Building touch control kits with Years 3 and 4 so that Scratch programs can be controlled through external inputs (Makey Makey) whilst sending images to an external output (Micro:Bit)
Continuing an exploration into remote sensing and the ability to experience an environment from afar - the latest WoodsCam overlooks a badger set, extending the range of the cameras further into the woods.
In preparation for the inter-school robot race, we are creating interactive arena features at Bishopstone. For the purposes of automatic activation, we are building pressure pads with sufficient sensitivity that robot wheels can trigger them!
The inter-school Robot Racing challenge is hotting up! With both Bishopstone and St Mary's Primary schools fielding teams of robots that increasingly move in the right direction - the moment is fast approaching for Race Day! For updates on team progress, please see www.flickernet.net/rrc To liven up the arena, we have been developing claw-bots that will chomp at unsuspecting robots as they pass!
Keith and I are working on a new project for shared computer control and coding. We will be creating a 3D environment in which the controller and the nature of what is controlled, will be open for pairs of pupils to develop together. We are calling it Rainbow Rebellion. More details to follow soon! For an interactive demo, please click here!
Thank you to all of those who attended the first ever Bloviators debate. It was a great chance to test out the format and to explore what debating looks like when it has to be spontaneous! Of the three motions that were on offer, the motion that was voted for by those in attendance was that human beings present too much of a danger for alien life to risk making contact with us. Jamie and Miles successfully opposed the motion, pointing out how much we have to offer the wider universe! Going forwards we will tweak the format further and take it to some local educational establishments. It is hoped that Bloviators can return to the Cirencester Baptist Church in June. Randomizing the teams through a spinner / Fisher Price button kept us all on our toes!
Another name for Minecraft is BashBash - or at least in our house anyway! We first played it on a Raspberry Pi 3b - a rather simplified version, but nonetheless fun. Given the need that I find to demonstrate to pupils what a huge range of inputs are possible (cue tin foil, pressure pads, capacitive touch experiments etc) - there developed a good excuse to build a box with many connections. Rather than have a light toggle or a buzzer sound when a connection is made - what if those input triggers meant that a Minecraft world was moved through, built and bashed? More to follow!
If, like me, you were a fan of the Tomy robot collection from the 1980s, then you may also recall the tantalising sensation born out of an awareness of what those robots were unable to do, which was almost as invigorating as what they could do. Take Chatbot: it was equipped with a mechanical voice recorder that was primed by pulling a large level down whilst speaking a message, then triggered by remote control. Hours of fun ensued driving it around with occasional spoken messages being relayed. Chatbot was not without limitation, however. It could not engage in further conversation - or be instructed to move - or check on the road conditions outside. Now that it is 2024, Chatbot could - and over the coming weeks I hope to reveal one way of achieving an upgrade to this venerable robot!
Was reminded today that the Micro:Bit / Kodu link remains a simple but effective means of providing readily coded inputs and outputs: engaging interfaces that bring virtual worlds to life. Next week we will add the pressure pads via Makey Makey - leading to pupils building their own controllers.
BETT 24 was every bit as exciting as the '23 gathering. Table Talks are a new initiative: the chance to share ideas with fellow educators - in our case from many European countries and as far as Angola. My favourite corner remains the STEM zone. It was good to catch up with Ricky from DFRobot; Kevin from Kitronik, Magda from Micro:Bit and Steinar from MakeIT. Keep an eye on the upcoming Flickernet Roadshow to see some of their new products in action!
Just one month to go until the first Bloviator debate! Free and open to all - if you enjoy debating but haven't had much of an opportunity to construct a well-reasoned argument in front of a Chairperson for some time - then please consider joining us on the 23rd February. Full details here: www.flickernet.net/debate
Now that we have got our robots avoiding obstacles - will they be able to escape ClawBot?! Follow the latest Bishopstone RRC developments at www.flickernet.net/bishy
Swindon Borough Council - custodians of the Magic Roundabout - have kindly agreed to my request to site a particulate sensor on traffic lights in town. It is hoped that the busy toad will provide a new data stream to add to the mountain air / classroom feeds that are already in place. All being well, the fumes produced by passing traffic will show pm 2.5 readings that can be viewed in realtime to provide a direct comparison to those found in a pupil's own classroom and that found within ancient woodland in Northern Ireland. Zjeremy the robot brings the sensor into classrooms - see www.flickernet.net/data or www.flickernet.net/pm25 A preliminary visit to the site has revealed open WiFi access from the nearby Co-Op which could help!
