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Welcome to the Digital Maker Staged Activity pack. By completing the activities in this pack you’ll earn your Stage 2 badge.
Have you ever thought about how a website is made? Or wondered how a robot knows what to do? There are so many types of digital technologies that we can all use, from iPads to mobile phones to computer games, that it’s easy to forget someone had to have the knowledge to make them. At Nesta, a charity that supports innovation, we believe it’s not enough to know how to use technology, it’s important to have the opportunity to learn how it’s made too - and the best way to learn is to have a go at making it yourself! We call this digital making - learning about technology through making with it. And it’s not just us; we found out that 82 per cent of eight to 18 year olds are interested in making things with digital technologies. That’s a lot of people!
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The skills and knowledge you get from digital making is important for choosing a job, finding new ways to be creative and express yourself, and it’s important for understanding the world around you. When you get going, the things you can make are endless - from websites, to apps, to games, animations, robots, 3D printed objects or even digital music and fashion. Phew... This pack is an introduction to how some of these technologies work and in some cases how you can try them at home. It won’t make you a robot engineer or a computer game designer overnight, but it will show you that there are lots of resources out there online, and that learning digital making skills can be fun!
Activity 1 Operating Systems
An Operating System is the most important program that runs on a computer. Every general-purpose computer must have an Operating System to run other programs. Operating Systems run basic tasks, such as recognising input from a keyboard, sending output to a display screen, keeping track of files and folders and controlling peripherals such as printers. Operating Systems also provide a platform for ‘application programs’ to work from – such as Word, Excel, Photoshop and iTunes.
Can you name some different Operating Systems? Can you name other application programs?
Activity 2 Transferring an image from a camera via USB
Scouts will transfer an image from a USB device to a computer, learning about navigating directories and folders and different types of connectors. Take photos of objects (not people) first so you have something to transfer. You can use the images for the Evil Twin website in Activity 3. USB cables are very popular types of cable, used mostly to connect computers to peripheral devices. Most USB cables are ‘A to B’ - The B end is usually a small rectangle shape and plugs into the peripheral, and is where the information is sent from. The A end is the flat, wide end which plugs into a computer and is where the information is received. Option 1) Use a USB cable with a digital camera or phone. Most digital cameras today come with a USB cable for transferring image files. • Connect the USB cable A end to the socket in your computer. Connect the B end to the camera. • Ensure your camera is switched on. • Wait for notification that the operating system has recognised the camera. • Drag the image files from the camera drive to a folder on your computer.
Option 2) Use a USB memory card reader. These are simply small memory drives that plug into your USB port. • Find the slot for the memory card in the camera. Sometimes it’s hidden in the bottom or side. • Remove the memory card from the camera and slot into the memory card reader. Make sure it’s the correct way round. • Plug the card reader into your computer’s USB port. It will either connect directly, or have a USB cable on the end. • Drag the image files from the drive to a folder on your computer.
Activity 3 Make your own Evil Twin website or make your own idea for a website on Thimble
Can you show that you understand how personal data is shared online? https://mozteach.makes.org/thimble/evil-twin-the-opposite-of-me Evil Twin: The Opposite of Me Using HTML and CSS, create a profile page for your Evil Twin. Everything on the page is the opposite of what you would really make for yourself.
1. With your Section, explore problems and strengths of the open web with regards to privacy. 2. Think about: • What happens to data that is on the web? • How long does it stay there?
• What should you NOT put on the web? Why not? • What information is public on the web?
3. We can have different identities online. What would a profile page for the opposite of you look like? Together, make a list of what a profile page has. For example: • Name
• Picture
• Favourite food
Create a plan for your pretend profile on paper. Consider colour, layout, images etc. Mozilla Thimble is a free, simple, visual editor that lets you write and edit HTML right into your browser. Use a blank Thimble project to create your profile page for your alter egos/evil twins. thimble.webmaker.org/ Remember, to ensure online safety and to protect your identity, these are pretend details, not real details for you!
• Favourite movie, etc.
Activity 4 Programming a Turtle
Create a set of instructions to program a turtle through a maze Steps for the Activity There are many resources for learning to code using a Turtle, a relic from the 1980s when ‘Logo’, a programming language, was popular. The Turtle was a little on-screen turtle or a real life robot turtle that you could give instructions to, like move forward, or rotate left and right. Today there are many things that teach computing through the use of turtles, even Lego (Lego Mindstorms is based on Logo) and board games. Together, check out these resources and make some instructions for a turtle to follow: • Help Angry Birds through the maze and get the pigs: studio.code.org/s/1/level/2. (Here the turtle has been replaced with an Angry bird). • Blockly Turtle Sandbox: blockly-games.appspot.com/turtle • or Solve a Maze: blockly-games.appspot.com/maze
No internet? Fear not! Using pen and paper, and a buddy, write instructions for a turtle. • Individually, draw a maze on paper. • Write your instructions for a turtle to go through the maze. Instructions you could use include: • Move forward
• Move backward
• Turn left
• Turn right
• If you know about angles, you can use them to be more specific with how far to turn. • Scouts can swap maze and instructions with a friend and see if the instructions work.
