Coding, also known as computer programming, is a set of instructions for a computer to understand. The computer reads binary which is a system of 1's and 0's. Since this language is hard for humans to work with, we have created languages which translate the 1's and 0's. It is important to be very precise in any of these languages when coding since the languages humans have created to communicate with computers have symbols which contain the series of 1's and 0's the computer needs to be able to read. If one symbol is incorrect, the computer is unable to understand what you are attempting to say.
One of the languages the computer reads is called JavaScript, or ECMAScript. JavaScript is a language which allows you to become interactive with a webpage. I have created a game called "Witness" where you participate with the browser to be a part of the game. Below I have included images of the written code for "Witness" and the URL to play the game. To play the game, you will need to copy and paste the URL address into a new page on your web browser.
Seeing the written version of JavaScript and playing the game allows you to compare the complexity of the written language to the simplicity of the visuals that appear on your screen. The complex language you see on the screen is hardly complex compared to the binary language it becomes translated to. When students have the opportunity to understand the complex ways in which a computer works, they redefine their learning experience with technology. In a world filled with programming, it is amazing to see how each piece of information is translated and read by the computer, a nonliving thing, from living humans which will outlive their own lives.
http://witnessthegame.weebly.com/
