Control Course

A lot of my recent work , has centred around control and in particular upper Key Stage 2. If you are Redbridge Teacher we are running an excellent Key Stage 2 control course in May, be sure to attend or send someone that needs too! Details below



For the year 5 and 6 units I use Lego Robolab and it always amazes me how easy this icon driven software is to use, well at pilot level anyway. There is great satisfaction for both those teachers I work with when they get the Lego buggy to drive to the edge of the table and reverse when it senses a change in light temperature.

The beauty of Robolab is that it can provide challenge and extension for more able children, while also being accessible to all. It is also cross curricular, as it can link with D and T, Science ...and in fact with whatever subject(s) your creative curriculum will allow you. For instance my last project involved Dancing Robots, this involved some children creating the music for the robots, others creating the videos, while other programmed the robots to move to the music. The roles were interchangeable too so that all children had a go a the different challenges. (This idea came from Rob Widger, who now works for Lego Education as a guru- thanks Rob)

Like Lego it can grow and grow. I am not sure I could have got my year six kids to have developed systems like those below, though the beer opening device looks very useful!!








Control: LEGO, Logo and Logging in KS2
02 May 2007, 09:30 - 16:00

Aimed at Key stage 2 teachers, ICT and D&T subject leaders this course will provide you with opportunities to explore the control element of ICT. During the course of the day we will carry out a series of activities exploring the use of on-screen logo in the classroom and developing a control curriculum using simple devices, such as light bulbs and switches.
During the course we will be using the following resources:
MSW Logo, RoboLab, Lego RCX Brick an Infrared Tower, Lego lights and switches

book online here