Astro Pi is the name of a small computer developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, in collaboration with the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency (ESA).

There are two very special Astro Pi’s. Their names are Ed and Izzy, and they have been qualified for spaceflight. They are now onboard the...

Sometimes a small, seemingly insignificant, variation in the specification of a problem makes a huge difference in how difficult it is to solve. This activity, like the The...

This book is designed to help all those who wish to find out more about the language LOGO, a language intended to demystify computers and computer programming, and make the power of computers accessible to all.

A brief introduction to some basic commands is followed by An Outline to LOGO ...

This resource details a real-world algorithm which students are unlikely to have encountered previously. The Luhn Algorithm is one method for validating that the long number on a credit/debit card is a valid number (it doesn't check if the card is actually a credit/debit one, just that the number conforms to the...

This activity helps children to understand the components of computer systems, with a focus on input devices. It links this to their everyday experience, by comparing games controllers, keyboards, microphones and other everyday peripheral devices. The practical part of the activity involves creating programs in...

This activity helps children learn about computer systems and output devices. It relates these systems to those they encounter everyday, from headphones to printers and washing machine motors. They understand that programs make these devices function, and attempt a programming activity using Scratch and Lego WeDo....

This course, based on using the free programming website 'Rapid Router', teaches programming concepts from the basics using the Scratch-like 'Blockly' language. By programming a delivery van to follow simple routes, children learn about...

Building on the Key Stage 1 Blockly activity, this course introduces children to repeat loops, 'if' statements, and variables.

The activities focus on driving a delivery van around increasingly complex routes involving twists, turns and traffic lights. At the end of Lower Key Stage 2, the children can...

This lengthier activity involves designing and creating a simple computer game using the free Microsoft Kodu platform. It is expected that the children will have some prior experience of Kodu, or that a basic tutorial is offered before commencing this activity. Worksheets are provided that help children through the...

This activity introduces children to the Kodu games programming environment through tinkering. They are asked to experiment with an existing game code, and also to start from a blank screen.

Guided...

This book produced by the team behind the Magpi magazine and the Raspberry Pi contains a series of projects suitable for students of all ages. It consists of 13 chapters which start off by introducing students to Scratch on the Raspberry Pi, it then builds up the complexity of the tasks chapter on chapter. A brief...

This edition of the Computing at School newsletter focuses on Computational Thinking, and contains articles covering:

*The importance of computational thinking

*...

In this adaptable lesson plan by Barefoot Computing, children create a simple model (out of Lego or similar) and then take photos to create instructions (an algorithm) for other children to recreate their model. By removing one block at a time they are decomposing the problem into manageable steps. Teachers may...

This resource provides a lesson plan and all the related materials to teach children about the principles of building and programming robots. It relates the components of a robot to the equivalents in humans for example relating human senses to the robots sensors, muscles to motors and brain to computer and program...

This edition of the Computing at School (CAS) newsletter is focused on physical computing, and features:

*The BBC Micro-Bit and Make It Digital projects

*CPD tips with Barefoot and Quickstart

*Primary school activities with Scratch and Makey Makey

*Scratch projects with Microsoft Kinect...