Introduction 

The final two lessons in this unit are very flexible. You will need a selection of different types of control technology for your students to explore. These could be many different things depending on what you have available in school. Schools that buy into our ICT SLA for Teaching and Learning are entitled to make use of our loan equipment to support these lessons, although please bear in mind that this equipment is very popular and often needs to be booked out in advance.  

Contact your link adviser directly via email, or our team address (teachictnt@ntlp.org.uk) to request a loan.

 

Organising the lessons

Please decide what will work best for your class based on the numbers of students, the space and equipment you have available, but a carousel set up  of around six activities can work really well, with the children in small groups, moving round to explore the equipment at each station. 

Over the two lessons they should have the chance to freely explore the equipment while also then being asked to think about three key questions:

 

• What is it?
• How does it work?
• How does it compare to other machines you know about? This may include the things discussed in the previous lessons about homes and businesses. 

 

You may want the children to complete a sheet to record their thinking as they go, or perhaps at the end of each session.

We have provided this simple worksheet (2 sheets to be printed back to back) for you to use and adapt for the activities you select.

 

Below are some suggestions for devices and activities that could be used. The list is not exhaustive so please make use of anything similar you have and get creative!

 

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Build your own machines!

What do you think this machine does? How does it work? What does each of the buttons, switches and dials do? How could you program it? 

 

 

Actually it doesn’t do anything, just a box with some old lights, plugs and switches attached, but the key to this is what could it do?! Take junk modelling to the next level and introduce computational thinking. Plan and build their own models out of anything, but can they then explain exactly how it works and how to operate it, or can they write their own instructions (algorithm) for programming their machine? . This can show their understanding of how machines in the real world work, perhaps bringing in elements that they have seen working in other machines.

You might have some old tech you can pull apart and use, but cereal boxes, tubes and buttons will work just fine. It's the ‘how it works’ thinking and the explanation that’s important.  

 

Answering the key questions with Build Your Own Machines

• What is it? 
• How does it work?
• How does it compare to other machines you know about?

For this activity it really will be down to the child and what they have created. They should have the answers in this case!

 

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Squishy Circuits / Electro Dough

Some elements are available to loan from Teach ICT North Tyneside

  

Both Squishy Circuits and Electro Dough (below) are the same thing. They use a combination of conductive (salt) and non-conductive (sugar) dough to build really easy circuits and introduce young children to electricity. Play-Doh you buy in the shops is conductive, own brand alternatives might be less so, you’ll have to experiment. You can also make your own doughs. 

You can then take simple electronic components that you probably already have in you science cupboard and add them to dough circuits:

• Battery packs (and good quality batteries!)
• LEDs (bulbs)
• Buzzers

 

If you don’t have these parts, they are really easy and cheap to purchase. 

The Squishy Circuits website (squishycircuits.com) has lots of fantastic resources to help and inspire you, including a great TED talk from AnnMarie Thomas, the founder and director of the Playful Learning Lab. She introduces the concept of Squishy Circuits and gives some examples of how they can be used in learning. 

 

 

There is also another nice introduction video, quick start guides, recipes for making the dough, plus lots of engaging projects to try. 

 

 

An app for iPad and Android is also now available that you and the students can use to help them through projects. 

 

Electro Dough is another brand doing the same thing as Squishy circuits. Tech Will Save Us have developed a number of kits containing everything you need for different activities. 

 

 

They also have a great set of activities and projects designed for a different age groups:

Both Electro Dough and Squishy Circuits are a wonderful way to get students into electronics and controlling the simplest lights, motors and buzzers.

Remember you can also buy all the bits you need separately and make your own dough to save some money. 

 

Answering the key questions with Squishy Circuits / Electro Dough

• What is it? - an easy way to build electrical circuits and make lights, buzzes and motors work.
• How does it work? - Electricity is stored inside a battery. It passes from the battery through the wires, through the conductive dough and through other components (lights, motors etc) then goes back to the battery to complete the circuit. If the electricity can get right round the circuit and back to where it started everything works. When you break the circuit things stop working.
• How does it compare to other machines you know about? - Every other electronic device contains circuits that make them work, its a vital part of how most technology today works!

 

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Programmable toys 

Bee-bots and Blue-bots available to loan from Teach ICT North Tyneside

 

Bee-bots are small programmable robots that require simple directional instructions. This colourful, easy-to-operate, and friendly little robot is a perfect tool for teaching sequencing, estimation and problem-solving. 

Directional keys are used to enter up to 40 commands which send Bee-Bot forward, back, left, and right. Pressing the green GO button starts Bee-Bot on its way. Bee-Bot blinks and beeps at the conclusion of each command to allow children to follow Bee-Bot through the program they have entered and then confirms its completion with lights and sound. 

