In one and a half years of launch, it has gained nearly 1,10 students
"Some aliens from the alien planet are coming to attack the Spark Planet, and the three small ones of the Cube Monkey, the Triangle Diagram, and the round round mouse are just the embodiment of justice, and they are determined to defend the Spark Planet and start their adventure." This is the plot synopsis of Spark Programming, and the children also started a learning journey with the three children. Spark Programming is mainly aimed at children aged 7-12, launched in July 2021, and its teaching philosophy, art, curriculum and teaching and research have the imprint of Spark Thinking, such as the IP image design, fun, and immersive learning experience of the three little ones are the accumulation of Spark Thinking's experience.
Can Spark Thinking provide more quality education products for children? In 2020, based on the needs of users, spark thinking began to explore diversification, and programming became one of the directions of expansion, because behind programming and thinking is to cultivate children's thinking ability. "It should be done to teach children to code, which is now in demand", "It should be made more fun, not just to learn to code"... Behind these two views is the teaching concept, which is very different and will directly affect product design, and after many rounds of internal discussions, the teaching concept of "cultivating children's programming thinking ability in fun courses" was finally determined.
In view of the unique attributes of programming "one learning and nine exercises", Spark Programming has made a matching design. For example, the "Al + real human interaction" teaching mode is adopted, and the mode of breaking through the level is adopted to allow children to practice at high frequency; Use fun animations to introduce situations to build an immersive learning experience, and each lesson is equipped with mind maps and flowcharts to cultivate children's programming thinking; At the same time, it is equipped with exclusive teacher tutoring and Q&A, and teachers and children can interact in both directions. Such courses have been recognized by many families, and the number of students in Spark Programming has exceeded 1,2022 in half a year. At the end of 1, one and a half years after Spark Programming was launched, there were nearly 10,<> students. Today, Spark Programming is a separate division and the second largest student program at Spark Thinking.
Peng Cheng, head of the Spark Programming Division, said: "AI is indeed a development trend, our original intention to teach children programming is not to say that children must become programmers when they grow up, the core is to cultivate children's programming thinking, that is, cultivate children's dialectical thinking, exercise his thinking model, thinking ability." This requires children to learn to break down the problem, then string it together with reasonable logic, and finally achieve the purpose of solving the problem. "The teaching concept of Spark Programming to cultivate programming thinking is integrated in its products, and Peng Cheng elaborated on the design principles behind the products and his thinking on children's programming education.
Course philosophy
Why adopt the teaching mode of "AI interaction + real teacher Q&A"?
Spark programming does not adopt the form of online live small class classes, but adopts the teaching mode of "Al + real human interaction". What mode is best used to learn programming? This is an important element of Spark programming considerations. Peng Cheng explained that the programming subject is relatively special, and there is a great emphasis on practice, called "one learning and nine exercises". For example, it will teach the use of code blocks, the structure of the program, etc., these knowledge is easy to say, it is more difficult for children to apply, and it is necessary to put children in the environment of solving practical problems. At the same time, the "practice" must be timely. If the course has always been taught by the teacher, and the child has finished learning and practiced, it may still be difficult to master.
Based on the nature of programming that emphasizes "practice", if the format of live classes is adopted, the teacher needs to balance the progress of each student, and the frequency of practice in class is low. For example, the number of practice times after a large live class is about 4~6 times, with an average of 5 times. The AI interactive course has a course of about 40 minutes, and the practice can reach 10 times, which matches the "one learning and nine practice" characteristics of programming education. This is an important reason why Spark Programming adopts the AI interactive lesson model. The course of spark programming is introduced by the drama cartoon, which will integrate some popular science and programming problems into it; Then there will be a teaching video to explain the relevant knowledge points, and the next step is to break the level, and the child will take it to do the questions to clear the level. Animations, instructional videos, level-breaks, and so on. Children can understand programming knowledge and improve programming thinking in the cycle of "learning-practice".
Spark programming is that each knowledge point will be accompanied by a corresponding exercise, such as some multiple-choice questions, fill-in-the-blank questions, etc., and the partial application problem is to let the child write code to break the level. In the environment of breaking through, the first test is the child's understanding of knowledge; Second, it can be quickly applied; Third, we must have the ability to analyze problems.
Practice interface
In the practice topics, Spark Programming also added pinyin and phonetic reading, pinyin allows young children to read the questions by themselves, or directly click on the voice to play the questions automatically. This allows the child to understand the meaning quickly. Children's programming has been developed for more than 10 years, and the penetration rate is still less than 10%, and teachers are a big challenge. In the form of AI courses, the problem of teacher supply can be solved. At the same time, Spark Programming also places great emphasis on having a real teacher to tutor and answer questions. Because each child encounters different problems, and the stuck place is different. In Spark Programming, teachers and children can connect in real time and interact in both directions.
In the interactive area on the left, students and teachers can interact in both directions
When children encounter problems they don't understand in the Spark Programming class, they can send text, or voice, video, or even code to the teacher in the lower left corner of the APP, and the teacher will reply immediately. If the teacher finds that the child is experiencing problems, they can also take the initiative to ask the child. In the background of spark programming, the teacher can see the progress of each child's class, if the child stays too long, there will be a red dot prompt, the teacher will know that the child has hit a stuck, the teacher can give them some tips without interfering with the child.
Two-way interaction requires teachers to be online in real time, and Spark Programming has a scheduling system. Tuesday and Wednesday are teachers' rest days, children can attend classes on Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday within the specified time, teachers will be online, and at the same time, a teacher can tutor no more than 20 children. At the same time, since each child's class time may be different, teachers can stagger the peak. Spark programming classes are flexible, and you can choose one lesson a week or two lessons a week. Teachers' schedules need to match, and the quality of service is exactly the same. Through AI interaction + breakthrough + tutor Q&A, the entire learning process of Spark Programming is smooth, and many children can complete the course independently.
