Using the micro:bit, learners will create a prototype score counter. Learners must ensure the product is accurate, well...

In this challenge, students are asked to evaluate an existing product – a step counter or pedometer. They then create a step counter to encourage healthier lifestyles among teenagers. It is based on a BBC micro:bit device which includes an accelerometer capable of detecting ‘shake events’. These events are then...

Inspired by the Born to Engineer video from Mathew Holloway, this resource uses the Crumble controller, setting students a design challenge that sees them create their own umbilical controlled buggy that can navigate small spaces. Although specific to the Crumble controller, this resource could be used as a design...

...

In this activity, students examine changes to forests in cross-border regions of Africa and Borneo using Google Earth Pro to help identify features shown in satellite images and make measurements. The context allows students to explore the factors which put pressure on forested areas, and what is being done to...

After learning about flooding, students consider the design problems caused by its early detection. Students are introduced to moisture sensors, and can build their own using the instructions provided or use a ready-made version. This is connected to the BBC micro:bit and used as an input device. After processing...

In this challenge, students are asked to consider the impact of people suffering from heart conditions, both to the individual and to wider society. They then generate ideas for using programmable systems to improve people’s health, and to monitor themselves. A video introduces the idea of a heart rate monitor, and...

This presentation, from Paul Curzon at QMUL, uses a folded paper geometric shape called a hexahexaflexagon to teach about abstraction, data representation and graph data structures, while encouraging computational thinking. A video (linked from within the presentation) shows how to make one of the geometrical...

This classroom resource for secondary computing lessons outlines the history of development of computers. It covers thousands of years of history, including:

• the abacus
• log tables
• the calculators of Pascal and Leibnitz
• Jacquard looms
• Babbage's Difference Engine and...

Students first evaluate existing alarm systems and learn about a burglar’s attitude towards them using a video featuring reformed criminals. They are then briefed to create a working door access and alarm system using a BBC micro:bit and selected input and output components such as LDRs, reed switches, buzzers and...

Reducing energy usage in the home saves money, increases energy security and reduces the need to burn unsustainable fossil fuels. The first step in doing this is monitoring how much energy is...

Using the context of the Nintendo Wii, this starter activity develops an understanding of the terms system, input, process, output and signal, and asks students to identify these features in some common products which are shown in the presentation.

In this full scheme of work, designed for a series of two-hour double-lessons, students develop a Mars Rover for NASA based on a standard VEX design. They learn about the components of a robotics system including control units and data communications, and work through a design process towards a prototype. The VEX...

This one-hour lesson examines the design of IoT algorithms, considering how individual devices execute algorithms as code, allowing them to work together. The key aims are to develop computational thinking while raising awareness of the potential for future careers and enterprise.

The lesson starts with the...

A highly technical overview of how sound is represented in a computer, how digitising sound changes the quality of it and how reducing the sample rates can effect the resulting audio. The resource also comes with a number of sound samples to illustrate these concepts, along with both Python and Scratch programs to...