Learning Resources
Printed Material
Here are some PDF versions of the guides we use in our workshops and school visits...
In this tutorial we will be making a set of traffic lights and a binary calculator.
To be used with the Pico Explorer Kit.
In this great tutorial, you will learn how to write code in Python and create fun geometric patterns using the Python Turtle tool!
Websites are a part of every day life now, but how are they made? With this guide, we will show you how you can get started with making your very own website.
Age Range 7+
This guide will introduce you to everything Raspberry Pi-related. It talks about the basics - unboxing, plugging in, which cable does what - and then explores a few elements of physical computing with the Raspberry Pi using the two main programming languages that Pi comes loaded with - Scratch and Python.
Python is a great place to start if you're keen to get programming. It is flexible, runs on loads of devices like the Raspberry Pi and can be incredibly powerful.
Here's a worksheet you can print out and colour in to design your own amazing pixel art creations, or copy one of the examples!
Here's a worksheet you can print out and colour in to design your own amazing pixel art creations, or copy one of the examples!
Fill in this fun sheet while following the Virtual Gaming History Guided Tour! For younger children.
Fill in this fun sheet while following the Virtual Gaming History Guided Tour! For older children.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to write code in Python and create a 1982 Tron-like game using the
Python Turtle tool.
For ages 8-11yrs. In this activity, we will be looking at a device called the micro:bit. For an introduction to the micro:bit, please watch this video (watch it up to the 13:21 mark for a quick introduction).
In this worksheet, we will start by creating your astronaut name badge (the program shown in the above video), and then move on to launching a rocket, which on the way sees a sky filled with twinkling stars.
We hope you enjoy these activities. Happy coding!
Quizzes
In need of a brainteaser?
Test your memory power by filling in the answers to each clue in the horizontal spaces. If all your answers are correct, the letters in each highlighted box will spell out the winning word vertically at the end. Use our website to help you in your quest ...
Here's the answers ... Don't peek!
Test your memory power by filling in the answers to each clue in the horizontal spaces. If all your answers are correct, the letters in each highlighted box will spell out the winning word vertically at the end. Use our website to help you in your quest ...
Here's the answers ... Don't peek!
Video Guides
If you learn by watching, try our video guides...
We take you through the very basics of programming using a BBC Microcomputer from 1981? Why? Because it's fun! and the understanding you will gain from this video can be transferred to modern programming languages like Python.
We will cover the PRINT statement, variables and loops, and then apply these to some creative commands like the SOUND and DRAW commands.
In the second part of this series, Jason extends our knowledge of loops and introduces the concept of conditional instructions; if/then/else. We even create a simple number guessing game!
Dan talks us through how to create your own interactive story or adventure game using Twine - an online or desktop application thats free for everyone.
In this guide Dan will take you though how to set-up variables, update them and use them to change the options in the game.
Anjali, Head of Learning at The Centre for Computing History, introduces the Microbit with 4 simple projects. This video is aimed at children with no prior experience of the Micro:bit.
Dan takes us through creating a Parachute game using Scratch. Parachute is a game originally released in 1981 on the Nintendo Game and Watch, so you'll be re-creating a bit of history!
Download the assets for the game : Parachute-Assets
Dan talks us through your first steps with Scratch and shows you how to create a simple 'chase' game.
For ages 7-10yrs. Make an interactive 8-bit solar system using Scratch!
Download the assets needed here: Download
Chris Shore talks about Colossus, how it came to be, how it worked and how it changed the course of World War II. Essential viewing!
Career Talks
If you're interested in a specific career in computing, these talks may help...
Charlotte Steggall talks about how she came to work at Nintendo, the recruitment process for a career in localisation, what the job looks like on a day to day basis, and explain how people can best place themselves for the same kind of career.
Charlotte became interested in learning Japanese after being involved in a school visit of students from Japan when she was 14. She went on to study Japanese at Liverpool John Moores University, and after graduation transitioned from the JET Programme to being a Japanese to English translator at Nintendo of Europe.
Some of the games Charlotte has been involved in translating include Wii Party U, Mario Party 9, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and the Inazuma Eleven Go series.
In this talk, Matt discusses what he studied as a student at the University and how he started working on live projects for clients alongside his 9 years of being a lecturer at higher education institutes across the country. He also talks about making his own game with Table Flip Games as well as his current job role as a senior 3D artist at Vegas City.
Articles
Read about how any school subject can get you to a career in 'tech'.
Read and learn about computing history...
In 2018, The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment estimated that the games industry was worth $137 billion, yet it's an industry that has only existed since the mid-to-late seventies. So where did it all start, and what was the catalyst that started a global billion dollar industry?
