Today, there were a number of learning activities being implemented which were wonderful examples of the connections and alignments between Digital Technologies and other areas of the curriculum.
Prep
In Prep there was a little area set up for their new robotic mouse to be used. Perfect for explorations related to location and position in Mathematics, these students are going to love setting up a course for the mouse to follow in order to get the cheese. The movement cards up set up as magnetised items on the board at the back and the mat is awaiting a new course for the next child to design and build. This is a also a fantastic example of how coding/computational thinking can be scaffolded within a classroom where a range of pedagogies is in place – in this case, it is a play and inquiry activity for the students.
Recognise and explore digital systems (hardware and software components) for a purpose
Recognise and explore digital systems (hardware and software components) for a purpose
Year One
These students were working as part of a Literacy and Numeracy Rotation to design and build a maze suitable for their blue-bots to be programmed to move through. It was fascinating to watch the collaboration and discussion that occurred throughout this activity and also to study the different ways of working for individual children and the two different groups. Thus far they have designed their maze and started to design the algorithm for the program which will direct the blue bot to travel successfully from one end to the next.
Recognise and explore digital systems (hardware and software components) for a purpose
Follow, describe and represent a sequence of steps and decisions (algorithms) needed to solve simple problems
Year Four
Year Four were using a robotics activity as part of their work in Geography and Mathematics. The students have been learning about various geographical concepts including compass points and direction whilst in mathematics they are focussing on scales, legends and directions. Mrs Cartwright designed this activity which required the students to identify elements of the map and the grid lines on it. She then had a series of challenges for the students to complete using the robot, the blockly coding app and the map. It was awesome to watch the students at work. This task allowed them to be discussing geographical locations and direction as well as considering mathematical concepts of distance. These concepts were then brought alive for many through the use of the robot. This could be called computational thinking by stealth!
Define simple problems, and describe and follow a sequence of steps and decisions (algorithms) needed to solve them (ACTDIP010)
Implement simple digital solutions as visual programs with algorithms involving branching (decisions) and user input (ACTDIP011)
Maths: Use simple scales, legends and directions to interpret information contained in basic maps
Year 5/6
Mr Bayliss is working with a group of maths enrichment students across Yr 5 and Year 6 using the online GROK learning platform. Today there were involved in an unplugged activity designed to enhance their understanding and skills associated with this week’s problem solving focus within GROK. For an explanation including some videos, access CS Unplugged here. The students loved this and enjoyed the challenge combined with the physical aspect of actually seeing it play out or being within the sorting lines.
