THE CODING

What is Coding?

Coding is an English term to which in Your Language corresponds “computer programming”, even if it is not a question of learning the typical writing of the computer language, but of proceeding with the resolution of a problem with a decomposition into minimum factors, providing a series of instructions.

For this reason, it would be better to talk about computational thinking, that is a particular approach to more or less complex problems and their solution. In short word, with coding you don't just learn to program, but you program to learn.

Since 2010s, European countries has proposed to replace (initially on an experimental basis) the lesson of computer science in Primary and Secondary school with the lesson of coding or robotics. Many kindergartens also spontaneously implement coding projects among young kids.

Coding is a language that allows you to "talk" with the computer, or with the robot. It is used to assign tasks and commands to them. Little programmers find themselves having to use logic to tackle problems through a playful approach.

These children are the first generation to be born and raised in a digital world and will need to acquire the digital skills necessary for their future, but are often left alone to navigate the side and negative effects of technology.

They must not run the risk of becoming passive users, but they must interact with the technological tools in a constructive, autonomous and critical way.

What are the positive effects of playing coding?

Playing to program you learn to use logic, to solve problems and to develop "computational thinking", a logical-creative process that allows you to break down a complex problem into different/simple parts, to tackle it more simply a piece at a time, so as to solve the problem. general problem.

But coding develops also creativity, because every problem can have different solutions, and it is a funny activity to try to identify them all, especially by playing in a group with other kids and learning to compare the different proposals/solutions.

5 EDUCATIONAL AND EVOLUTIONARY MODES

How is structured the evolutionary and educational path of the toy?

Adventure Airlines. My First Coding, within the Edu 4 You product line, is an educational and evolutionary game that guides the child on a journey of discovery of animals and countries of the world. At the same time this toy trains logical and cognitive skills, develops the concepts/notions of sequence and programming.

The educational path was developed and defined in collaboration with ANPE (Italian National Association of Pedagogists):

• At 2 years old, the child freely explores the continents and the animals that live in them (“Exploration mode”). The plane recognizes the place where it lands or the animal it visits every time it is placed on the playmat.

In this mode, the child becomes familiar with the spatial dimension of the playmat, the colors of each animal and continent, and learns to distinguish animals by their characteristic sound and continents by their typical music.

• At 3 years old, the child can play with the “Discovery” card (1 card in the whole deck for 15 different missions). Once the back/rear of the card has been scanned, the game asks the child a series of 15 questions for each scan of the card, divided into 5 series of 3 questions each. At the end of each series, the game asks the child if he/she wants to continue or stop: by pressing the "START" button, the game will propose a new series of 3 questions.

The "Discovery Missions" card asks the child to listen to the sound of an animal or the typical music of a continent, then to take off for the corresponding animal or continent. These missions improve the child's auditory abilities and memory: the game invites you to memorize and associate sound-animal and music-continent in the Exploration mode, then put it to the test in the "Discovery Missions" card.

• At 4 years old, the child can play with the “Detective” card (1 card in the whole deck for 15 different missions). As in the “Discovery Missions”, once the back of the card has been scanned, the game offers the child a series of 15 questions for each scan of the card, divided into 5 series of 3 questions each. At the end of each series, the game asks the child if he/she wants to continue or stop: by pressing the "START" button, the game will propose a new series of 3 questions.

The "Detective Missions" card asks questions of this type: find a specific animal or the continent where an animal lives or even questions about identifying more than one animal or continent that have characteristics in common (for example: "find 2 animals with tails" or "find a pink continent"). To reach a continent it is possible to land both on

continent itself, both on an animal that lives on that continent (for example: Tiger and Panda for Asia). In these missions, the child can exploit the full spatial knowledge of the playmat and the world reproduced above, having memorized both the location of the animals and continents, and the color / characteristic association with the corresponding animal / continent.

In case of difficulty, the game will propose clues in order to help the child to narrow the search field to a single continent.

• At age 5, the child can draw a “Voyage” card from the deck (15 different cards in the whole deck). Each card contains only one mission, so you need to scan a different card in case you want to tackle another "Voyage" mission.

The main objective of these types of cards is to teach the child the sequences of actions, that means respect for the rules in tackling a mission by following the order proposed by the game and the scanned card. The child is called upon to undertake a journey around the world, stopping in 3 well-defined stages which can be an animal or a continent (most of the cards show 2 animals and 1 continent). It is important, in order to succeed in the mission, to visit both the correct animals / continents and in the right order.

