Having a valuable opportunity to serve as a mentor at Holiday Camp 2025, an educational holiday program organized by Agate Academy in collaboration with Alkademi. For a full week, from June 30 to July 4, 2025, I had the privilege of guiding and introducing elementary and middle school students to the world of technology and computational thinking in a fun, interactive way.
The venue? Right at the Agate office — one of Indonesia’s leading game studios. It was a privilege in itself to teach at a place so deeply connected to the real world of games.
Endjiansyah mentoring and teaching students during the initial sessions of Holiday Camp 2025 — Agate Academy, Bandung.
Learning to Think Like a Programmer
The core material we delivered was Computational Thinking — the systematic and logical way of thinking that underpins every programmer’s mindset. But of course, this wasn’t a typical coding class. We tailored everything to suit children: a light approach, visual, and most importantly — fun.
The tool we used was MakeCode Arcade, a block-based game development platform that lets participants build their own simple arcade games without having to wrestle with complex code syntax. Block by block, they learned to understand logic: a character moves, obstacles appear, a score is tracked — all assembled by small, eager hands.
Endjiansyah guiding students in assembling game logic using MakeCode Arcade.
The Most Valuable Challenge
One of the most profound lessons I took away from this week was just how varied children’s learning paces can be.
In a single class, some participants could modify their game character within minutes, while others still needed one-on-one guidance to grasp even the most basic logical flow. Neither is wrong — this is a reality that every mentor must be ready to face, every single day.
That challenge turned out to be the most valuable part of the experience. I learned to be more patient, more adaptive, and to constantly search for the most effective way to reach each individual. Because ultimately, a mentor’s role is not just to deliver material, but to ensure that every child goes home with the confidence that they can.
A Lesson from Mbak Nadia Ukhti
Among the many valuable lessons I brought home from Holiday Camp, one stood out the most — and it didn’t come from any material I taught. It came from watching Mbak Nadia Ukhti from the Agate team interact with the participants.
Her patience and cheerfulness in engaging with the children was truly remarkable. In moments when a participant began to grow frustrated because their game wasn’t working as expected, or when focus started to drift during a long session, Mbak Nadia was always there with positive energy that could turn the atmosphere around in an instant. The way she maintained the mood and motivation of the participants was a powerful reminder: good teaching technique must always be accompanied by genuine emotional connection.
That’s something no book can teach you.
Final Day: When Their Work Spoke for Itself
The highlight of the entire Holiday Camp was Final Day on July 4, 2025. The day when all participants presented their self-made games in front of their parents and guardians.
Eager kids accompanied by their parents attentively listening to presentations and game showcase.
It was a genuinely emotional moment. Watching children who, just days earlier, were still puzzled by basic concepts of sprites and events — now standing confidently, explaining how their games worked to their own parents — that’s a satisfaction that’s hard to put into words.
Endjiansyah speaking and facilitating student game presentations before parents and participants.
The proud smiles on the parents’ faces, and the excitement of the kids as they demonstrated the fruits of their hard work, created a scene I’ll carry with me long after Holiday Camp ended.
Group photo of Endjiansyah, the mentoring team, and young graduates holding their completion certificates on Final Day at Agate Academy.
Closing Thoughts
Holiday Camp 2025 was more than just a teaching assignment. It was an experience that enriched my perspective on how technology can be introduced to younger generations in a meaningful and appropriate way.
Thank you to Agate Academy for the trust and warm welcome, to Alkademi for continuing to open the doors for this collaboration, and to all the Holiday Camp 2025 participants — who turned out to be my greatest teachers, proving that the spirit of learning knows no age limit.
