STEM have kindly published my blog containing some thoughts towards how old, and seemingly defunct, technology can yet be of value to teachers as a means of providing Physical Computing experiences.
Perhaps the question for teachers (& school IT support teams) could be: “what can this still do?” – rather than “what can this not do?”
Enjoying resource creation for my friends at Digit<all>
An activity for teachers will merge DT with Computing skills and Science – to build a particle measuring machine, linked to the PM2.5 Tree Sensor so that pupils can engage with the need for careful monitoring of these dangerous airborne particles.
Zjeremy has a booking for the 10th May at the Chippenham Business Cyber Centre as part of the ICE (Innovate, Collaborate, Educate) gathering. Looking forward to hearing what Zjeremy has to say.!
Full details, including a video discussion featuring a brief overview of Zjeremy’s role in support of physical computing are here: www.flickernet.net/swlep
The Space To Learn site in Northern Ireland captures video of wildlife passing by cameras that are spread throughout the woods. This camera, BadgerCam – is a good one for recording the soundscape too!
Our Digital Writes trip to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein House in central Bath was scary fun! The SoS pupils managed the escape room with 30 seconds to spare.
A steam-punk twist to the exhibits added just the right technological twist too!
This week in ARC we enjoyed the potential of Makey Makey units with a view to incorporating them into future robotics. Doom and Asteroids ensued!
After a scramble to complete our two entries as far as possible – it is congratulations to Team Heat Hunters (Year 10/11) and Team Purple (Year 13) for readying their submissions in time. There was much more intended, but the experience of applying thermal imaging sensing and AI number recognition, gave both teams some valuable insights into these intriguing areas of robotics.
Delighted that Bridlewood Primary have joined our TPAT Trust. We will soon be exploring crumble kits together – to add physical computing fun to their upcoming school Design Technology project.
Literature Alive – from Digital Writes – is now well underway. Keith and I enjoyed our first visit to St Mary’s on Thursday – coinciding with World Book day. From next week we will begin working with a selection of pupils from St. Mary’s to develop the interactive game book. When asked, during our assembly, what would be different about our book to other books, the answer came back: “everything”!
STEM PDL Stage 2 training has provided a rare opportunity to combine with colleagues from the far North of England to the South coast – in sharing our experience of school consultancy processes, and best support techniques. Thank you Chris and Tracey for modelling the highest standard of professional development.
As part of our training I was asked to present on a piece of educational research that I considered to have been impactful and that would be helpful to others. I share it here as Schools Of The Future (WEF 2020) touches on many helpful perspectives towards future learning.
All three of the ARC entries are gathering momentum. There is just one month left before the closing date of this year’s competition – which equates to four hours for us! Although only one entry (The Thermal Imaging project) could actually be described as a “robot”, it has been wonderful to see each team applying their coding, construction, and debugging skills in earnest.
The Digital Writes pupil-powered creation is well underway: bringing new meaning to the phrase “immersive”, our Literature Alive project is demonstrating what Unity software can enable children to accomplish, even when they may have decided previously that reading or writing was not for them.
Key Stage Three pupils at the School Of Solutions – a vitally important alternative provision unit which is part of The Park Academies Trust – are experiencing cutting edge ‘world-building’ software whilst contributing their creative ideas towards a digital book like no other.
It is a virtual game book – a successor to the ‘play-your-own-adventure’ stories that allow multiple routes through the text. Turn to certain pages and the book becomes an active 3D world, based on the content of the story that is unfolding and which they can then explore.
A total of four Swindon schools, two Primary and two Secondary – as well as the Museum of Computing – are taking part in this Arts Council funded project. Full details are here, with a great demonstration video (2 mins) to be found on YouTube here.
With the launch of Flickernet Tinker, there is now a new opportunity to become involved in the world of physical computing, even if you prefer making to teaching! Everyone is welcome to join in – for further details please see:
Thank you to Laura and the team for a great welcome to the BCC building in Chippenham. This is the UK’s first Business Cyber Centre. We were there to talk about physical computing, but it was also fascinating to be shown around this super high-tech space with ‘living walls’ and soundproof booths!
I am very much looking forward to supporting our wonderful LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership) over the months and years ahead. Please see this link for more information about how physical computing can be supported in your school.
Thank you to Chris and the team for some fascinating CPD in Birmingham this week. It has brought home to me how much more effective it is to plan a project – especially one that involves many disciplines and subject areas – with the input of brilliant people!
www.flickernet.net/stem
The Space To Learn page is gradually taking shape. Over the next few months I will share the ways in which I aim to develop outdoor educational technology from our foothold in the Mourne Mountains. Expect live data streams; real world applications of physical technology; and an exploration into new ways in which STEM subjects, creative writing and historical investigations can benefit from a natural environment that is fully plugged in.
The huge potential of Unity as a teaching resource is keeping Keith and I hard at work. We have exciting plans to bring STEM subjects to life using this great engine – the laws of physics can be explored in a virtual world!
Christmas fun at ARC when we set our Kitronik Move Motor robots to race each other along a winding track around the classroom! Some pupils kept it simple – follow the line – others included their ultrasonics and yet others played Christmas carols en route! With a large chocolate first prize and spot prizes for best dressed robot – there was every incentive to fine tune the active code!
Thank you to Stuart and the team at BCS for a most interesting day exploring the new BCS Level 1 qualification at BCS HQ. The twelve of us present were taken through the materials and provided with ample time to explore what delivery of this new certification will look like.
As LPA are one of the first schools to offer this (through the STEM Enthuse Partnership) I will be sharing here what the experience of being a certified testing centre is like – and how well our pupils do in tackling the qualification.
The Raspberry Pi-up-a-tree is functioning well. Data stream is here: www.flickernet.net/data with further information on the wider STEM based outdoor learning project here: www.flickernet.net/s2l
Huge thanks to Pete for an immense array of Micro:Bit ideas today. Thanks also to Jenny for hosting us – the Enthuse Partnership gained great guidance today with seasoned educationalists aplenty to inspire us throughout the afternoon.
..because the tweeting might sound better here: @flickernet@techhub.social
I am so excited to be joining Keith and the team at Digital Writes. Over the year ahead I will be helping with their wonderful mission to encourage reading and writing through the creation of interactive game books: imagined, planned and built by pupils from multiple schools and community groups.
This will be the first time that Flickernet has teamed up with a different organisation in this way:
This is the first of two environment monitors under preparation to provide real-time data and imagery from two distinct environments: rural and urban.
It will stream information about the air quality including pollutant gases and particulates as well as light / sound and weather data.
codename: johnket
