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AWARD WINNING
FUZE CODING WORKSHOPS BRIDGE THE CHASM BETWEEN SCRATCH & PYTHON Learn to Code with FUZE4 Nintendo Switch |
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From January 2020, FUZE Technologies award winning FUZE Coding Workshops will be delivered using FUZE4 Nintendo Switch.
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“FUZE4 Nintendo Switch represents a fantastic opportunity to help address the digital skills gap. Teaching coding from a gaming perspective is sure to enthuse, inspire and motivate young people and provide them with a valuable life skill, imperative to the future digital landscape.” Ian Livingstone CBE - Founder Games Workshop, Director Sumo Group plc.
About FUZE Coding Workshops:
FUZE Coding Workshops ensure three core fundamentals coding principles are understood. These are LOOPS, VARIABLES and IF THEN conditional statements. The importance of these principles cannot be overstated. They represent the foundation of almost every programming language ever devised and as such even a basic understanding lowers the barriers to learning more advanced languages in later years.
FUZE Coding Workshops ensure three core fundamentals coding principles are understood. These are LOOPS, VARIABLES and IF THEN conditional statements. The importance of these principles cannot be overstated. They represent the foundation of almost every programming language ever devised and as such even a basic understanding lowers the barriers to learning more advanced languages in later years.
Block-to-Text Transition:
In all other subjects, children start with the basics, move into the middle ground and then onto more advanced levels. Of course, if we started kids on Ladybird books and jumped straight to Tolstoy, we’d have a serious problem.
However, this seems to be the case with coding. It is the common-ground to start with tools like Scratch and other ‘block based’ environments and then move onto Python and other real-world languages.
There’s nothing wrong with either platform, just that quite simply, the gap between them is far too wide and as such we are likely to lose many potential candidates on the way.
FUZE provides a transition between these two environments and in doing so lowers the barriers to entry of the real-world languages. Without a reasonable understanding of the core coding principles, Python and C etc. can look extremely complicated. However, by learning in the middle ground with FUZE things start to fall into place.
In all other subjects, children start with the basics, move into the middle ground and then onto more advanced levels. Of course, if we started kids on Ladybird books and jumped straight to Tolstoy, we’d have a serious problem.
However, this seems to be the case with coding. It is the common-ground to start with tools like Scratch and other ‘block based’ environments and then move onto Python and other real-world languages.
There’s nothing wrong with either platform, just that quite simply, the gap between them is far too wide and as such we are likely to lose many potential candidates on the way.
FUZE provides a transition between these two environments and in doing so lowers the barriers to entry of the real-world languages. Without a reasonable understanding of the core coding principles, Python and C etc. can look extremely complicated. However, by learning in the middle ground with FUZE things start to fall into place.
It’s no different to human languages as learning just a few words can help make a page of foreign text far more accessible and less daunting. It’s the same across all subjects, and it is something FUZE is proving time and time again, is missing from the computing curriculum.
Students can learn text-based coding from as young as seven as long as it’s presented in an accessible format and within the middle-ground.
Students can learn text-based coding from as young as seven as long as it’s presented in an accessible format and within the middle-ground.
FUZE Coding Workshop sessions run throughout a full school day and can be structured to suit timing requirements. Ideally, they run for a minimum of 60 minutes. A few minutes are required between each session to reset and prepare for the next. Sessions can however be extended and varied to best meet the needs of the school.
Specifics:
A single session includes:
Extended sessions can include:
Activities include: (Some of the below activities will require multiple extended sessions)
Finally, we can provide teacher training so the school can continue using the FUZE coding environment. We don’t patronise, it’s great fun and goes a long way in helping reduce the fear and apprehension around teaching real coding.
FUZE has delivered more than 1,000 workshop sessions to schools and stem events around the country. Time after time, teachers are consistently surprised at the level of attention and engagement over extended periods their students demonstrate during a FUZE Coding Workshop.
Specifics:
- FUZE teaches text-based coding from age seven to fourteen
- Classes can be up to 30 students
- FUZE brings a full suite of Nintendo Switch devices and all the required accessories.
- Access to an electronic screen / projector is very helpful
- An early morning assembly presentation can be included at no additional cost
- Two DBS enhanced certified tutors are in attendance at all times
- Multiple days means progressive learning, not repetition
- Costs start at £650 for a standard single day
- Activities can be tailored to suit and can span multiple days
A single session includes:
- Using a text based programming language on Nintendo Switch!
