I'm starting my first year teaching at a public high school, where I'll be teaching a course called "Concepts of Gaming." I'm looking for beginner-friendly programming tools, websites, and software that work well in a classroom, especially resources connected to game development. The students will have access to one-to-one iPads and a lab with eight gaming computers. I don't have a set curriculum yet, and computer science is a relatively new graduation requirement in my state, so any guidance on course structure or teaching resources would be especially helpful.
5 Answers
Since you’re building the curriculum yourself, look into teacher support programs such as TEALS and professional computer science teacher organizations. They can provide lesson plans, standards guidance, mentoring, and sometimes connections with working software developers. Having another experienced CS person to consult can make a huge difference during your first year, especially while you’re also teaching other subjects.
For a game-focused introductory course, I’d look at Godot, Scratch, Swift Playgrounds, Blender, and Flowlab. Scratch and Flowlab are approachable for students who are completely new to programming, while Godot gives more advanced students a path toward real game projects. Since you have only eight powerful computers, you may want to plan collaborative projects and rotate groups through the lab. Don’t focus only on programming—explore what makes a game enjoyable, including art, mechanics, player feedback, and gameplay loops.
Scratch is genuinely useful as an introduction, not just a toy. Block-based programming can help students understand events, objects, and concurrent behaviors before they have to deal with syntax. After that, Python with Pygame is a manageable way to let students create simple games without requiring a full game engine. It should work well for small projects once students understand variables, conditionals, loops, functions, and basic object-oriented ideas.
MDN’s learning materials are excellent for teaching foundational web development and JavaScript. Even if the course is centered on games, browser-based projects can be practical because students can work on them from different devices without complicated installations. You could use JavaScript and a canvas library for simple 2D games, then reserve the gaming computers for projects that need more demanding software.
Make sure you confirm what software the school will allow you to install and configure. Tools that run in a browser or on iPads may be easier to manage, but the eight gaming computers could support Godot, Blender, or other desktop tools if the district gives you administrator access. I’d start with small, finishable projects rather than expecting students to build a full game right away.
Thanks, I’ll definitely investigate those options. I wasn’t given a curriculum, and there are very few standards because computer science is only now becoming a graduation requirement here. I’m also teaching two history courses, so any planning support would be extremely helpful.