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St Joseph's RC Primary School
Computing Initiatives at St. Joseph's School
Amazing things are happening in Computing this year@ St Joseph's
Computing Club is thriving with children coding on Micro:bits and experiencing all the technology that we have at school like VR sets, Lego Robots, little Bootley or BeeBots.
Our Digital Leaders are taking many initiatives to record Online Safety videos for EYFS and run the Early Coding Club for Year 1 and 2 students.
Let the children lead
'If you don't know what to do with Shape Robotics, it's absolutely fine. That's why you've got your students in your group. That's why you've got them in your team. And believe me, their ideas are absolutely amazing. Their brains are so flexible that they cannot see the limits'
Katarzyna Suliga Wasielewska
Computing Lead
St Joseph's RC Primary School - Islington
What interested you in the Shape Robotics solution?
'Firstly, we recognise the importance, the growing importance of incorporating STEM education into their curriculum and shape. Robotics offers this hands-on approach to learning, giving our children the opportunity to engage with technology in a fun and interactive way. And additionally, to that, we were drawn to the versatility of the solution. Its modular design and the variety of sensors that can be used with the robots make so many things possible. So, for our children, it means an endless list of concepts that can be done.'
Katarzyna Suliga Wasielewska
Computing Lead
St Joseph's RC Primary School - Islington
Fable Robots arrive at St Joseph's
Fable Robots arrive at St Joseph's
Fable Robots represent cutting-edge educational tools designed to provide comprehensive support to educators across various subjects and classes while also stimulating students' creativity through coding activities. We use the Fable Blockly app as our coding platform, enabling us to utilise block-based programming techniques – the same approach we teach to our students starting from Year 1 up to Year 6 - and have an insight into a Python language that we introduce in Year 6. Our robotics collection includes two models: Fable Go, equipped with wheels, and Fable Explorer, featuring an articulated arm. These robots can connect to Samsung phones, which enables us to transform them into humanoid robots with expressive facial features.
Alba and Pius from year 5 were already making some improvements in code:
‘Let’s change the angle!’ suggested Alba and Pius added to change the launch speed.
In the forthcoming projects, we aspire to use these robots for Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) students, fostering their communication and emotional expression through humanoid robots.
Additionally, we intend to integrate these robots into our art lessons. Our ideas are boundless, and our students are enthusiastic about further explorations.
This is Bianca from Pearl Class. When she saw the Fable Go robot with sad eyes she immediately reacted by asking: “Why are you sad? Do you want to play?”
‘Bianca, do the face, Fable does.’
Asked: ‘Why is he sad?’, she replied, ‘He missed me.’ She then started comforting Fable; patting him on his head and telling him that, ‘It will be okay. I'm here. Don’t worry.’
It was fascinating how our students interacted with Fable as if he were alive. They cared for the robot and tried to make him feel happy. They even tried to communicate with Fable and they imagined that he was talking back. The children treated him as if he was their friend.
Moreover, this year, our school is set to receive 30 micro:bits, which will be integrated into our computing, design and technology (DT), and science lessons. The micro:bit is a device, capable of executing a wide range of functions, such as a step counter, or a gaming console. It has 25 LED lights and two programmable buttons, which can be used for gaming or program control. Currently, we have seven micro:bits, used in our Coding Club sessions. They appreciate the tangible outcomes that result from their coding, particularly when employing block-based programming. These micro:bits serve multifaceted purposes, including data logging, step counting, and the creation of name tags.
How can we make Robots more human?
'Firstly, we recognise the importance, the growing importance of incorporating STEM education into their curriculum and shape. Robotics offers this hands-on approach to learning, giving our children the opportunity to engage with technology in a fun and interactive way. And additionally, to that, we were drawn to the versatility of the solution. Its modular design and the variety of sensors that can be used with the robots make so many things possible. So, for our children, it means an endless list of concepts that can be done.'
Katarzyna Suliga Wasielewska
Computing Lead
St Joseph's RC Primary School - Islington
How does it help to develop future skills?ST J 4
'In St. Joseph's Primary School, we've got this commitment to make sure that our children are equipped with 21st-century skills, such as collaboration, innovation and problem-solving. By working in teams, creating, designing, building, and programming those robots, we're not just giving them the opportunity to build interpersonal skills, but also we're giving them the opportunity to experiment with project-based learning'
Katarzyna Suliga Wasielewska
Computing Lead
St Joseph's RC Primary School - Islington
What are the advantages of using Shape Robotics to deliver the Computing curriculum?ST J 5
'It's much more than just coding. You've got a phone that comes with that; Samsung phones that we got that can not just present the facial expression on the Fable Face app but can also be used as a remote for the robot. We've got a robot that can move. We've got a camera that can be linked with the robot sound sensor and the colour sensor. You can code the robot so it will tidy up your classroom together with your children'
Katarzyna Suliga Wasielewska
Computing Lead
St Joseph's RC Primary School - Islington
How have you used the robots?.
'We've got a group of twelve children that are using fable robots at the moment. So it is an inclusive club. Children came only with an invitation and we meet every Wednesday after school as an extracurricular enrichment club.'
Katarzyna Suliga Wasielewska
Computing Lead
St Joseph's RC Primary School - Islington
Throw a ball
Throw a ball
Our first project, 'Throw a Ball,' is specifically tailored for use during physical education lessons and breaks, enhancing children's engagement in activities such as tennis table.
One child can determine the launch angle, while the other child uses a bat to interact with the robot's ball-throwing mechanism. The underlying code for this project is illustrated as follows:
Here is a glimpse of our students in action during interactive sessions with Fable Explorer
‘Let’s change the angle!’ suggested Alba and Pius added to change the speed of the launch.
Getting Fable to return the ball needs a lot more code!
When she saw the Fable Go robot with sad eyes she immediately reacted by asking: “Why are you sad? Do you want to play?”
‘Bianca, do the face, Fable does.’
Asked: ‘Why is he sad?’, she replied, ‘He missed me.’ She then started comforting Fable; patting him on his head and telling him that, ‘It will be okay. I'm here. Don’t worry.’
It was fascinating how our students interacted with Fable as if he were alive. They cared for the robot and tried to make him feel happy. They even tried to communicate with Fable and they imagined that he was talking back. The children treated him as if he was their friend.
What next with Shape Robotics at St Joseph's?ST J 9
'We've got another project, another robot having a conversation with little children. We started with the idea of telling a joke, but we couldn't find a good knock-knock joke that we could use. So we decided to go with a favourite colour and have a simple conversation that can be done by a robot. But maybe we can change it to something else. We have to try it now and run it in the classroom.
They will do it.
Those children will run the code in the classroom and check the outcome and then debug if there are any bugs in the code and explore it even more and make it even better. We've got a maze for year six to relax before the SATS exams, but maybe that can be used with children with ADHD problems in their early years. We're going to try that. So our next projects are endless.'
Katarzyna Suliga Wasielewska
Computing Lead
St Joseph's RC Primary School - Islington
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