The child is in these missions aided by both the words of the airplane (which step by step remind you what the next action is), and by the illustration on the paper that clearly shows the sequence of actions to be carried out to successfully overcome the mission.

• At age 6, the child can draw a “Navigation” card from the deck (14 different cards in the whole deck). Each card contains only one mission, so it is necessary to scan a different card in case you want to tackle another "Navigation" mission.

In these missions you only play with animals. An animal somewhere in the world is hiding. However, he has left traces and it is possible to follow the traces to discover his hiding place.

After scanning a Mission Navigation card, flip the card over to locate:

1.       The animal to start the search from

2.       The path to follow, moving right / left / forward / backward

3.       At the end of the path you will reach the mysterious animal. In this way it will be possible to find out which animal is hiding behind the "???"

A clue: to reach the animal that is hiding, you NEVER pass over another animal, but only over other unoccupied spaces, whether they are sea or land/solid ground.

The child at this age knows very well the spatiality of the playmat, recognizes animals and continents, respects the rules and sequences of actions. In the “Navigation” missions, the child learns and puts into practice the new concepts of left and right through fun challenges in which he ventures in search of animals that hide.

MISSIONS AND ANSWERS

How can I switch/change missions while playing one?

It is possible to interrupt a mission at any time by pressing the Red or Green buttons on the airplane.

If you press the Red button, the game will ask you to choose a card, place it on its back to be scanned by the plane and thus start a mission.

If you press the Green button, the game will immediately enter "Exploration" mode, allowing you to travel freely, visiting animals and continents at will.

What happens if I visit all animals and continents in Exploration mode?

We don’t want to reveal every secret of the game, but we can tell you that in case you visit all the Animals and / or all the Continents in one game session, Cody will be very satisfied (he loves more than anything else to travel and fly far and wide!) and will reward you for unlocking a Game Achievement.

Challenge your youngest children (the Exploration mode is, in fact, designed for children of 2 years of age) to circumnavigate the world in less than 80 days, beating Phileas Fogg, the protagonist of the famous book "Around the world in 80 days "…

Why can't I interrupt the plane while he's talking?

Since it is an educational game with the aim of teaching the respect of rule and actions in sequence concepts, as well as the ability to listen and memorize, we have decided not to allow in the Mission Mode the possibility to interrupt the phrases of the plane with the actions . The answer to the question posed by the plane must be given when the latter finishes speaking.

Of course, if the answer is already known, the child can go to the corresponding animal or continent, so as to provide the answer immediately at the end of the question.

Only in Exploration mode is it possible to interrupt the phrases of the plane when it moves towards another landing point.

How can I only select missions from the same difficulty level or lower?

Just check the back of the cards. Each card has a number of stars, from 1 to 4. The greater the number of stars, the greater the difficulty and complexity of the mission. For example, if a child is already familiar with the mechanism of the Voyage mission cards (3 stars), then it is advisable to include the Discovery mission (1 star) and Detective mission (2 stars) cards in the deck.

Why are some answers in one mode correct, while in the next it is wrong?

Since the 5 game modes have been designed to offer an evolutionary educational path, which can support the growth of a child between 2 and 6 years old, the mode of interaction with the game changes, also from mode to mode.

• For example, in the Discovery and Detective modes it is sufficient to place the plane on the playmat to confirm an answer, while in the more advanced Voyage and Navigation modes it is required to press the "START" button to confirm an answer, since the requests in these last 2 modalities require more complex and precise answers.

• Another difference is between the Detective and Voyage modes: in the first (Detective), when the game asks to identify the continent where an animal lives, the child can either position the plane over the continent or over an animal that lives on that continent; in the second (Voyage), on the other hand, if it is required to reach a specific continent, the child will only be able to position the plane over that continent, while he will receive negative feedback if he scans the animals living on that continent.

What if my child has already completed all the missions?

First of all, congratulations! Adventure Airlines is a game full of content and missions (over 60), which requires the development of cognitive skills in order to completed all its challenges.

To keep playing and having fun with Cody, here are some tips:

1) Scan the Discovery and Detective cards multiple times to access new question sets (in total there are 3 sets of 15 questions each associated with both cards)

2) Try to shuffle all the cards within the deck, so as to add unpredictability to the missions and try to play with different sets of questions for difficulty and action to be taken

3) Select the Exploration mode and ask your child the questions. Be creative and imaginative, such as:

• "Find a red animal" (Fox)

• "Depart from South America, reach Oceania, passing through Europe before"

• "Which animal lives in the herd led by the oldest female?" (answer: Elephant)

• "On which continent do men travel by camels?" (answer: Africa)

•            And so on…

4) Turn off the game and ask the questions yourself, it's more difficult because there is no more sound or light feedback. But it can also prove to be an excellent opportunity for discussion, both on logical challenges and on animals and peoples living in the world.

