Unity 4 Teens (ages 13-16)

Course Information

Unity 4 Teens is a computer coding and game design workshop for children aged 13-16, during which they will complete a number of video game coding and level design projects using the professionally-capable Unity games engine and the MonoDevelop scripting tool. Attendees will learn the basics of coding in the C# language, as well as how to operate the Unity engine to produce polished, fully-realised games. Additionally, once attendees progress past the fundamentals, they will be able to attempt more advanced game design challenges, incorporating asset-store components and building out more expansive game levels.

Attendees of all abilities are welcome, from beginners (who have never written a line of code) all the way through to experienced coders. Those who have attended this workshop in the past can attend again if they enjoyed it the last time; we tailor the coding challenges to build upon topics covered in previous workshops (please indicate previous attendance/experience in booking notes).

This is an all-inclusive workshop, with Spark4Kids providing all the course material and tuition.

Activities

On this workshop, the attendees will learn the basics of C#/Unity games development, creating a number of computer game from scratch, and covering the following topics as they progress through the workshop:

• Game Components
• Renderers, Materials, Colliders
• C# Scripting
• Modelling Game Objects
• Unity UI & keyboard short-cuts
• Applying asset-store components
• Multi-Level/expansive game design
• Basic GCSE coding (looping, selection, iteration)
• …And much more

At the end of the workshop, attendees will be able to show off their games to friends and family. All attendees will also be provided with an online account and personal coding environment, where they will be able to continue computer coding in their own time.

The workshop is designed to keep the kids engaged during the sessions, and while the focus is on creating a fun and supportive environment in which children learn about various aspects of technology and coding, there will be sufficient breaks to ensure that the children spend some time away from the computer.

Online Workshops

Our online courses have LIVE! tutors running the sessions, and we offer training on using our online classroom to attendees prior to starting the course, as well as during the course.

Course are available (London/UK time):

• Online Mornings (Typing): 09:30am – 11:30am
• Online Mornings (Coding): 09:30am – 12:30pm

All times shown are UK times – please convert to your local time to ensure the online classes work for you.

Please contact us if you have any questions.

Online Classroom

Most of our courses can be attended online over the internet. We provide attendees with pre-course training material, as well as ongoing training so they can make the most of the online course.

We follow national guidance on cyber-bullying, and operate a zero-tolerance policy towards anti-social behaviour online.

Unity3D System Requirements

The system requirements below only apply if your child is attending the online, remotely accessible version of this course.

Icons courtesy of Icon8

• Hardware: Desktop or laptop computer, microphone and speakers (or headset with mic), mouse and keyboard, a fast internet connection.
• Operating System: Windows 7 or above (64bit only), Mac (10.12 or above), Chromebook (Linux Ubuntu 16.04, 18.04 and CentOS 7)
• License: Free
• Memory: 8GB RAM (minimum, preferably 16GB)
• Disk Space: 8GB
• Processor: X64 architecture with SSE2 instruction set support (most modern devices support this)
• Graphics: DX10 (shader model 4.0) capabilities

To find out what your computers’ technical specifications are, kindly use the links below:

• Microsoft Windows
• Apple Mac
• Google Chromebook

Our online classroom software requires minimum internet speeds of 5 Mbps for upload and 15 Mbps for download. The vast majority of broadband providers’ packages will exceed these speeds. To test the speed of your broadband click the link below:

Check My Speed

Further Information

Attending a Course Multiple Times

You can re-book your child onto the same Spark4Kids course multiple times if they wish to continue working through the course material. We are constantly updating our courses and there are always new coding challenges to tackle. We are also able to tailor coding challenges to suit your child if they have a clear idea as to what they would like to work on (kindly email us about this prior to the course starting).

Discounts for Siblings, Friends and Multiple Bookings

We offer discounts on bookings that feature multiple course registrations, whether they be for the same or different children. A discount of 10% is automatically applied to every subsequent course at Checkout.

Please be aware that to receive discounts all courses must feature together in the same shopping basket and be paid for at the same time. They do not apply if sessions for siblings or other multiple sessions are booked and paid for in separate transactions.

New! Group Discounts

We now support group bookings where you get a Spark4Kids Group Discount applied when you book as a group of two or more. We have always automatically applied discounts to orders for multiple course bookings for siblings – now we are extending this discount to general group bookings.

If your child has friends who share their interest in computer coding, games design or touch-typing, speak to the other parents to see if they are interested in a Group Discount, and then use our brand new Group Discounts page to invite them to book.

Paying by Instalments

Spark4Kids accepts payment by instalments on some of our courses, provided that the booking is placed over a month before the course start date.

To pay for a course by instalments, kindly select the course you want, add to basket, and then proceed to Checkout by clicking “View Basket” (you may need access to your email account). At Checkout, choose “Pay by Instalments” as the payment option, and follow the on-screen prompts to complete your booking.

Childcare Vouchers

Spark4Kids accepts childcare vouchers as fee payment towards all of our courses from a variety of childcare voucher providers.

A full list is available here: Spark4Kids Childcare Providers

To pay for a course using childcare vouchers, select the course you want, add to basket, and then proceed to Checkout by clicking “View Basket” (you may need access to your email account). When at Checkout, choose “Pay with Childcare Vouchers” as the payment option, and follow the on-screen prompts to complete your booking (you will soon be emailed the voucher payment details for Spark4Kids in order to complete the payment.

We can also accept a fee payment that is split between a childcare voucher payment and a standard debit/credit card payment (e.g. if your remaining childcare voucher balance isn’t enough to cover the course fee). To do this, kindly get in touch using the contact details listed in the footer of this page.

To book a place on the Unity 4 Teens workshop, use the booking form alongside, or call us on 020 8090 1444 if you have any questions.