Author Archives: playgroundcomputing

07.29.14
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The Eisteddfod is here!

Although school is out for summer, the fun and learning doesn’t need to stop! Next week we are taking the word of computer science out to Wales’s largest festival – The Eisteddfod. The festival which takes place in Carmarthenshire from the 1st – 9th of August will attract thousands of people from all ages and backgrounds. We will be showcasing our work in the hope of attracting some budding computer scientists of the future! If you are going to the Eisteddfod, make sure you stop by to say hello!

Hwyl am y tro!

Beth 🙂

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07.08.14
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St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Swansea

I had a fantastic day out at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School yesterday! We had a great time learning about unplugged computer science, and  It was a pleasure to be around pupils who were so enthusiastic! I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard that many year 4 and 5 pupils were already experienced at using HTML – WOW! Excellent progress and at such a young age. Mrs Mullan has done a fantastic job of introducing pupils to many aspects of computer science such as; Scratch, Hopscotch, Beebot and HTML.

It was also great to see that there was a half built computer on display in the learning pod classroom! What a great way of allowing pupils to see all of the different computer components and hardware.

Pupils asked some fantastic questions and I could have stayed and chatted all day. We learned about algorithms, binary code, and we discussed how robots and technologies are developing.

Thank you Mrs Mullan for the lovely collage of photographs that can be viewed below.

Back again on Wednesday, and cannot wait!

Thank you St Josephs,

Bethan

 

PicCollage

06.03.14
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Porthcawl Primary Robotics!

What a fantastic day we had out at Porthcawl Primary yesterday. Pupils were lucky enough to see the first official appearance of our fantastic new robot … King Cobra.

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King Cobra moves and wiggles, just like a real snake! Pupils had lots of fun learning about how King Cobra can distinguish between white and black lines through the colour sensor on the front of him. Pupils also learned that the mechanics of this robot design, makes turning quite difficult.

A great response from pupils and a really fun day out at Porthcawl!

Many Thanks 🙂

Beth and Sarah

05.29.14
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Robotics at Brackla Primary

We had an excellent day out at Brackla Primary teaching robotics to year 6 pupils last Friday. We all had a fantastic day! Pupils were fascinated by the robots and were very keen to learn. The behaviour of the class was exceptional!

Here is a photograph of Sarah teaching pupils about colour sensors and we supported this by demonstrating how the robot can distinguish between the black line against the white backround.

 

 

 

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Yet another great day! A huge thank you to pupils and Miss Thomas for such a warm welcome.

See you soon!

Bethan and Sarah 🙂

 

05.22.14
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Coety Primary

I had a great time out at Coety Primary last week with year 3 and 4 pupils. The weather was glorious and we were able to enjoy most of the workshop outside.

We had a great time brain storming and discussing technological inventions of the future, and many pupils came up with some incredible and fantastic ideas! To mention a few; an oven that cooks you anything you like, a voice recognition front door, and a robot dog that can fetch your slippers! I was really impressed with how enthusiastic the whole class were and I had a fantastic day.

Looking forward to seeing you again for the robotics workshop Coety! 🙂

Beth

 

05.13.14
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Robotics workshop in action at Llanfair Primary

 

As promised, here are some photographs of the robotics workshop that took place out at Llanfair Primary.

The photo below shows the main task in action.

The aim of the task is for pupils (in groups of 4-5) to decide on the correct instructions needed to guide the robot through the maze, and are given ‘direction cards’.
 
The instructions are broken down into precise commands, and pupils use their ‘direction cards’ and decide in their groups, how many seconds the robot will need to travel for and in what direction it should turn etc. 
 
Pupils are shown how the robot is programmed via the software shown on the over head projector. 

 

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05.08.14
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Robotics workshops are underway!

It was a very exciting week for us last week, because we had the opportunity to try an test our brand new robotics workshop out at Llanfair Primary school – which was a great success!

The robotics workshop is a follow on workshop from the ‘unplugged’ session we have already delivered, and it gives pupils a chance to re-enforce the previous computer science knowledge that they have already learned.

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By working in mixed ability groups, pupils use their numeracy skills to work together and decide how the robot can get through the maze. Pupils decide on step by step instructions, and use their logic to decide which direction and for how many seconds and it takes for the robot to travel to the desired location. Pupils are shown on a proector how the programming software works and how the robot has to be programmed carefully – or it doesn’t do what you want it to do! We learn first-hand the importance of trial and error, and the challenge made the whole process even more exciting!

A great workshop  – ideal for getting the whole class involved. More info, pics, and video’s to follow!

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04.14.14
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Peterlea Primary

It was an absolute pleasure to go out to Peterlea Primary on the 10th and 11th of April, to visit Y3 and 4 pupils!

At last – the spring has arrived! It was glorious to be able to enjoy the workshops outside and pupils enjoyed the experience of learning out in the fresh air.

Pupils were very keen to learn and had plenty to say. We thought long and hard about the future and what may be, as well as discussing the past and how technologies have changed over the years.

By the end of the session, many pupils were able to give me an example of an Algorithm and we all thoroughly enjoyed giving and receiving instructions by pretending to be robots and programmers.

Thanks for the warm welcome Peterlea Primary!

Beth 🙂

 

04.14.14
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Ysgol Nantgaredig

My experience at Ysgol Nantgaredig was a great one. It was the first time for me to deliver a Computer Science workshop through the medium of Welsh! It was a lovely change for me.

Diolch i Nantgaredig am y croeso cynnes. Cefais ddiwrnod ardderchog, a fe wnaeth pob disgybl dangos sgiliau cyfrifiadureg arbennig o dda!

Beth 🙂

04.14.14
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Grange Primary

It was an absolute pleasure to go back to Grange primary on the 2nd of April to teach Computer Science to the year 4 children. I was pleasantly surprised to see that a few of the boys in the class had already started to make their own game on scratch! The game looked fantastic and contained wizards, ninjas and caves! It was very interesting indeed.

We enjoyed our unplugged computer science session immensely and I was very impressed with how well the year 4 pupils grasped the concepts so easily!

An absolutely wonderful day, thank you Grange 🙂

Beth