Computer Programming in Schools – How should we teach it?

A recent Edutopia article, Program or Be Programmed, got me thinking about the place of computer programming in schools. In this article Mary Beth Hertz, a computer teacher, from Philadelphia bemoans the fact that many schools are dropping computer science. Yet the article identifies some interesting tools that teachers, parents and young people might find of interest. In particular Hackasaurus and htmlpad look interesting and could prove useful in Irish…

Read more Leave a comment

Bee Bot – essential kit?

Bee-Bot is a robot shaped like a bee.  It’s a very simple but brilliant device that allows the user to move the Bee-Bot either forwards or backwards and either turn left or right.  It’s best used with a Bee-Bot grid – either a template or a see-through blank.  You can see a video of it in action by following this link. In the above example, I had scattered a number…

Read more Leave a comment

Having Fun with Computer Programming and Games

Lero – the Irish Software Engineering Research Centre, the Departmentof Computing IT Tallaght and CIO Ireland with the support of theDepartment of Education Transition Year Support Services are pleasedto announce the availability of a set of materials “Having Fun withComputer Programming and Games” for transition year students. The unitconsists of 10 modules and of approximately 45 hours of teachingmaterials. The materials are freely available and can be downloaded atwww.lero.ie/educationoutreach/transitionunit/.Students use…

Read more Leave a comment