This longer-duration activity involves prototyping a low-power lighting system. It could be used in an off-timetable workshop or across a series of lessons.

Students are challenged to work through the whole design process, and to place a micro-controller (in this case a BBC micro:bit) at the centre of the...

This introductory guide explains how to use the LINUX shell known as BASH (Bourne Again Shell). BASH is useful for linking together various programs for creating innovative solutions, and can unleash the power of a Raspberry Pi.

The guide covers running BASH, the syntax used, how to chain together commands,...

The BBC micro:bit is a great tool for carrying out surveys that involve quickly counting and recording one or two variables. Using the button inputs provides a simple interface to the device allowing, for instance, quick tallying of the numbers of two different types of bee around a plant. Other examples might...

This activity, suitable for a multi-lesson sequence or a single extended session, challenges students to design and prototype a simple motion-sensing alarm. The device is intended to prevent theft or the accidental picking-up of a bag.

Motion is sensed using the accelerometer built-in to the BBC micro:bit,...

A short series of guides for using the versatile BASH shell on Raspberry Pi and other Linux computers.

In this resource from the Construction Youth Trust, students are asked to work with percentage and decimal calculations when exploring the financial accounts of a small business. The materials have been written to help a non-teaching STEM professional to work with students in an educational setting.

The...

This archive document guides teachers introducing Logo to the computing classroom. While some sections may refer to outdated technologies, many of the techniques and learning outcomes remain relevant to users of any Logo platform. The activities begin with simple drawing using the turtle and pen, and progress...

STEM plays an important role in the movies, even if you don’t always see it on the big screen. Sometimes it’s in the special effects that enhance a scene, or even the big ideas behind the story.

This programme has students creating their own special effects, building and testing stunt cars and exploring...

This report from Ofsted looks at low level classroom disruption. Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI) raised concerns about low-level disruption in schools in his Annual Report 2012/13. As a consequence, guidance to inspectors was tightened to place greater emphasis on this issue in routine inspections. In addition...

Looking to discuss the big, contestable questions in STEM? This collection of resources from The Economist Educational Foundation supports students to understand how the scientific and technological processes of the modern world are intertwined with political decisions and ethical calculations. They help develop...

The Big Ideas: the future of engineering in schools report, supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering, reflects the views of leading engineering education experts and key stakeholders such as employers, parents and students. It proposes that students should be explicitly taught about engineering and the...

This resource looks at binary data and contains an Excel workbook with macros to enable recolouring/checking the colour of cells. A series of binary numbers are given in a rectangular grid of cells on the left when the workbook is first opened. Students are required to recolour the original binary grid, to show the...

This booklet is filled with examples of how scientists are combining Computing and Biology. There is a web address and QR code next to every summary so that students can follow the link and find out more.

This brief article taken from CS4FN looks at how a user authenticates themselves to a computer could be used as the starting point for class discussions around passwords, security, biometrics and other related topics concerning how users...

Andrew Robertson is a computer engineer working at Queen Mary, University of London on music signal processing.