Begin with trial and error and experimentation for how they move, where they might end up etc, then progress to planning a sequence of instructions or navigating a maze of bricks. Lots of Bee-Bot resources are available to buy such as grid mats and interchangeable shells. 

The TTS website is a good place to start looking for Bee-Bots, Blue-Bots and accessories.

Many other programmable toys are available, though be aware that some are aimed at older children. Here’s some other nice options for younger ones. 

 

 

LEGO Coding Express

Introduce simple concepts with the familiarity of LEGO Duplo and trains. Make your train pause, stop, change direction, sound the horn, and more! Using the action bricks, early learners will learn through play about sequencing, looping, conditional coding, and cause and effect by placing the new action bricks within the train’s track. Each action brick creates a specific action allowing for students to test and redesign ways to problem-solve and work together to get their train to its destination. Raising Robots are one of many suppliers for the Coding Express.

 

 

LEGO STEAM Park

 

LEGO STEAM Park builds on every child’s natural curiosity and desire to create, explore, and investigate the world of early science, technology, engineering, art, and maths (STEAM) through creative play. With every trip to STEAM Park, children grow their understanding of gears, motion, measurement, and solving problems together in a fun and engaging way.

• Cause and effect
• Observing and describing
• Problem-solving
• Role play and collaboration

Raising Robots are one of many suppliers for the LEGO STEAM Park.

 

 

Cubetto

Cubetto is the friendly wooden robot that lets you teach the basics of computer programming through adventure and hands on play. Made of tactile and hard-wearing wood, Cubetto is screenless and ready to play. It uses a coding language you can touch and manipulate like LEGO®. Each block you place onto the wooded programming board is an action. Combine them to create programs. Place the blocks on the board to tell Cubetto where to go. Hit the blue button and Cubetto executes your very first program.

Expand play time with world maps, educational story book and challenges. You can find out more here, and buy Cubetto and accessories here.

 

 

Code-a-Pillar

 

FisherPrice’s Code-a-Pillar is a really nice variation on Beebots. Click the body sections together in a sequence of your choice to create the algorithm for its movement. A nice Code-a-Pillar programming app is also available to accompany the toy. 

 

 

Sphero

 

Spheros are fantastic little spheres that you can control or program. They are an interesting option as they can be controlled in lots of different ways with a tablet, from remote control to coding. They are fully sealed and fairly robust, containing an internal gyro motor that drives it from the inside. Fun fact - the team that made Sphero assisted with the design of Star Wars’ BB8 droid which uses the same technology. You can even buy your own BB8 version of Sphero, as well as a range of other similar robots and Sphero resource packs.  

 

Answering the key questions with Beebots/Bluebots

• What is it? - a programmable robot toy
• How does it work? - it has a small and simple computer inside. Pressing the direction buttons sends an input message to the computer, an output message is then sent to the motors that make the wheels turn in the correct direction and the correct distance. 
• How does it compare to other machines you know about? - Like many machines, it has physical input buttons that make things happen.  It can also be programmed (given instructions) like many household appliances e.g. a washing machine. 

 

 

 

Remote control vehicles 

Available to loan from Teach ICT North Tyneside

 

There are many kinds of remote control vehicles available, from cars to helicopters. Many are inexpensive and offer a variety of control methods such as joysticks, push buttons or steering wheels. Each will challenge children to master control in a different way, get them to consider steering, acceleration, left and right and how it changes depending on which way the vehicle is facing. 

Create slaloms, parking challenges, racetracks with bricks or masking tape, or make memory games where they have to  replicate a route that has been shown to them live or from a card.

TTS supply a good range of remote control vehicles. 

 

Answering the key questions with remote control vehicles

• What is it? - a vehicle controlled remotely. This means the controller is not attached to the vehicle. 
• How does it work? - When you press a button or move a stick on the controller an invisible message is sent through the air from the controller to a receiver in, or on the vehicle. The message tells the motors what to do so it moves the way you tell it to. Batteries provide both the controller and vehicle with electricity to make it all work. 
• How does it compare to other machines you know about? - Other things in our homes have remote controls. TVs are a common example, but other things like music systems, heating and even lights and curtains can be controlled remotely. 

 

 

 

Cubelets

 

Cubelets are magnetic cubes that can be snapped together to create robots. No coding required, just thought about which block goes where. Choose from Sense, Think and Act blocks to bring your robot to life! 

Keep it simple with younger children and focus on discussion about inputs and outputs, what different blocks do and how they change the way the robot works. Some of the cubes contain (input) sensors that will amaze your children, making their robot move because an object is close or far away, light or dark, warm or cold or because a dial is turned. Outputs range from wheels moving, lights coming on, buzzers buzzing and turntables turning. They’ll love experimenting with Cubelets.

You can buy smaller starter kits (6 cubes, 12 cubes  or larger class sets. Some kits contain attachable plates to make the Cubelets compatible with Lego bricks, so you extend your robot even further, or use the Cubelets for the base of a bigger, cooler Lego creation.