- Writing and debugging simple programs
- Demonstrate common uses of information technology beyond school
- Understand how instructions are stored and executed within a computer system
- Use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programs
- The use of sequence, selection, and repetition in programs
- Introduce simple Loops, the screen display coordinates, colours and random
Extended sessions can include:
- Working with variables and various forms of input and output
- Interacting with game controllers to influence movement and animation on screen
- Advanced Loops
- Using If Then condition Statements to control program flow and predict outcomes
- Develop and apply analytic, problem-solving, design, and computational thinking skills
Activities include: (Some of the below activities will require multiple extended sessions)
- Simple text programs
- Simple 2D graphics
- Interacting with Joy-Cons (Game controllers)
- 2D Game mechanics
- Writing a simple 2D Game
- Learning how to interact with a touch screen
- Introducing 3D world space
- Discover 3D cameras, lighting and shadows
- Create a 3D scene
- Write a simple 3D Game
Finally, we can provide teacher training so the school can continue using the FUZE coding environment. We don’t patronise, it’s great fun and goes a long way in helping reduce the fear and apprehension around teaching real coding.
FUZE has delivered more than 1,000 workshop sessions to schools and stem events around the country. Time after time, teachers are consistently surprised at the level of attention and engagement over extended periods their students demonstrate during a FUZE Coding Workshop.
School Testimonials
The following comments are from school heads, IT teachers, STEM event holders and the press.
The following comments are from school heads, IT teachers, STEM event holders and the press.
Barrow Hills School
Rarely have I witnessed lessons where the children were that
engaged for that length of time. I went along to see what was
going on and I could not have been happier”
Matthew Unsworth – Head Teacher
Dunmore Primary School
The following day the children were still buzzing from the
experience and haven’t stopped talking about it.
I wholeheartedly recommend.”
Toby West – Specialist Teacher
Ickford Combined School
I can’t praise the FUZE enough and schools looking
for a robust, reliable, easy to use and
exciting tool to teach programming to invest”
John Ronane BA(Hons), MA, MBA, FCoT – Headteacher
Bentley Wood High School for Girls
“With such an easy to pick up language, our students
were controlling robot arms and interacting
with analogue sensors in less than an hour!”
Gavin Calnan, Head of Computing and ICT
Comments from a few young people that have used our FUZE computers:
Ickford Primary School (Ages 10 - 11):
Boys
“When we first heard that we were doing programming we
thought it was going to be really hard, but now it’s really simple!”
“It practically teaches us, like a teacher,
cause it’s got everything that we need on it.”
“This is more fun than Scratch,
there is more to do and it is much easier.”
Girls
“I thought it was going to be harder, but it’s pretty easy!”
“There’s lots of different things you can do compared to the computer.”
“I enjoy lighting up the lights, and love controlling it and making it!”
“It makes you feel quite proud - that you’re actually able to do this!”
“It’s built up my confidence.”
Featherstone High School (Ages 14-15):
“It helped me a lot to understand computer science and now I like it!”
“The workshop was fantastic. I wish they could do it again!"
“I now know how to do some coding and how to control the robotic arm and LED. Overall I give it 5 Stars!”
Rarely have I witnessed lessons where the children were that
engaged for that length of time. I went along to see what was
going on and I could not have been happier”
Matthew Unsworth – Head Teacher
Dunmore Primary School
The following day the children were still buzzing from the
experience and haven’t stopped talking about it.
I wholeheartedly recommend.”
Toby West – Specialist Teacher
Ickford Combined School
I can’t praise the FUZE enough and schools looking
for a robust, reliable, easy to use and
exciting tool to teach programming to invest”
John Ronane BA(Hons), MA, MBA, FCoT – Headteacher
Bentley Wood High School for Girls
“With such an easy to pick up language, our students
were controlling robot arms and interacting
with analogue sensors in less than an hour!”
Gavin Calnan, Head of Computing and ICT
Comments from a few young people that have used our FUZE computers:
Ickford Primary School (Ages 10 - 11):
Boys
“When we first heard that we were doing programming we
thought it was going to be really hard, but now it’s really simple!”
“It practically teaches us, like a teacher,
cause it’s got everything that we need on it.”
“This is more fun than Scratch,
there is more to do and it is much easier.”
Girls
“I thought it was going to be harder, but it’s pretty easy!”
“There’s lots of different things you can do compared to the computer.”
“I enjoy lighting up the lights, and love controlling it and making it!”
“It makes you feel quite proud - that you’re actually able to do this!”
“It’s built up my confidence.”
Featherstone High School (Ages 14-15):
“It helped me a lot to understand computer science and now I like it!”
“The workshop was fantastic. I wish they could do it again!"
“I now know how to do some coding and how to control the robotic arm and LED. Overall I give it 5 Stars!”