Pocket Game Jams: a Constructionist Approach at Schools

Abstract: The constructionist approach is more interested in constructing personal experience than about acquiring information. It states that learning is most effective when building knowledge through active engagement. Experiential and discovery learning by challenges inspire creativity, and projects allow independent thinking and new ways of learning information. This paper describes how the "No One Left Behind" (NOLB) project plans to integrate this approach into school curricula using two concepts. The first one is to enable students to create their own games with Pocket Code by using its easy-to-learn visual programming language. The second concept is to foster collaboration and teamwork through hands-on sessions by conducting Game Jams using Pocket Code, so called Pocket Game Jams. We present insights into such a Pocket Game Jam and give an outlook on how we will use this concept.