:

Define, what a computer is, and give a few examples of what different places are computers used in our daily life?
Explain what a program is, with an analogy of doing a day-to-day task in a pre-defined sequence.
Describe, what exactly is coding in the context of computer science, and its applications.
Identify different sections of the PictoBlox as well as the palettes in it, and start their journey in coding.
Create a coding project within the PictoBlox environment, wherein they will create an animation of Tobi (a sprite) walking around.

Introduction

In this session, students will be introduced to the concept of coding. For this, first students will need to describe a task they do in day-to-day life, as if they are writing a program, i.e. break down a task in a sequence of steps from start to finish.

Students are then given an introduction to PictoBlox and different types of palettes available in PictoBlox. They are explained, what primary task each of the palette fulfills. Students are then taught, how they can put together those blocks in PictoBlox, in a particular sequence to write a program. Finally, they are given a step-by-step guide to make a ‘walking Tobi animation’ using the blocks in PictoBlox.

Activity

Create a project that displays an animation of Tobi walking around.

Teaching Resources

PicoBlox Code

Title	Description	File
Tobi Walking	The project demostrates the sprite Tobi walking along the left to right direction along the backdrop.	https://ai.thestempedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/session1_tobi-walking.sb3

Timeline

Title	Approximate Duration	Procedure	Reference Material
Introduction to Computers and Coding	5	Access and play the Basics of Coding Lecture Slide. What is a Computer? Give examples of different places or applications where computers are used. Explain what is a program?	Lecture Slide
Programming Analogy – Getting Dressed	5	Discuss on the sequence of steps to get dressed for school.	Lecture Slide
Introduction to Pictoblox	5	Introduce students with PictoBlox Platform and make students understand Sprite, Stage, and Blocks.	PictoBlox Software
Activity: Tobi Walk	20	Ask students to open the PictoBlox on the computer. Demonstrate the procedure given in the *Basics of Coding Activity Sheet* to the students. Ask the students to follow the instructions to create the project. At the end of the activity, the teacher must check if all the students have created the project and provide feedback accordingly.	Lecture Slide, PictoBlox File and Activity Sheet
Concluding the lecture	5	Make sure that all the students save their script properly before closing PictoBlox. Give a summary of the points covered in the lecture.	Lecture Slide

Things to Remember

Before Class

Make sure each PC has the latest version of PictoBlox installed and running.

During Class

If the students are unable to find a block, point them to the color of the block on the block palette.
Make sure they write the script by selecting the appropriate sprite.

After Class

Make sure students save their codes/scripts.
Make sure they shut down the PC/Laptops.