This video gives a really great introduction to how Cubelets work and how you can use them. 

 

Answering the key questions with Cubelets

• What is it? - a system of cubes that can be joined together to make robots. 
• How does it work? - Some cubes provide power with a battery, others have inputs with sensors so you can tell them what to do in different ways, others are outputs and make things happen, such as movement, lights or sound. 
• How does it compare to other machines you know about? - Many of the Cubelet sensors can be found in other machines. For example the motion sensor is the same as one above an automatic door. When something comes close it sends a message to make something happen. The Light sensor is like you might have on a light outside your house or on some cars, when it senses that it's getting dark it sends a message to make a light come on.

 

 

 

Zoundz

Available to loan from Teach ICT North Tyneside

 

Sadly, Zoundz are almost impossible to purchase now, though we do have a number of sets available for SLA schools to loan. They are an example of a very different way of controlling toys. They are a musical device where you place a variety of coloured shapes onto a board that contains three sensors. As you add the shapes at the sensor points, the music starts, as do the pulsing coloured lights in time to the music. Different shapes on different sensors change the effects to give a huge variety of possible combinations. 

The shapes are all different textures and on their own can generate lots of great descriptive work from young children but the whole Zoundz kit is a great sensory control experience. 

You can find a scan of the user manual here.

 

Answering the key questions with Zounds

• What is it? - an electronic musical instrument that uses sensors.
• How does it work? - The board has a mini computer, lights and a speaker inside it. There is a chip inside the shapes which transmits a signal to the sensors in the board  when they are close enough. The computer searches its memory for which shape is next to which sensor and then triggers a combination of sounds and lights that it has stored in its memory.
• How does it compare to other machines you know about? - Proximity sensors are quite common, as mentioned above with Cubelets and automatic doors or sensors that make the lights turn on when you enter a room. 

 

 

 

Walkie Talkies / Mobile phones

Child phones available to loan from Teach ICT North Tyneside

 

Who doesn’t love a walkie talkie?! Let your children investigate and how they work and what their limitations are. Simply press a button to call and speak. But how does the sound travel through the air? 

• Amazon best selling kids’ walkie talkies
• TTS Mini mobile phones

 

Answering the key questions with Walkie Talkies

• What is it? - A device to speak to someone remotely within a short range.
• How does it work? - Walkie-talkies send and receive radio messages. You have to press a button in order to speak, and you have to release that button to hear sound coming from other units. Because you don't have to dial a number each time you want to transmit, walkie-talkies are quick and easy to use. And best of all, they don't rely on phone signals. The handsets transmit directly to each other,
• How does it compare to other machines you know about? - They are obviously similar to mobile phones although also work in a different way, as described above. 

 

 

 

Metal Detectors

Available to loan from Teach ICT North Tyneside

A real world application of sensors in a device, great to have with your sandpit for children to explore and investigate how these devices work, or send them searching the classroom for metal items and listing them as they go.

TTS Easi-detectors

 

Answering the key questions with metal detectors

• What is it? - A machine that can tell if metal is close by. People commonly use them to search for metal objects under the ground without having to dig just to look. 
• How does it work? - Metal detectors work by transmitting an electromagnetic field from the search coil. Any metal objects within the electromagnetic field will become energised and send back an electromagnetic field of their own, which makes the detector beep. 
• How does it compare to other machines you know about? - Metal detectors are found in airports and other buildings where they want to check people are not carrying metal objects, usually weapons. You walk through a gate which beeps if you have anything made of metal on your person. X-Rays are a similar detection technology but can search for other substances beyond metal.

 

 

 

Apps for control

There are a wide range of apps that can also be used to get the children thinking about controlling things. They all use a touchscreen as that is an essential part of a tablet, but that’s not the point here. Logical thinking and puzzle games can give interesting control challenges. 

Here’s a few suggestions:

 

Labyrinth (free) - The classic marble rolling game is great on an iPad as it makes use of the device’s accelerometer and a three-axis gyroscope. This technology allows the device to sense motion, tilt, speed and the angle of the tablet.

 

 

Crazy Gears (£2.99) - Children manipulate gears, chains, rods, and pulleys, to pull themselves through each level, which teaches them how different mechanisms affect one another when constructing a machine.

 

 

Busy Shapes (£2.99) - Busy Shapes helps children improve their ability to handle simple objects through a series of puzzles, in which they must change simple shapes and place them in proper holes.

 

 

Busy Water (£3.99) - Winner of the Best Educational App of the Year Award #BETT 2017 - Busy Water is a critical thinking puzzle game based on amazing water physics. The objective: use pipes, spray, paddle wheels and blocks to help Archie the fish get back to his tank. Each level has multiple solutions developing creativity as well as logic and reasoning.