Computing at Home: our top highlights

Author: Sophia Aker, programme coordinator

We’ve had a busy 6 months at Digital Schoolhouse, as the pandemic plunged us into the unknown territory that is home learning. The Computing at Home series was born out of a will to help parents at home and teachers chartering online lessons.

With over 40 follow along video’s later, and lots of new resources tailored to parents, we’re so pleased that despite the uncertainty of this time, we now have a bank of resources that are accessible to everyone.  

We’re looking back at some of the highlights over the spring and summer months as we developed resources to cater for learning Computing at home using everyday objects that can be found around the house.

Take a look at our top highlights below!

1Ukie’s pets meet each other

Working from home meant that our team, just like almost everyone else, had to get to grips with Zoom team meetings. Lockdown brought with it new challenges and experiences, but none more fun that new pets! Sophia’s new puppy Nacho met the team, and even got to facetime with Estelle’s pony Rico!

2. Trolling on Twitch

Online twitch workshops were something of a novelty to us… But we were determined to make it a success and be prepared for any eventualities! Channelling their inner good cop/bad cop, Laura and Sophia took it in turn trolling each other on the chat to prepare for any unwanted comments, all while Estelle delivered a test lesson to herself!

3. Dancing to the Waka Waka in the living room!

Our first #ComputingAtHome live workshop with Estelle brought the groove to the living room, with over 100 sign ups for our first ever live workshop of Just Dance with the Algorithm! This classic workshop, developed by Digital Schoolhouse in partnership with Ubisoft, had little learners dancing their socks off to Shakira’s Waka Waka, all the while engaging with core programming and computing concepts. The DSH team ready and waiting in the twitch chat couldn’t help but shake out a few moves too

4. Releasing the Ukie Education colouring book, by industry artists

In the spirit of bringing creativity and colour to people at home, Laura skilfully curated Ukie Education's free downloadable colouring book, with the help of a variety of talented individuals from the video games industry who submitted their artwork. The result, a vibrant colouring book for children and adults alike to fill in the blanks!

The colouring book encouraged individuals to download and make a donation to GamesAid and a selection of COVID-19 charities.   

5. Delivering the first ever online Summer Boot-up Camp

We love meeting new and experienced teachers at our annual Summer Boot-up camp. While we couldn’t meet in person this time, we made sure to invite everyone virtually, to get teachers up to speed and do our best to welcome new faces to the programme. We delivered a three day Zoom call to over 50 teachers and loved seeing faces new and familiar across our screens!  

6. Special Guest Elle Osili-Wood joined us for the finale of the Computing At Home live workshop series, Eco Gamer!

The last live workshop in our Computing at Home series, in this green-themed finale Estelle was joined by special guest TV presenter, podcaster and journalist Elle Osili-Wood. Eco Gamer was developed in partnership with BAFTA, and inspired by the success of Football Manager’s 2020 environmentally friendly packaging. The workshop had learners develop their very own social media campaign to raise awareness of how packaging can be designed to be more planet friendly.

We had a blast and loved having Elle deliver this workshop - you can watch the full workshop here

7. Middlesex Summer Success Camp – 9 hours of workshops by our very own Lead Teacher Michael!

We were thrilled to partner with Middlesex University to encourage the next generation of digital creators to learn new skills in games design. Over the course of three weeks in August, students participated in the free Summer Success Camp to develop KS3 numeracy and literacy, embed digital skills and explore careers opportunities.

Lead teacher at Neatherd High School, Michael Skilton, delivered 9 hours’ worth of content to aspiring students, all available to watch online!

If you'd like to browse our online content, subscribe to our YouTube channel or browse our resources here

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