Students will need to be given various aspects of both secondary storage devices and what is expected of them in terms of creating the top trumps themselves. As background to the task the teacher needs to start by explaining the three main types of secondary storage magnetic, optical and solid state.

After...

This is a set of resources for students aged between 11 and 13, focusing on the internal components of a computer. The main presentation introduces the topic and contains links to external resources. Students are challenged to create storyboards and short stories to retell how the components work together. The...

In this challenge, students are asked to consider the impact of people suffering from heart conditions, both to the individual and to wider society. They then generate ideas for using programmable systems to improve people’s health, and to monitor themselves. A video introduces the idea of a heart rate monitor, and...

This presentation, from Paul Curzon at QMUL, uses a folded paper geometric shape called a hexahexaflexagon to teach about abstraction, data representation and graph data structures, while encouraging computational thinking. A video (linked from within the presentation) shows how to make one of the geometrical...

This classroom resource for secondary computing lessons outlines the history of development of computers. It covers thousands of years of history, including:

• the abacus
• log tables
• the calculators of Pascal and Leibnitz
• Jacquard looms
• Babbage's Difference Engine and...

Students first evaluate existing alarm systems and learn about a burglar’s attitude towards them using a video featuring reformed criminals. They are then briefed to create a working door access and alarm system using a BBC micro:bit and selected input and output components such as LDRs, reed switches, buzzers and...

Reducing energy usage in the home saves money, increases energy security and reduces the need to burn unsustainable fossil fuels. The first step in doing this is monitoring how much energy is...

This ebook, by Roger Young, explains computers as electrical circuits consisting of switches and relays (subsequently equated to transistors). It begins with simple circuits showing how, from first principles, switches and relays work. These are then combined in increasingly complex arrangements to simulate logic...

This edition of the Computing at School newsletter contains articles covering:

*Coding and computer science

*Code Club and Computing ++

*Tips for teaching programming

*Codecademy

*Teaching encryption with spreadsheets

*Scratch sensorboards (picoboards)

*Robotics...

Have you ever wondered how to create movie magic, such as hideous monsters or incredible costumes? The secret to creating an amazing movie is just a few STEM Club lessons away. This programme investigates how you can use design and technology to master movie tricks, from creating your own prosthetic mask to...

In this activity, learners will recall and extend their understanding of programmable systems.

A complete unplugged activity for a lesson in how data packets travel across the internet, and how the complete message that they contain is reassembled. The activity also has provision for students to film themselves participating in the process and explaining the stages that everything goes through. There are...

Astro Pi is the name of a small computer developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, in collaboration with the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency (ESA).

There are two very special Astro Pi’s. Their names are Ed and Izzy, and they have been qualified for spaceflight. They are now onboard the...

Mobile app development is an engaging way for students to learn programming and interface design as many do, indeed, "love their smartphone".

This complete learning package teachers the origins and development of the smartphone, helping them to appreciate the amount of technology packed into their pocket. It...

A series of STEM projects, bridging design and technology and computing, which make use of the BBC micro:bit microcontroller device.