Win 1 of 3 book bundles including the latest Dummies Junior guides for the Digital Generation

Competitions

Published on Sunday, 24 April 2016 11:05

Last Updated on 21 April 2016

Monica Costa

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dummies have recently announce three new titles in its Dummies Junior series which offer a fun and easy introduction to skills and subjects for the digital generation. London Mums are offering three book bundles in a unique competition.

Targeting readers aged seven to eleven, each title combines the hallmarks of the dummies series – simple steps and friendly approach – with vivid, full colour designs and short page counts to appeal to and educate the younger audience.

Every prize bundle will include one of each of these titles:

Getting Started with Coding: Get Creative with Code!
by Camille McCue
Published by For Dummies, A Wiley Brand, £8.99

With current initiatives such as the BBC micro:bit encouraging children to develop programming skills, Getting Started with Coding is an ideal first step to introduce children to simple coding concepts. Over the course of three easy-to-follow projects, young readers can create a computer game, simulation and design tool. Using the MicroWorlds EX tool, a platform designed specifically to teach coding to young students, the projects include:

• Art toy – a project that teaches how to create graphics and apply code to make the graphics into things
• Traffic Dodge – a game based on the arcade classic ‘Frogger’ that teaches how to make things that respond to motion and collision commands
• Happy Birthday – a simulation that introduces score-keeping and maths into coding
  

Readers can also benefit from a 35-day trial of the MicroWorlds EX tool software which is provided with the book via download.

Camille McCue is an award-winning classroom teacher whose focus on STEM topics has led her to a variety of roles. She’s taught coding in the classroom, coached science fair teams, and mentored students through college prep courses. She authored the bestselling Coding For Kids (For Dummies) in 2014.

 

Modding Minecraft: Build Your Own Minecraft Mods!
by Sarah Guthals PhD, Stephen Foster, PhD and Lindsey Handley, PhD
Published by For Dummies, A Wiley Brand, £8.99

According to its official website, more than 23 million people have bought the PC/Mac version of Minecraft to date. Modding Minecraft provides an ideal entry point for students needing basic exposure to coding while participating in a game that’s popular around the globe. It walks young readers through three basic game modification projects that outline how to create games and worlds in Minecraft. The projects introduce readers to core coding concepts while keeping tasks simple and easy to follow. Using LearnToMod, a platform designed specifically to teach young students how to modify Minecraft, projects include:

• Create a Spleef Game – get started with a single-player, single-level game
• Build a Monster Arena – moves readers on to multi-level game playing
• Capture That Flag – finish with a multi-level, multi-player game based on the classic Capture the Flag game
  

A 60-day trial download of LearnToMod is provided with the book.

Sarah Guthals, Ph.D. has dedicated her life to coding education. She is the co-founder of ThoughtSTEM. She has over 10 years of experience with computer science curriculum design.
Stephen Foster, Ph.D. has been researching game-based coding education for over 10 years. He is the CEO of ThoughtSTEM, a company that teaches computer science to kids.
Lindsey Handley, Ph.D. has hundreds of hours of experience as a classroom instructor for Minecraft-based science and computer science classes. She is COO and co-founder of ThoughtSTEM.

 

Making You Tube Videos: Star in Your Own Video!
by Nick Willoughby
Published by For Dummies, A Wiley Brand, £8.99

There’s no doubt that a huge amount of people around the world use YouTube every day. Its website  states that it has over a billion users and that the number of hours people spend watching videos on YouTube has increased by 60 per cent year on year. Using simple and fun projects, Making YouTube Videos introduces young people to the skills required to shoot, edit and share video on the channel. It provides an ideal entry point for students needing basic exposure to the technology behind making and sharing video without the requirement to invest a lot of time or money into the effort. Author Nick Willoughby takes the reader step-by-step from initial idea to sharing on the channel, covering:

• Shooting a video – using a camera as simple as one built in a phone, how to shoot video using tested techniques for framing, lighting and sound recording
• Editing the video – how to use free and inexpensive software and make simple edits like cutting out scenes, adding to a timeline, adding transitions and building in special effects
• Posting to YouTube – the basics of creating a channel, uploading video, setting privacy and talking to your audience
  

All three titles are available as books and e-books.

Nick Willoughby heads Filmmaking For Kids and Film Future, a pair of programmes designed to teach the various aspects of filmmaking to kids as young as seven. The programme operates one-day to ten-week courses and has produced films that have been shared in global film festivals. He is author of Digital Filmmaking For Kids (For Dummies).

 

To win one of these amazing Dummies Junior book bundles, write the title of your favourite Dummies Junior book and the reason why in the competition form below this post. Deadline to enter is midnight 20th May 2016.