Supporting the development of multimodal writing and computational thinking skills through computer game creation

This abstract describes design-based research on building tools that support the development of skills which will allow learners to become producers rather than simply consumers of computational tools. Game creation is an activity which has good potential for learning skills such as multimodal writing and computational thinking skills. Existing tools make the creation of commercial quality games possible, but fall short of fulfilling the potential for skills development. Learner-centred design of a suite of tools which will guide learners towards activities with potential for the desired skills development is underway. Current progress on the design and development of tools is reported and future activities are outlined.