The Whitewater River in Mourne Park is a what is known as a spate river. Torrents of water cascade down from the Mourne Mountains - usually rushing past faster than we can register. Slow motion photography helps to capture the beauty. It may look intense - but it is truly peaceful. https://youtu.be/hugkvGu9rx4?si=XCbuyZ6c9HF813O5
Coming soon - we hope - the WatchBox! This project-based-learning endeavour will offer children the opportunity to build, code and deploy, a wildlife monitoring system of their own. This will be a new way to connect with nature. For further details see here: www.flickernet.net/watchbox
Exploring underground tunnels with an Android connected endoscope - hidden worlds!
Thank you to Robin, Becky and the team for a great welcome back to Bishopstone, to the very classroom where so many technological adventures were had all those years ago! https://youtu.be/oWKSi6jNQEw
Delighted to announce the start of RRC -with the ever-wonderful St Mary's Primary School! We are currently exploring which kit works best, and hoping to develop this new club in support of neurodivergent pupils soon. Thank you to Colm and the team for providing every opportunity to explore new technologies with his wonderful class - from Unity-built gaming to the upcoming WatchBox - these pupils are pioneers! www.flickernet.net/rrc
Our pupils at the School of Solutions have almost completed their Arts Award. The opportunity to explore and create a wide range of artistic pieces has seen them venture to Bath for a spine-chilling Gothic experience, record their shared responses, and then develop platform games inspired by what they have seen. Thank you Keith for leading on this project: sixteen children who were struggling to engage with mainstream school have been shown some new approaches to learning in a reliably calm and pupil-centered environment. We hope to feature a selection of their games online in the new year. https://youtu.be/orQLbw4tFOI https://youtu.be/Yhgj-qqQFKI
www.flickernet.net/ask Thank you to everyone who attended the first Autism Support Communicator event, which was held in Mourne Park on Saturday. Communicating our feelings as we explored the woods together: through the sending of images via Micro:Bit radio signals - it works!
Led by Zjeremy, (who retains what Steve (HoD GWA) affectionately refers to as a "prototyping look"!) - a number of Raspberry Pi upgrades are now taking shape. Zjeremy needs to run Scratch 3 with a bit of vim if he is to juggle multiple HATS for interfacing with. His secondary 3b board was not up to speed, but the 4b seems happier. To celebrate, he was coded into taking images of the woodland views from the second floor of Great Western Academy. Meanwhile low cost LCD screens set into basic plastic boxes are a quick and simple addition for classroom kit. Raspberry Pi units deliver physical computing with core electronics and more advanced sensing: it is helpful to enclose them for protection during transport. A ribbon cable allows the GPIO to be extended for easy connections. The CarFume Detector unit is almost ready for deploying on a busy Swindon street. It will mirror the functionality of Zjeremy and the Tree Pi - providing new urban data for comparison.
Thank you Francesca for featuring my recycling blog (Jumpstart The Junk) on TrilbyTV. Having been recently introduced to Simon from the inspirational Green Machine - I am keen to continue exploring ways in which to bring old tech to life! There are so many people in need of repaired or repurposed technology - e-waste is avoided when it can still function as a valuable tool. https://www.trilbytv.co.uk/conduct-and-code-ways-to-repurpose-tech-in-the-classroom/ TrilbyTV blog
As the cold evenings draw in, there is a type of thermal enhancement that doesn't warm the toes much, but that does identify hidden cctv cameras in the trees! Thank you Eden for testing out your thermal imaging mobile phone functionality in our wood!
Exploring the versatile Micro:Bit in Mourne Park: orienteering with a [coded] compass through the woods; searching for treasure with [coded] metal detectors then sampling the natural environment with sensors. Thank you Anthony and the team for coming along - full report here: www.flickernet.net/stlouis
Standing by to welcome St Louis Grammar School tomorrow - a specialist school in technology - and also my neighbours! Twenty Year 11 Computer Science pupils will be learning how to code Micro:Bits for outdoor learning adventures, including environmental sensing, orienteering, and even metal detecting! www.flickernet.net/s2l
It is with great excitement that we are launching a new project which brings together the common threads of Physical Computing, Project Based Learning and a desire to see technology put to use helping those who most need it. Along with my colleague Keith Phillips, founder of Digital Writes, I am exploring the possibility of creating a new charity, which would be called Tech To Help. This will seek to find new ways of directing the limitless creativity and enthusiasm of Primary school children to design and build real-world solutions that help people who are facing disadvantage. The site page is here - it is a work in progress!
