Understanding the principles of computational thinking (CT), e.g., problem abstraction, decomposition, and recursion, is vital for computer science (CS) students. Unfortunately, these concepts can be difficult for novice students to understand. One way students can develop CT skills is to involve them in the design of an application to teach CT. This study focuses on co-designing mini games to support teaching and learning CT principles and concepts in an online environment. Online co-design (OCD) of mini games enhances students’ understanding of problem-solving through a rigorous process of designing contextual educational games to aid their own learning. Given the current COVID-19 pandemic, where face-to-face co-designing between researchers and stakeholders could be difficult, OCD is a suitable option. CS students in a Nigerian higher education institution were recruited to co-design mini games with researchers. Mixed research methods comprising qualitative and quantitative strategies were employed in this study. Findings show that the participants gained relevant knowledge, for example, how to (i) create game scenarios and game elements related to CT, (ii) connect contextual storyline to mini games, (iii) collaborate in a group to create contextual low-fidelity mini game prototypes, and (iv) peer review each other’s mini game concepts. In addition, students were motivated toward designing educational mini games in their future studies. This study also demonstrates how to conduct OCD with students, presents lesson learned, and provides recommendations based on the authors’ experience.

理解计算思维 (CT) 的原理，例如问题抽象、分解和递归，对于计算机科学 (CS) 学生来说至关重要。不幸的是，这些概念对于新手来说可能很难理解。学生培养 CT 技能的一种方法是让他们参与设计教授 CT 的应用程序。本研究侧重于共同设计迷你游戏，以支持在线环境中的 CT 原理和概念的教学和学习。迷你游戏的在线协同设计 (OCD) 通过设计情境教育游戏的严格过程来帮助学生自己学习，从而提高学生对解决问题的理解。鉴于当前的 COVID-19 大流行，研究人员和利益相关者之间的面对面共同设计可能很困难，OCD 是一个合适的选择。尼日利亚一所高等教育机构的 CS 学生被招募与研究人员共同设计迷你游戏。本研究采用了包括定性和定量策略的混合研究方法。结果表明，参与者获得了相关知识，例如，如何 (i) 创建与 CT 相关的游戏场景和游戏元素，(ii) 将上下文故事情节与迷你游戏联系起来，(iii) 团队协作以创建上下文低保真度迷你游戏原型，以及 (iv) 同行评审彼此的迷你游戏概念。此外，学生们有动力在未来的学习中设计教育迷你游戏。本研究还展示了如何与学生一起进行强迫症，展示经验教训，并根据作者的经验提供建议。