Category: Computing Science

curricular area

Unplugged Computing Science Live Lesson with Barefoot

EARLY AND FIRST LEVEL LEARNERS LIVE LESSON.

Join Isabella Lieghio (Barefoot Volunteer and Education Consultant at www.iconlearning.co.uk) in this interactive live lesson for early and first level learners, to explore one of the newest Barefoot Computing resources that has been specially created for younger to help develop their computational thinking skills, set around the context of ‘People Who Help Us’. 

The activities are all based around our real-life superheroes, the people who help us every day. In this session children will guide a delivery person with their package to the correct destination while exploring computational thinking concepts and approaches.

Everything you need is provided via the Barefoot Computing website, including activity plans with ideas for developing computational thinking in the early years, curriculum links, all printable resources and links to extend learning. 

Please visit Barefoot Computing Early Years and create a free account to access all resources and check out the introduction video, to learn more about developing computational thinking approaches in play and learning such as tinkering, creating and debugging. 

https://www.barefootcomputing.org/earlyyears 

 

This session is for all practitioners, including childminders working with early and first level learners. 

Practitioners are also welcome to join the live lesson without children to observe how the resources can be delivered. 

This session will be recorded. 

 

More details, resources links and sign up here.

text on left, snowman icon on right

Activity 11 – Snowman Algorithm

Day 11 – Build a snowman algorithm

 

  • How do you build a snowman?
  • How many steps are there?
  • What are the important features of a snowman?
  • What steps come first, next, last etc.
  • What position should the parts be placed in?
  • What materials and parts will you require? (If there is no snow outside, what else can you build with or use to create an alternative 2D snowman?)

Create an algorithm (sequence of instructions) to show how to build a snowman. Capture your algorithm on paper/whiteboard/drawing app by drawing or writing it down. This Barefoot handwashing poster might help you to get started. Please also see the Collaborative Crazy Characters activity in Barefoot bytes resource.

You can create your snowman with snow, playdough, clay, plasticine etc or by drawing/painting a 2D snowman, similar to the Collaborative Crazy Character activity. 

To make sure your algorithm is is working correctly, you will need someone else to help you test it. You might want to explore taking on the roles of programmers and testers from CS Unplugged.

Will your friends be able to follow your algorithm to correctly build the snowman or will you have to debug the algorithm, to find the bugs (errors) then tinker with a different sequence in your algorithm and try again? This is why it is helpful to capture you algorithm on paper. You may not need to change the whole algorithm if you can spot the bug(s).

You might want to try out the algorithm sequencer template  to help you organise your sequence of instructions.

Supporting resources for creating your algorithm:

Try it for yourself and share your algorithm with us on social media @digilearnscot using #12DaysofCreativity 

 

 

 

#CSScotland23 ReLoaded! Explore the Resources

Computing Science Scotland 2023

Many thanks to the learners, educators and presenters that made #CSScotland23 a success! Between 6th-10th November 2023, 9658 learners from 384 schools from 29 local authorities took part in our live create-along lessons, exploring different aspects of Computing Science.  This page will host the resources and materials used in the lessons for  you to explore and use with your learners.  Most activities have follow up suggestions and video.  

Some activities are yet to be uploaded, but will be asap.

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Locked in the DATA base: A data science escape room – Follow Up #CSSscotland23

Build an AI Smart Classroom Workshop – Follow Up #CSScotland23

Microbit Hot Potato Game Workshop – Follow Up #CSScotland23

Makecode Arcade Workshop – Follow Up #CSScotland23

Your Data Selfie Workshop – Follow Up #CSScotland23

Games Design Workshop – Follow Up #CSScotland23

App Prototyping Workshop – Follow Up #CSScotland23

Locked in the DATA base: A data science escape room – Follow Up #CSSscotland23

Recap

Huge thanks to Data Education in Schools for running this session!

Agents K (Kate Farrell) and J (Jasmeen Kanwall) guided recruits through a series of taxing problems during this escape room event. 

Brief: You were working late on paperwork from your recent DATA mission and you’ve realised that you’ve been locked in the base. Solve the puzzles to get out without setting off the alarm.

Description of learners’ task: Learners use graphs and tables of data about theme park rides to answer questions. The answers to the questions provide them with the alarm code to be able to escape the base.

The recording of the activity is not yet available, but you can carry out the escape room task with your learners yourself by visiting https://dataschools.education/resource/locked-in-the-data-base/

Resources that learners will require

  • Access to a calculator or calculator app
  • Rollercoaster data sheets (printed or electronic) – one copy between 2-3 learners
  • Questions Worksheet (printed or electronic) – one copy between 2-3 learners
  • The resources are on the data education website
  • There is also an optional pre-activity logic puzzle, also available on the website.
  • Access to an internet browser to check if you manage to escape!

Further Activities

If you managed to escape and are looking for a new mission, why not try:

Agent Briefing Logic Puzzles

Find the Vikings Secret Lair

Stop the Time Heist!

