The NeuroSky Mindwave unit has proven to be fascinating for many of the pupils that I teach. This was important, as part of the InFindingOut project is around self-assessment by young people of their wellbeing, inspired by the use of biometrics. We will soon by adding further sensing options - each one provides a small sample of data that can then encourage the young person to…
https://youtu.be/Q2NpEY4LWTk Today marked the final session of Marvellous Musical Machine at the Lydiard Park Academy ASC. This first cohort of six boys have been astoundingly capable and a total delight to work with. Keith and I will miss their enthusiasm and wonderful ideas.Here then is their finished work...
Having completed their animated insects (please see the video clip here)- we then built on this by showing them their insects actually flying around in the virtual world on Mushroom Meadows island.
https://youtu.be/6h6IQc5U3EkHaving voted last week to create animated insects that live on mushrooms, this week we filmed short animated sequences.The wonderful Year 9 crew at Crowdy's used the insects that they had drawn. It was a joy and a privilege to see their engagement with this task.
https://youtu.be/KNJh7TGm4yo As our first cohort near completion of their machine - here is a little clip featuring the use of MakeCode Arcade for musical composition.To see the whole Marvellous Musical Machine journey to date, please visit: www.flickernet.net/mmmThe grand premiere of their performance film will be on Monday 8th December. We will be moving on to the Ridgeway ASC early in the new year , where…
Fun in Bishopstone today creating what we are calling Quiz Machines!These are based on MicroBits, Bit Commanders and View screens - the same equipment that we are using to build the ChoiceBoxes at Crowdy's - but this time they act as "fastest finger first" devices that transmit to the Receiving Unit the team name followed by the answer.We plan to develop them so that…
A new STEM experiment takes shape in Space To Learn, Northern Ireland - in readiness for the InFindingOut pupils (in Swindon, Wilts) to develop.The aim of the experiment is to measure the movement of the branches of WindTree (camera to follow!) using a suspended WindCam focused on a Micro:Bit with Kitronik View screen attached. The screen will show small variations in the x and…
https://youtu.be/h3VlwY16uQg
Working each week with young people who have found themselves on the cusp of educational exclusion, the question "how are you" takes on a certain urgency. Part of the InFindoingOut project is about encouraging young people to engage with a self-assessment routine that is designed to establish how they are really feeling, based on a sincere pupil-led desire to be accurate. Biometric sensors will…
This week in The Art of Conversation we created a new island together called Goat Island. Partly inspired by the school goats at Crowdy's and very much voted for using their ChoiceBoxes - this is a place to explore in a similar way to Mushroom Meadows but with a puzzle to be solved involving the feeding of goats.Firstly though: an art challenge - each…
https://youtu.be/a7MM0x1TW10 After two months of development with the intrepid and inspiring Year 9 team from the ASC at Lydiard Park Academy (see www.flickernet.net/mmm) - today the machine itself began to take shape. It will incorporate many of the experimental elements that have been explored - today we added light sensing that is converted into sounds and sound waves.
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Somewhat looking forward to introducing this new kit!
Click here to see the Arcade Max starter code for the Online Learning Session today at BPS
Click here to visit the Autism Support Kilkeel 3 page
for hungry red squirrels - conveniently close to SquirrelCam..
https://youtu.be/EXWIYLQbJls A quick round up of animal visitors in Space To Learn this month!
Click here to find out about the June 2025 Brooklands Primary School visits
Having focused on Scratch / Makey Makey integration this term with St Mary's, Swindon - we built a game called Squirrel Jeopardy - where the aim is to feed the hungry squirrels whilst avoiding prowling Pine Martens.Regular video updates of those wonderful animals, and live feeds of the woodland in Northern Ireland, inspired us. See: www.flickernet.net/stm for more details
Next week one primary school in Northern Ireland will be building, then testing, an outdoor robot in the woodland..Cue some disassembly prep!https://youtu.be/hCA6JNuUY00https://www.flickernet.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Outdoor_Robot.mp4
In preparation for the first Space To Learn school visitors of 2025, we have found a tent that wouldn't look out of place in a 1950s war movie!Northern Irish weather being predictably unpredictable - we hope that it will shelter people, and technology, in equal measure!
https://youtu.be/-RkcZOpOQJ0There have been so many {animal} visitors to the Transmission Zone this month! The IFO Themes are taking shape too - please click on each to explore further.
A busy month:The woodland is filled with Spring life - which in turn is inspiring pupils in Primary, Secondary and Alternative Provision contexts. Projects continue to be based on the monitoring of native species in their outdoor habitats in the Mountains of Mourne.This takes place from within classrooms in and around Swindon.The therapeutic benefits of live-linked learning, directly connected to the wild, are becoming increasingly…
https://youtu.be/HbjeZGPzZmgRed squirrels bounding about in Mourne Park at this time of year - sometimes in slow motion, joy!
https://youtu.be/s3I0rDUUM6Uhttps://youtu.be/BC9o5qj3xoA Marvellous Musical Machine: Micro:Bits connected to servos creating musical instruments for ASD therapeutics and expression