Hacking Light

[mozfest-bot]

[ ID ] 8a0580bd-3583-4932-890a-b2cd85710f7c

[ Submitter's Name ] Tom Adesanmi [ Submitter's Affiliated Organisation ] CodeSwift

[ Space ] demystify [ Secondary Space ] youth

[ Format ] hands-on

Description

This activity will teach teens or whomever else may be interested how to code using our 3D light cubes such as these: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mXM-oGggrM

We aim to inspire coding beginners into the world of programming by making programming exciting, sparking their imagination and keeping them engaged.

People will learn the fundamentals of coding by addressing our programmable light cubes and controlling them to produce various animations.

Ever since the rise of the internet and the early dot com boom, the web has slowly risen to the centre piece in connecting the civilised world. As programming is at the core of understanding how the web works and contributing to its ubiquity, I strongly believe that learning coding skills is no longer just a "good to have", it is a necessity. Hacking light will start participants on this journey!

Agenda

Haven run successful workshops with our 3D light cubes, I know the process in and out and have refined it repeatedly to try to deliver the best results. Let me share the process with you:

Materials Required: 3D light cube, Laptop, Instructions

1) Participants will begin by learning how to command the cube using basic commands provided in the instructions.

2) Participants will then work on lighting individual LEDs on the cube

3) Participants will work on building a static image on the cubes, giving them a good idea of statements

4) Participants will then be instructed on creating moving animations which will teach them about loops

5) Participants will then be instructed on creating even more complex animations teaching them conditions and functions

Participants

With 1 cube: 3 participants will be work together to perform the activities mentioned above. This is the ideal number of participants.

With any more participants, they could contribute to ideas on how to take create more clever animations etc. and begin to learn about the engineering process - Designing complex engineering systems, before testing them on the Cube: A session like this could be devised.

Outcome

Participants like most of the students we have worked with will leave with a confidence that they can be programmers if they wish, but more importantly that they will enjoy it.

They will have learned Object Oriented Programming, designing systems, but also a different way to think.

Of course CodeSwift will also give them the opportunity to get in touch to organise workshops to learn more if they want to!

[EPIKhub]

I like this its a lovely visual way for our youths to see pattern and not just code :) how many of these do you have or you could bring?

[SuAdams]

Such a great idea showing the beauty and creativity that can exist within computer science.