Tag Archives: technocamps

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

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 🙂

 

05.08.14
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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

 

03.28.14
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Pontyclun Primary

This week I spent a lovely few days out at Pontyclun Primary visiting two year 6 classes on Tuesday and two year 5 classes on Thursday. Both days were wonderful.

On Tuesday, we were very lucky with the weather and were able to do both workshops outside. We had a fantastic time, and many pupils demonstrated a great enthusiasm for computer science. Pupils showed a fantastic understanding and were able to give me examples of different types of algorithms!

Thursday was also a great day with the year 5 classes. Pupils were EXTREMELY keen and I think we could have discussed computer science all day! There were a number of pupils who shared their ideas and lovely stories with me.

Thanks for a great few days Pontyclun! See you again!

Beth 🙂

 

03.24.14
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Melin Primary School

What a fantastic day we had out at Melin Primary school on Friday the 21st of March. Although the weather was touch and go, it was great to be able to do some of the workshop outside.

I was really impressed with how well pupils’ were able to do the ‘sorting’ task, where we learned that computers sort data and information in a completely different way to us humans. This task allowed for us to practise many of our computational thinking skills such as problem solving, communication and teamwork. It was such a windy day we dropped a few of our number cards and it looked as if we were dancing when we tried to get them back again – it was very funny!

A successful day, with many pupils showing great promise in Computer Science.

I really hope to come out to Melin primary again soon!

Thanks for a great day 🙂

Beth

03.12.14
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Pen y Bont Primary

What a fantastic time I had out at Pen y Bont Primary. We had plenty of laughs and there were some definite computer scientists of the future in the room!

The weather was not great, but we still had plenty of fun in the hall!  The binary activity went down a storm and many pupils would not let the code defeat them.

Thanks for such a great welcome Pen y Bont Primary.

Beth 🙂