FROM unicorns and fairies to zombies and aliens, the sky is the limit for local students who will create their own interactive worlds at three-day coding workshops during the school holidays.
Three different Code Camp programs catering for beginner, intermediate and advanced skill levels will be run at Ormiston College on April 8, 9 and 10 and at Sheldon College on April 16, 17 and 18.
The Spark program, run at both schools, is open to students aged between seven and 12, and sees students learning to build their own game which can be played on iOS, Android or online.
Code Camp's newest program, 3D World Builders, will be run at Sheldon College, and will see students developing an app using JavaScript, the programming language used by platforms including Facebook and Google.
Code Camp chief technology office Dan Zwolenski said program developers had aimed to make 3D World Builders as easy to use as possible while still maintaining important elements of JavaScript, so children could learn important coding skills to help them in the future.
Ormiston College will host the Augmented Reality Creators workshop, teaching students how to build an AR game using JavaScript.
Augmented reality projects computer-generated images onto real world objects and is used in Snapchat filters and in the mobile game Pokemon Go.
A Sheldon College spokesperson said coding helped students develop skills including creative thinking, problem-solving and teamwork.
"These are essential skills and capabilities that our students must possess as they will be designing and creating their future careers and their world where we live and work," the spokesperson said.
"Data trends and analysis of future workforce skills indicate that STEM based skills including computational thinking and coding are essential to prepare our students for the future world of work.
Code Camp's Hayley Markham said had seen increasing interest from girls wanting to learn how to code.
"Computer engineering is still a male-dominated industry with three out of five computer engineers being male," she said.
"However, we've seen an increase in the number of girls attending our camps, and they're coming up with some amazing ideas.
"I'm hoping by starting young we can help to shape the future of girls and coding."
Code Camp holiday programs
Ormiston College
- Spark Camp, for students aged 7 to 12, on April 8, 9 and 10
- Augmented Reality Creators, for students aged eight to 13, on April 8, 9 and 10
Sheldon College
- Spark Camp, for students aged 7 to 12, on April 16, 17 and 18
- 3D World Builders, for students aged eight to 13, on April 16, 17 and 18
Each program costs $349 for three days.
Programs will run from 9am to 3.30pm each day.
Tickets and more information at codecamp.com.au/