 

 

Build an AI Smart Classroom Workshop – Follow Up #CSScotland23

Recap on session and resources

During this session, Brian explored machine learning using the website machinelearningforkids.co.uk. Learners were guided through one activity where learners trained a machine learning model to recognise different ways someone might ask for a light to be switched on/off or a fan to be switched on/off, tested this model and used the model to build a virtual smart classroom using Scratch.  

This activity is one of many available on the site.  The smart classroom activity can be found here The live lesson was based around the shorter version of the activity.

You may want to check out the Intro video first before following the lesson.

Introduction

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Smart Classroom Walkthrough

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Next Steps

Once you have completed the smart classroom activity, you may want to 

  • add a new device (sprite) to the classroom like a television
    – give it an on and off costume
    – add 2 new buckets to the machine learning model to turn it on and off
    – add appropriate phrases
    – update the model
    – add new code to the Scratch program to operate the television
  • try the full version of the activity
  • explore the other beginner activities looking at text, images and numbers – you can use the filters to make sure you find beginner Scratch projects

Microbit Hot Potato Game Workshop – Follow Up #CSScotland23

Recap

Lorna Gibson from the Micro:Bit Education Foundation guided learners through a coding activity to turn you micro:bit into a (virtual!) hot potato!  This particular activity looks at using loops and variables to create a timer.  The recording of this session didn’t work very well, so here is an alternative instructional tutorial from Micro:bit.

Next steps and related activities can be found at the bottom of this post.

The Hot Potato Game Demo

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Video Instruction from Micro:Bit

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Acknowledgements: Videos on this page originally created and hosted at Hot potato game | micro:bit (microbit.org)

Next Steps

  • can you think of another use for the random timer? For example, you could try to code your micro:bit so that at some point during the school day it alerts you to get active – eg the message “Do 10 Star Jumps” could appear at random.  

Related Micro:bit Activities

Makecode Arcade Workshop – Follow Up #CSScotland23

Callum Croughan, Mary Frances Stewart, Zoe Shanks and Alistair Mackay –  Digital School Digital Pedagogy Practitioners guided learners through building a maze game using Makecode Arcade

 Learners explored aspects of computing science such as variables, algorithms, parallel programming and loops.

Resources 

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Maze Run Create-Along Teacher Support Pack

Follow Up Activities

Early

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Early Level Alien Orbit

First

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First Level – Star Hunt

Second

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Second Level – Game Design

Your Data Selfie Workshop – Follow Up #CSScotland23

This live lesson saw Craig and Daniel from Cyber Skills Live guide participants through using data about themselves to create an abstract self portrait using code. (This is activity 5 on the website).  All of the coding is done in a web browser with no other software required.  Larger screen devices are preferable as learners are required to edit code.

Teacher support / next steps

  • You can follow the instructions online and carry out all the activities with your learners. Please visit Code Your Own Data Selfie (cyberskillslesson.com)
  • Screen shots from one of the activities are shown below.  Learners can take a copy of the selfies they take after each activity.
  • As a follow up for teachers, Craig and Daniel recommend checking out the Cyber Skills Live website, which has over 20 other activities.
  • Pupils can learn about cyber security and learn “How To Rob A Bank“, or find out how artificial intelligence is used to protect animals in Africa in “Defend The Rhino with Data Science“

Screenshots for Cyber Skills Live Data Selfie (Activity 3)

Example Code Activity

Example Instructions

Example Output

Games Design Workshop – Follow Up #CSScotland23

Resources from Games Design Workshops 6/11/23 and 8/11/23

Amanda Ford from West College Scotland took participants through Game Design techniques focussing on the purpose and scope of the game, followed by a session on level and character design.

The resources are available for you to use as you wish. You can use the slides to prompt discussion and design ideas for games.

The order in which they were used was…
 
Monday
 
Wednesday
 
Amanda has suggested some design lesson plans available to download / edit / use:
 
 
 
Additional
Towards the end of the second session we talked about using your hand drawn designs in your Scratch programs. A quick demo of this was shown.  The videos showing how to do this are below.
 

Video Resources

Use Powerpoint to get your hand drawn images into Scratch
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Create sprites from real world objects using Powerpoint
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Exporting transparent images using Keynote on iPad (they can be used in Scratch!)

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Adding your own objects to Scratch as a Background or Sprite
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App Prototyping Workshop – Follow Up #CSScotland23

Resources from App Prototyping Workshop from 8/11/23

We hope you enjoyed the app prototyping session with our colleagues from Inspire Learning in the Scottish Borders. The presentation from the Inspire Learning team can be found here

You can make use of the app prototyping design sheet below:
 
 
Here are the follow up videos that will help support you and your learners create their app prototypes using Keynote, Powerpoint or Google Slides.
 

Watch out for the Inspire Learning Christmas digital skills 2023 sessions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHUQbUd-jk:

Video Support

Keynote and Powerpoint demo on prototyping:

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Google slides how to make links:  

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A 10 minute video of how developers at Apple use Keynote to create App prototypes 

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DigiLearnScot App Prototyping Tutorial from Digital Learning Week

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