This term our Year 6 pupils enjoyed an exciting visit to HSBC where they spent the day learning about coding, technology and digital creativity.
Their workshop took place on the 42nd in the HSBC innovation centre which offered a spectacular view across London and an inspiring setting for their learning. Year 6 pupil, Haajar, said, “It’s such an amazing view here, you can see all of London!”
The session began with pupils being asked to think about the coolest piece of technology they had ever seen. This introduced a lively discussion before they were guided into their first activity using Imagi Charm to create digital art.
Recent graduates from HSBC explained the basics of programming language and gave an introduction to the many different types of computer language used in the modern world.
Pupils were particularly fascinated to learn that the word bug, meaning an error in computer code, originally came from the days when computers were enormous and real insects sometimes caused faults.
Working in small groups, pupils used iPads to explore an eight by eight matrix. They learned how to read and use index numbers to locate rows and columns, practising commands such as m[1][1]=on to light up a single pixel. Their first complete shape was a coded heart which many pupils proudly displayed. Some even went further by filling the heart rather than creating only an outline.
Later they learned how to use variables to create different colours and discovered the naming rules for variables. They then explored functions which help programmers avoid repeating long sections of code. Year 6 pupil, Ismail, said, “Its been so much fun here, I picked it up VERY quickly.”
The day concluded with a chance to try the Meta Quest headset which the pupils found to be the biggest highlight of the day!
This visit showed a real link to one of our school values creativity. It allowed our young learners developed original digital designs and experiment with new ideas. We would also like to thank HSBC for providing such a valuable experience for our pupils.
Comments
No comments yet