Inspiring great teaching through Kodu
On October 6th, the second issue of the Micro:Mag came out. It features my guide explaining how to use Kodu Game Lab with the micro:bit, using the micro:bit as a controller. This uses the micro:bit's accelerometer to control a character in a game, You can also make the micro:bit spell out a word or sentence... Continue Reading →
I recently wrote an article for Lego's hub on the TES website about how coding challenges can be used to inspire your pupils and the importance of placing them within a real-world context. A great way to help your pupils understand the relevance and importance of coding is through the use of competitions. There are... Continue Reading →
BCS Certificate in Computer Science teaching Part 3 investigation. Question investigated is: 'Can the same programming objectives be achieved when pupils are creating different types of programs or must a class always work towards the same goal to ensure that no one misses out on a key concept?'
This year I decided to get an alternative tree for my classroom and when I saw this one from Hobbycraft, it seemed perfect for some coding projects to be easily attached. The tree decorations are made up of sparkle batons cotrolled by a Crumble controller. We used sparkle batons but if you don't have any... Continue Reading →
For this activity, I asked pupils to work in pairs to plan a Christmas-themed game. I demonstrated my own planning using the planning sheets that I was providing them with as well as providing the game I had created based on the planning: The game is available here I was building on some of the... Continue Reading →
Gruffalo cut scene planning Designing my Gruffalo World A far more complex skill on Kodu than creating a simple game is creating an animation or cut scene. These are really impressive when they are achieved as they allow a storytelling element to be added to the game. They can be triggered by a range of... Continue Reading →
This is a project that I carried out with Year 6 pupils. Initially they had to design their world and we looked at the different characters in a Mario game and their behaviours (e.g. when they bump a flower, they can shoot bombs, etc.) This was a project for pupils who had already had plenty... Continue Reading →
My latest article for the TES was written for their Lego hub which is aimed at primary teachers, who are in general new to teaching coding. You can read it in full here.
Help! I have been asked to coordinate computing but I don’t know where to start. Part 3: Working with others This is the last of my 3-part series of blogs looking at what to do if you are feeling overwhelmed as a new coordinator or subject lead. This is particularly geared towards primary school teachers.... Continue Reading →
