Squirrels Closeup
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August 1, 2026
Cat 6 underground
A network cable that was precariously strung between trees – tin can telephone style! – has now been replaced with an underground cable.
Hopefully schools in Swindon can now enjoy uninterrupted camera feeds of the squirrels and other animals!
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April 3, 2026
Robotics reimagined
RaceHub is the new robotics project that I have been working on for some time now. It is a sister project to Robotics Link. Together they will form the RaceNode Network.
RaceHub will come first: individual young people being provided with a robot to build, and to keep, with which they can join in to a supportive network and even enter into robot racing competitions.
If they do not feel ready to race their robot in person then they can compete remotely. Their robot also becomes an individual expression of their wellbeing or race readiness..
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March 30, 2026
SoS Robotics
The Year 11 SoS pupils have taught me so much over the last three terms – in particular they have reminded me that all learning starts with engagement.
It seems clear to me that when a young person is engaged with what you are offering them, then are they ready to learn.
Robotics and project-based learning feels like a natural fit – these children respond to robotics and their engagement inspires me.
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February 20, 2026
School Of Solutions
Congratulations to Tammy, Bill, David, Tarcila and all the SoS team for the publication of their book,
now available to order on Amazon.
I continue to deliver weekly sessions for the SoS in Swindon.
These are usually focused on robotics, sometimes they are sensor based, but always wellbeing assessment led: these wonderful pupils have taught me so much about ways to determine – and hence adapt to – their collective mood and readiness to learn.
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January 19, 2026
Classroom Brainwaves!
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 engage more fully with a meaningful measurement of their own mental and physical wellbeing.
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December 12, 2025
WindCam
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 y axis as patterns of dots – for analysis in England.
We are considering an AI analysis of the patterns – perhaps to generate an artistic output sound as sounds.
To follow this experiment, please see: www.flickernet.net/sos
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November 27, 2025
EEG sensing equipment
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 be deployed to provide them with an objective measure of what their bodies can indicate about mood, anxiety and general wellbeing.
Our new equipment will provide many such metrics, including this EEG sensor.
The first test of this – at the SoS in Swindon – was fascianting. Pupils were eager to volunteer to put the head band equipment on and to see the readout. We used Chat GPT video analysis to be told in general terms about what the readout was indicating
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November 24, 2025
Nuts!
for hungry red squirrels – conveniently close to SquirrelCam..
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August 14, 2025
Squirrel Jeopardy
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.
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May 25, 2025
April Update 1
There 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.
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April 11, 2025
March summary
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 evident – with engagement from otherwise reluctant pupils. This interest is being sustained and built upon each week.
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March 25, 2025
Expressing how we feel through technology
The Avenue
The Clearing
Coding Skills 1
Developing facial expressions
Transmitting
Expressing via Micro:Bit
Thank you to everyone who attended the second ASK Woodland Coding event. This time we began by exploring ways to display and to transmit images with which to express our feelings, after which we created an environmental sensing machine. Full report here.
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November 2, 2024