You may have noticed my blog posts getting fewer and farther between. I think this is where I’m supposed to apologize for being gone so long and promise that I’m back to craft write-ups again…but the truth is that my brain is so consumed by the opportunity to draw students into coding with MakeCode Arcade that I can’t think about writing anything else.

Here’s the deal.  I spent most of 2020 working on personal projects. I was reintroduced to Microsoft MakeCode as part of a Lego curriculum I did. Until that point, I had (wrongly) assumed it was only for PCs.  Let me tell you…I fell in love with it.

Not only did it work for Lego, it worked for micro:bit (my favorite inexpensive microcontroller) and they also had a non-hardware interface in the form of Arcade. I immediately adopted it as my own and started trying to figure out how I could create tutorials and guided experiences.

In September, I heard they planned to add educational offerings to Arcade, and by November, I was Director of Education for the MakeCode product.

The thing is, MakeCode isn’t conceited or secretive.  We love working with users to figure out the best route.  We care about how people *actually* use the product, not just how we *think* they’re going to use it.  Most of all, we care about the end-user.  What good is it to make a great classroom offering if students don’t appreciate the experience?

To that end, I want to host my own Blog Takeover! For the foreseeable future, I’ll be using this space to share the things I’ve learned about teaching coding through games.  I’ll post some challenges, ask for feedback, and share our progress.

We’re genuinely trying to make a difference. This is how I plan to amplify!

Liked it? Take a second to support vsAdmin on Patreon!