The pre-school children are enjoying weekly visits from Eleanor Hutcheon who is the Shetland UHI STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Outreach Co-ordinator. Eleanor is running workshops on Wednesday mornings in the General Purpose room in the school where the children have the opportunity to explore computational thinking through using Botley which is a programmable device. The children have used a remote control to enter a set of directional instructions in order to get Botley to move along a planned route. They have also learned that a set of instructions is called an algorithm.

The workshops are a great learning experience for the children as they are not only developing an understanding of computing science but also the ability to listen carefully to information and instructions. In addition, they are learning important maths skills relating to position and movement while also developing the ability to solve problems.

‘I love playing with Botley.’

‘Botley is a computer robot.’

‘You use the controller to tell Botley where to go.’

‘The green arrow is forwards.’

‘The blue and yellow arrows make Botley turn left or right.’