Wanted: Digital Leaders

May 082019
 

I am looking for a team of Digital Leaders – two keen and responsilble Leaders from each class to help me lead Computing across the school.

Pesponsibilities and opportunities

  • Tasks to keep equipment in the Computer Room and the rest of the school  tidy and well-cared for
  • Special projects
  • Learning new skills on Chromebooks, iPads, LEGO etc
  • Teaching others – children, teachers?
  • Thinking about how Computing could help you learn in  other subjects
  • A Digital Leader badge!
  • One lunchtime per week (one or both DLs from each class to attend each week)

How to apply

  • Create a simle j2e page called “Digital Leader” saying why you think you would be a good Digital Leader
  • Or email me

 

LF Y6 Broadcasting in Scratch

Apr 292019
 

Broadcasting messages is a useful way of passing information between sprites.  An example of this is when a level finishes maybe because a character gets to the end point – sprites might need to hide/show, return to start points, background change…

In our game, a key point is when the time runs out, eg darkness comes.  Lots of things need to happen at this point, eg air raid siren, planes, bombs, main sprite – no more movement…

Ideas

  1. Call a message “night” or “darkness”
  2. Desice what needs to happen when sprites/backgrounds receive this message
    1. Main sprite could  when it receives “night”
    2. Bomb/plane code starts with “when I receive” instead of green flag

 

Y4 What is a mind map and how can I make one? (1)

Apr 262019
 

Watch the video about mind maps:

Explore Coggle tools

  • Explore the tools on Coggle (j2launch – Google Drive,  New – more – Coggle)

Mind map from text – Egypt

Transferring to j2e5

  • Click download – image
  • Right hand click – copy
  • Go to a new j2e5 page
  • Make it landscape and 50%
  • Paste – Ctrl-v
  • Make your mindmap as big as possible, crop any spare space

Mind map from text – Rivers

Coggle tools

  • Resize text by dragging
  • Add and delete branches
  • Add a picture
  • Add symbols
  • RH-click to get branch options

Adding a picture

  1. In Google
    1. Search for a simple picture – should be simple,use the word “icon” or “clipart” in your search
    2. Save image as…
  2. In Coggle
    1. When typing, click the picture icon and find your picture (in Downloads or Google Drive)

Success steps

  • explore new software with curiosity and positivity;
  • understand branch structure/rules of mindmaps;
  • classify ideas;
  • drag branches to create compact mind map

Next post – Mindmaps (2)

How to Mind Map

The Student’s Guide to Mind Mapping

 

 

Y6 LF Code a Scratch game (3)

Apr 252019
 
  1. Darkness
    1. variable counting down
    2. Background brightness effect
  2. Movement
    1. follow mouse?
    2. arrow keys?
    3. left-right-jump? (+ platforms?)
  3. Lights out
  4. Disable movement at 0

Computational thinking

  1. Don’t panic! Understand the problem
    1. Game brief
    2. Q and A
  2. Simplify! (decomposition)
    1. Pick ONE part at a time
      1. Sky going dark
      2. Sprite moving UDLR
      3. Turn off lights when touched by sprite
  3. De ja vu?
    1. Have we done anything similar before?
    2. What Scratch blocks do you remember?
  4. Create a plan – algorithm
  5. Have a go…!

Game brief

A game company would like you to make a WW2 blackout themed computer game featuring, the landscape of a UK city threatened by the Blitz.  The aim is to put up blackout curtains in the daytime before nightfall so that the bombers will pass harmlessly overhead during the night.  Successive screen will become harder with more windows to cover and bigger buildings.  Wardens will be patrolling.  You may have to find or buy blackout material.  Depending on how completely you blackout the city, bombs will fall.  How long can you keep your city from being destroyed – a percentage score could drop after each night of bombing….

 

Y3 LF: Bar chart in j2e5 (1)

Apr 232019
 
  1. Start a new j2e5 page
  2. Make a new table   with 1 column and 5 rows
    1. Henry VII 23 Years
    2. Henry VIII 38 Years
    3. Edward VI 6 Years
    4. Mary I 5Years
    5. Elizabeth I  45 Years
  3. Put the information in your table
  4.  Create a graph from your table by selecting it (click on top left box) and clicking the graph button 
  5. Add a picture of  each Tudor monarch – drag and drop them from this website:
    1. http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/tudors/kings.htm
  6. Add a title: The Tudors
  7. Add some facts, for example from these websites:
    1. https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/history/general-history/tudor-facts/
    2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/famouspeople/henry_viii/
    3. http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/Tudors.html
  8. Make the page into an attractive poster – fill the page.
  9. ** Only when you have checked the success criteria yourself and with me –
    1. Go to https://cooltext.com/
    2. Choose a suitable style – royal, old-looking
    3. Type “The Tudors”
    4. Change settings – you can choose a better font here too
    5. Drag onto your j2e5 page instead of your title

Success criteria

  • Fill the page
  • Graph and chart together
  • Fact box
  • Big title
  • Even spacing

Y6 LF: Plan a Scratch game – decomposition (2)

Apr 042019
 

Computational thinking

  1. Don’t panic! Understand the problem
    1. Game brief
    2. Q and A
  2. Simplify! (decomposition)
    1. Pick ONE part at a time
      1. Sky going dark
      2. Sprite moving UDLR
      3. Turn off lights when touched by sprite
  3. De ja vu?
    1. Have we done anything similar before?
    2. What Scratch blocks do you remember?
  4. Create a plan – algorithm
  5. Have a go…!

Game brief

A game company would like you to make a WW2 blackout themed computer game featuring, the landscape of a UK city threatened by the Blitz.  The aim is to put up blackout curtains in the daytime before nightfall so that the bombers will pass harmlessly overhead during the night.  Successive screen will become harder with more windows to cover and bigger buildings.  Wardens will be patrolling.  You may have to find or buy blackout material.  Depending on how completely you blackout the city, bombs will fall.  How long can you keep your city from being destroyed – a percentage score could drop after each night of bombing….

 

Bach music

Mar 212019
 

Computing skills

  • Create music online
  • Download a file
  • Convert file using online converter
  • Upload file to j2e

To save

Upload to j2e

  • In j2launch click 
  • Choose files

Use it

  • Put on a j2e5 page
  • Put in a Scratc background as repeating background music

Y4 Egyptian maze game

Mar 202019
 

CT principles poster

LF1 Logging on!

LF2 Movement controls

  1. Go to “My stuff” and click on your maze project
  2. (Original project =  https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/205492019/ _
  3. See inside
  4. Scratch cat code
    1. Make Scratch move up, down, left, right when you press the arrow keys:
      1. Events – when up arrow pressed…ScreenHunter_155 Feb. 22 08.16
      2. Up = change y by  5 ; Down = change y by -5ScreenHunter_157 Feb. 22 08.17
    2. Test it out by trying to get past the Egyptian god!

LF3 Choosing coordinates

  1. Look at the Egyptian God script – can you work out how it works?
  2. RH-click on the Egyptian god and duplicate to get two more – one for each level
  3. Change the x y numbers so they patrol left and right
  4. Test the game – make sure it is just possible to get past by going into the tunnels

LF 4 Use drawing tools

  1. Stage – Backdrops
  2. RH click to duplicate
  3. Edit the second backdrop to make a new level

LF5 Make sprites interact

  1. Scratch script
    1. Add blocks so that, when Scratch touches the door, the background changes
    2. Make a new set of blocks so that, when Scratch touches a baddie, it returns (go to…) to the start position
    3. How can we make Scratch only move when it is not touching the walls?
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