We are a charity with the mission to enable young people to realise their full potential through the power of computing and digital technologies.
also looked at some different inputs like, um, the microphone or the A and the B
Last month we put out a blog post advertising that I would be doing a tour of America, with a rough initial route, and we welcomed requests for visits. Over the next couple of weeks I was overwhelmed with visit requests – I plotted all the locations on a map and created a route aiming to reach as…
(wardrobe by Pimoroni) and another suitcase full of 40 brand new Raspberry Pis (B+
We are a charity with the mission to enable young people to realise their full potential through the power of computing and digital technologies.
, the vast majority of jobs those children will go into will be tech enabled or B
Pupils will initially use the buttons to change the value of a variable using selection. They will then develop their programs to update the variable by moving their micro:bit using the accelerometer to sense motion. Finally, they will learn that a variable’s value remains the same after it has been checked by the program.
Pupils will apply their understanding of the importance of order in programs. They will then use operands in selection to determine the flow of a program. Pupils will then modify a program which will enable the micro:bit to be used as a navigational device. To code this, they will adapt the code they completed to make a basic compass.
Pupils will be introduced to the micro:bit as an input, process, output device that can be programmed. Pupils will familiarise themselves with the device itself and the programming environment, before creating their own programs. They will then run their programs on the device. Note: This unit is written assuming that you will be using a desktop or laptop computer (not a tablet) to connect micro:bits.
During this lesson learners will become accustomed to the ScratchJr programming environment. They will discover that they can move characters on-screen using commands, and compare ScratchJr to the Bee-Bots used in the previous unit.
In this lesson, learners consider how the ‘if… then… else…’ structure can be used to identify two responses to a binary question (one with a ‘yes or no’ answer). They identify that the answer to the question is the ‘condition’, and use algorithms with a branching structure to represent the actions that will be carried out if the condition is true or false. They learn how questions can be asked in Scratch, and how the answer, supplied by the user, is used in the condition to control the outcomes. They use an algorithm to design a program that uses selection to direct the flow of the program based on the answer provided. They implement their algorithm as a program and test whether both outcomes can be achieved.
This lesson explores the process of debugging, specifically looking at how to identify and fix errors in a program. Learners will review an existing project against a given design and identify bugs within it. They will then correct the errors, gaining independence as they do so. Learners will also develop their projects by considering which new setup blocks to use.
In this lesson, learners will be given the opportunity to use additional Pen blocks. They will predict the functions of new blocks and experiment with them, before designing features to add to their own projects. Finally, they will add these features to their projects and test their effectiveness.
