3.15 Creating videogames using computational thinking and a maker mindset

A makerspace is a physical location in a school, workplace or community that gives the public access to tools and equipment to help them develop maker mindsets.

In this video, the University of Sheffield’s Director of Maker{Futures} Education Alison Buxton, explains how makerspaces work and how the maker mindset can play a key part in helping children (and adults) develop their understanding of how games are made.

The maker cycle is a useful one for thinking about design, especially the word ‘iterate’ - videogames are regularly tested and then updated or debugged.

Have a look at these maker mindsets:

Which of these mindsets do you use most often? Are there any that you rarely use?

How do you think we can use videogames to create opportunities to develop maker mindsets?

Alison is the lead educator for a short course called Makerspaces for Creative Learning, also from the University of Sheffield.