For example, play the Navigation mode in many other different ways:

• You design routes for your child, from one animal to another, perhaps longer than 5 steps and which also pass through intermediate animals.

• Show your child a point A and a point B and ask him to find a path from one to the other. Use the arrow keys to check the correctness.

• Move from one animal to another with as few movements as possible. Count them out loud so you don't forget the number ...

• Take a large sheet of paper and draw a map of 7 boxes (Length) x 5 boxes. Each box is a square with a side of 15-20 cm. Invent new questions and new stories, which may intrigue your child. He/She will improve your logical and mathematical skills, without even noticing ...

COLOR RECOGNITION PROBLEMS OF PLAYMAT OR PAPERS

Why does the toy say the name of another animal or continent when scanning an animal or continent?

This toy is based on a color recognition technology, which associates each color of a card or element of the playmat, respectively, with a precise mission or a specific animal / continent. The sensor is located in the lower part of the plane, between the two front wheels.

If placing the sensor over an animal, the game returns a different name for that animal, it means that the sensor has detected a different color probably attributed to another animal.

When you want to scan an animal or a continent it is preferable to position the sensor (refer to the position of the front wheels to identify the correct position) in an area where the color is homogeneous and unique/solid, so as to avoid the overlapping of colors that can send in confusion the sensor.

For example, in the case of the Lion, it is suggested to place the sensor either in the orange area of ​​the mane or in the yellow body to always be recognized.

What does it mean when the game says "This is not the correct airport", "Please try another target", "Try another landing spot" or "We can't land here"? (please check sound file from p075 to P078 to get the exact tranlsation)

The game pronounces one of these four sentences in case of the color, scanned by the sensor placed under the plane, is not recognized. This situation is possible in 2 cases:

• You are playing with the plane outside the playmat or deck of cards included in the package: the sensor is designed to interact and recognize only a specific number of colors, which are exclusively the 31 colors on the back of the cards and all the colors of Animals and Continents (except White) on the playmat. It is therefore advisable to limit the interaction of the plane only to the playmat and the cards included in the package.

• You are playing on the playmat or trying to scan a card: in this case the sensor is placed in a position where 2 or more colors overlap. It is therefore advisable to move the aircraft to an area where there is only one color. Note: the white color is a "neutral" color and therefore is not recognized by the aircraft.

Why if they scan an animal or a continent does the game say nothing and don't recognize it?

If you turn On the game and place the plane over an animal, a continent or a card, but the game says nothing and does not activate the resulting feedback, you may fall into one of the following situations:

1) Make sure that the plane adheres well/is perfectly close to the playmat and there are no creases/folds. Spread the playmat well and avoid that any creases preventing the sensor from adhering completely to the playmat surface.

2) You have turned on the game, but in "Try Me" mode (“Try me” at the point of sale before purchasing). In this mode the game talks and interacts, but the color recognition sensor is disabled.

To change mode, turn the aircraft over and move the selector to the Left by 2 positions (I). When the switch is in the center position (0), the game is off.

3) The batteries are exhausted and need to be replaced. Remove the batteries, as indicated in the instruction manual, and replace them with new ones.

Why does a mission start even when I leave the airplane on the playmat?

Some colors recognized by the aircraft on the mission cards are identical at the color on playmat. It is therefore possible that, once a mission is finished and the plane remains stationary on the playmat, a new mission is automatically started.

The new mission started is random and therefore it is not possible to check either the type or the associated difficulty level. Therefore, playing in this way (starting the missions and challenges by randomly scanning the colors on the playmat) is recommended only for children who have already faced all 4 types of missions. It is also advisable not to tackle the "Navigation" missions without the aid of the card, because in these missions it is absolutely necessary to observe the card to understand the path to be taken to identify the mysterious animal.

Is the plane able to recognize even the 15 directional cards?

No, the Coding cards do not interact with the airplane's color recognition sensor. However, they are very useful for planning the route and coding the way to go before moving the plane, helping the child to learn the concepts of spatiality, sequentiality and right / left.

Why does the game not recognize this color when I place the plane on Greenland or on the elephant's hooves?

The white color present on the playmat in correspondence of Greenland (behind the Whale), of some elements in the oceans and of small details on animals, is not recognized by the plane.

Therefore, if positioned above the white color, the sensor will not interact as it cannot recognize that color.