Challenge Cards

Once Ninjas have complete a set of Sushi Cards (or learned to code to a certain level) they can practice and broaden the skills they’ve acquired by building cool stuff using our new Challenge Cards! This is an alternative to immediately pursuing another language, or deepening their knowledge of the one they’ve just covered before applying it.

What is a Challenge Card?

These are single cards that offer a challenge in levels of escalating difficulty (currently Normal, Hard and Ultra, though we are open to changing these titles) along with some tips and guidelines on how to approach the problem. There’s also a snippet of code, either teaching a new function (but not a totally new concept) or pointing out one way to try one of the trickier parts of the problem. Beyond this, the Ninja is left to work out the best approach to the problem themselves, with help from their peers, the web and their mentors.

How Challenge Cards fit in with our educational content (some items have yet to be released)

 

How to use Challenge Cards

These cards should be of use not just to Ninjas who want to explore what they’ve learned so far, but also to those who’ve completed the core elements of a language and are now looking for projects to test their skills.

For now, I’ve produced two sample cards to start the discussion and get your feedback:

• The first is a combined HTML, CSS and JavaScript challenge that involves making a character pop on and off a web page.
• The second is a pure text-based Python game of Blackjack, though with a very simplified set of rules.

I look forward to hearing from you in the forums about:

• The cards’ design features
• These two project ideas
• Any other suggestions you have for more Challenge Cards in the future