Education Resources

Making computer games can be a powerful tool for teaching general computing skills and programming skills to children and adults. Many early stage schools begin by using Scratch to teach fundamental principles but then often find that students struggle with the step from the block-based environment to a full text language such a Python or Javascript.

Construct 3 neatly fills that void by providing a more sophisticated block-based event architecture alongside Javascript programming. Students can use one or the other, or even a combination of both, making Construct a tool for KS2 students all the way to KS5 and beyond into the world of the professional.

We are committed to providing freely available and useable teaching resources for our education users and are working to develop and extend this range in conjunction with those that know how to teach. These resources compliment the hundreds of tutorials available in multiple languages on our website, as well as the many example projects available on the Construct 3 Start Page. These resources are free to download and are licensed under creative commons.

2 Units: 13 Lesson Plans

We are delighted to offer this free starter curriculum aimed at teaching students the basics of Computer Science through the creation of video games using Construct 3. This course is intended for Middle School students, but could also well be taught to older students.

The following materials to teach an intro course are included:

• Lesson Plans - 13 lessons divided into 2 units
• Presentation Slides - for class lectures/discussions
• Student Worksheets - to reinforce the programming concepts
• CSTA Standards Alignment

All of these materials are available for use by you in any way you wish, either using them as is or modifying them to create your own customized course. Please note that we do not provide ongoing support for curricular materials, but any comments or suggestions you have will be welcome and may be addressed in future updates. Please direct any comments to education@construct.net.

These curricular materials are aligned to the CSTA standards and are intended for use by teachers who are reasonably confident at teaching programming. Hopefully these will make it easy for you to get started teaching with C3. As with any program of study, you will want to ensure that this curriculum sufficiently aligns with the relevant CS and/or CTE standards in your own state (US only).

If you are less confident about teaching Computer Science and Technology, or perhaps this is your first time ever teaching coding or game design, you can access a fully-supported curriculum called ‘GameIt!’ from our partner STEMFuse (www.stemfuse.com). GameIt! provides up to a full 2-year program of study, which qualifies for Perkins V funding.

We hope you will find our starter lesson plans useful and that you and your students will enjoy learning Computer Science with Construct 3!

This project was presented to teachers in the context of OCR’s iMedia course, to demonstrate how Construct 3 could be applied to various aspects of the OCR R092 Developing Digital Games unit.

By building the Bernie Crumbs video game using Construct 3, students learn a wide variety of the Design, Implementation and Progression skills demanded by the unit.

This folder includes the game at different stages of its production (Part-Baked games) so students can attempt to build it themselves and then compare it to see how they’ve managed.

Included in this zip file are:

• Step by step guide to build Bernie Crumbs
• Bernie Crumbs game file in various stages of completeness – Part-Baked games
• Presentation for teaching with C3
• Bernie Crumbs assets

This Digital Schoolhouse workshop uses both unplugged, and computer-based activities to teach programming and game building concepts, depending on the target age group (as mentioned in the included DSH teaching guide, younger users may be more comfortable with Scratch while the more advanced may want to skip the unplugged activities and try building the game in Unity.)

In this pack, we’ve included the Construct 3 specific resources, with which students can build their own C3 version of the game Starlink: Battle for Atlas. The game-building resource has been used successfully in classes from both KS3 and KS4.

Please note that while the concepts are suitable for teaching all ages, the game that the workshop is based on is rated PEGI 7, rated for ages seven and over.

Included in this zip file are:

• Programming concepts flowcharts
• Teaching guide for running the workshop
• Slide pack for Unplugged activities
• Slide pack for Construct 3 game making activities
• Starlink assets

This book has been written to be the go-to resource for beginners using Construct 3. It runs through how aspects of the editor work, from using events to picking which bars you want visible in the editor window. The book also contains the Beginner’s Guide to Construct 3 which explains how to make your first game in C3.

There are two ways to access the full features of Construct 3; one is to have a full license assigned to an account; the other is to be assigned a temporary access code – so you don’t need an account. This latter method was designed in order for students to be able to access all the features of Construct 3 without having to create an account with us – all in the interest of data security.

Assignment of licenses to student accounts or by Access Codes is generally managed by a lead teacher or account holder, and this tutorial acts as a step-by-step guide to using accounts, licenses and access codes with Construct 3.

For those looking for more advanced or extensive education materials……

Our partner, STEM Fuse (stemfuse.com) has created a number of 18 week GAME:IT courses for 9th to 12th grades (UK years 10 to 13) which teach design and programming skills as well as all aspects of the gaming, engineering and product design cycles. In doing so, these courses address US state and national CTE standards.