How do you build fun and immersive learning experiences?
Good educational products will be designed around the links of "learning, practice, assessment, and evaluation", and in addition to these links, the big logic is to set up courses with the learning steps of "understanding-learning-deepening understanding-application". The course of spark programming is divided into P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, of which P1 and P2 are graphical programming (Scratch), suitable for 7-8 years old children; P3, P4, and P5 are code-based programming (Python), suitable for children aged 8 to 12. The animated plot of spark programming itself can stimulate children's interest, teaching videos are mainly to let children learn knowledge points, the level is to practice in time, and practice immediately after learning.
In the course of the link setting, spark programming is mainly "learning-practice" continuous cycle and continuous strengthening. After class, Spark Programming also has online practice questions of "Spark Cheats", which children can do every time they finish a lesson to consolidate their knowledge. In terms of "testing", Spark Programming has a "carnival", children can enter the carnival every unit they learn, many children can answer questions together PK, and there will be children's points and rankings at the end of the activity. "Evaluation" is reflected in two aspects, on the one hand, the teacher will give corresponding feedback and guidance on the child's performance in "Spark Cheats" and "Carnival"; On the other hand, Spark Programming will have regular return visits, and the teacher will give the child relevant learning advice.
Course interface
Spark programming also has a special part - free creation. "The core of free creation is to improve the thinking ability and enhance children's creativity." Peng Cheng said.
Freedom to author templates
After children learn programming tools, they can go and create some works. Spark Programming gives more than 30 kinds of templates, including mini games, mini programs, etc., as well as blank templates. Children can further upgrade or develop according to the template, change it to what he wants, or they can imagine completely freely and create a work. Peng Cheng said: "80% of the children will enter the freelance creation module to do their own works after the course. "Learning itself is a painful thing, and how to stimulate students' interest is key.
Practice interface
At Spark Programming, the entire learning experience is immersive. Many online children's programming is basically the classic layout and visual design of Scratch, that is, the coding area is separated from the animation area and the courseware area, which will make the teaching area and planning area relatively small. The spark programming is that the entire animation and the video are integrated, full-screen style, the code is superimposed on the video, using a transparent design, like the code is suspended on the screen. Children can see the whole picture while writing code. This design is more high-tech and more beautiful, which promotes children's interest in learning.
In each tutorial video of Spark Programming, there are mind maps and flowcharts. Most children's programming almost directly teaches code modules, while Spark programming applies thinking tools in teaching, using flowcharts and mind maps to break down problems, help children find steps and methods to solve problems, and visualize the thinking process.
Mind mapping is an efficient tool for structured thinking, which can help children clarify their thoughts and reshape a more orderly knowledge system. When reviewing content and explaining new content, Spark Programming uses a lot of mind maps to plan projects.
Mind maps take problems apart
The flowchart presents the steps of the algorithm concretely, it is an excellent way to think, in the course of the class, Spark programming sets the flowchart to analyze the program, break down the problem step by step, and help the child clarify his thinking.
flow chart
Many parents mentioned that many children also applied flowcharts and mind maps to real life after learning spark programming. In addition, the Spark programming animation plot is serial, guiding children to continue learning lesson by lesson. However, its proportion of cartoons is low, and its main role is to arouse children's interest and bring them into the environment. There are about three sections of cartoons in a class, and about 7~10 sections in teaching videos and breakthroughs. As the age increases, the link of the cartoon will also be weakened, and for older children, more emphasis is placed on the explanation of knowledge points. Spark Programming also designed a number of incentives to motivate students to complete the course. The most basic thing is that the teacher will remind parents of the child's class time before class, in addition, more on the product side to set up the function that suits the child's learning psychology. In the classroom, every successful breakthrough will be rewarded with little stars, spark programming has a star mall, enough little stars can be exchanged for physical gifts in the mall.
Spark programming also has a "puzzle" module, children will get a puzzle piece after each lesson, a total of more than 20 pieces, if the child does not fall in a class, can put together the whole picture. Before the puzzle is completed, the child will look forward to "What is the pattern of this puzzle?" ", curious. This is an online puzzle, after the child completes the puzzle, Spark Programming will regularly give the child some physical prizes, so that the child has a sense of accomplishment. Peng Cheng revealed: "We also plan to launch a new feature called "Blind Box", which is not yet online, the design idea is that for example, children learn spark cheats for a few minutes every day, and 3 blind boxes will pop up, and children can choose one of them." In the blind box are some scientific image dolls, but what exactly is it, the answer can only be revealed after clicking on it. In the future, physical things will also be sent. It can be said that "puzzles" help improve children's completion rate, while "blind boxes" can enhance children's learning stickiness. Peng Cheng said: "Through a more interesting incentive mechanism, children can consolidate the knowledge they have learned and form good learning habits. "Spark programming is to unlock one lesson a week, and there are children who apply to unlock two lessons a week. Peng Cheng introduced: "The completion rate of one class a week and two lessons a week for Spark programming users is consistent, and the completion rate of the course is 98%. ”
Curriculum diagram
It is worth noting that school is one of the important positions for learning children's programming. For the school side, Spark Programming mainly affects students in the school through the National Primary and Secondary School Information Technology Innovation and Practice Competition (NOC Competition), and on February 2022, 2, the two parties reached a strategic cooperation. Peng Cheng said: "Spark programming has an open mind, and the future does not rule out entering the after-class three-thirty. "In any case, what we pay the most attention to in development is to do high-quality courses, so that children can feel the value of teaching in the process of learning to code and have a good learning experience." Peng Cheng said.