Sharing a particular historical archive using technology and the outdoors is an ongoing mission. As those familiar with this undertaking are aware, over the last year I have converted an 1830s schoolhouse building into an archive storage and digitisation facility. This then enabled me to begin work on the Historical Narrative - a book that seeks to weave together the many stories that belong in Mourne Park. In addition I am recalling what it was like to grow up in this beautiful place. On 23rd September a group of hardy folk joined me in the woods to hear the fist five chapters read, and media shared. Thank you to those friendly faces for their encouragement and patient listening. Video and audio snippets to follow.
www.flickernet.net/jaa Thank you for the many messages of support and condolences that my family have received. Mum leaves a huge legacy for us to build on - an example which I will always be grateful for. There is a link to the funeral service and eulogy here. She would very much expect me to carry on now, which I will - in the added hope that helping others [through technology] can be a fitting way to honour what Mum sought to accomplish.
A little note to say that, sadly, I am on compassionate leave at present due to my Mum being gravely ill. My regular schools know this, and I am grateful for their understanding. My Digital Writes colleague Keith continues to deliver our current courses. Meanwhile, with time ahead in Northern Ireland, I am preparing for the upcoming Woodland Coding events, through Space To Learn, about which: more to follow. There are two new Project Based Learning initiatives brewing which I will be excited to share here in due course. They seek to offer a (pupil-built) helpful communication system for two distinct groups of people: those who are autistic and those who are refugees. This is my priority for TTH (Tech To Help). An important upcoming development will be the Society of Tinkerers. Building on Flickernet Tinker, this seeks to create a forum in which TTH can be advanced as well as providing space for further projects to be skilfully investigated by those from a range of technology and educational backgrounds. Flickernet Archive has an initial event pending, during which outdoor presentation of materials will be trialled, in support of my friends and neighbours, The Woodland Trust. Swindon Borough Council have kindly agreed to support my extra-urban particulates sensor, which will go live (on the data page) once I have selected a location from those on offer, and installed the Raspberry Pi powered equipment. Whilst I may be more difficult to contact over the next week or two, I am keen to resume all things Flickernet soon, and look forward to delivering all that I can going forwards.
Loving creating resources for team Digit<all> - with thanks to Amazon Sustainable Futures. This is the Recycling Machine: metal detector drives a servo to sweep ferrous materials from a conveyor belt!
Enjoying exploring the DFRobot kit from BETT - this time the Boson Science equipment which is ideal for KS1 physical computing. Great Micro:Bit integration!
Thank you Keith, Jeremy and the team for a fun evening at the MoC. We are fortunate to be partners with you in delivering coding sessions and are eager to resume in the Autumn with some extraordinary new physical computing interfaces.! 😉 The many guests in attendance clearly enjoyed their tours of the museum and chatting about the superb range of technology that was featured, from dusty beige to cutting edge!
Thank you Clare for meeting with us today. We are really looking forward to helping your service users to develop an illuminated logo and animated text board. The club that we will run for you in the Autumn will enable those who choose to come along to work collaboratively to design, build and code a bright solar-powered phoenix that will hang in the factory window sharing information and, most importantly, demonstrating to all what great capabilities exist in the Phoenix team. www.flickernet.net/phoenix
From climbing trees in the woods of Northern Ireland whilst clutching Raspberry Pi units, to helping children who were on the cusp of quitting school to build adventure game-books, this year has been a real eye-opener to me. It is a rare privilege to become free to teach what one chooses. I hadn't dared believe that it could happen, but now Flickernet is full steam ahead - 24 years on from those early Dot Com years - with a new focus called TTH: Tech To Help. This is what I will be up to, going forward - please see the synopsis page for more information or if you would like to be involved. www.flickernet.net/review
Keith and I met with Ben, a Director of Digital Writes, and an inspiration. Ben is helping us to explore a new project: using physical computing to enable those with reduced mobility to create their own unique artworks. We aim to feature these artworks in both an online space and through an installation. We will work with Primary school pupils to analyse the need, design and build a solution, then collaborate with the end user to refine a product that is genuinely helpful for them.
