Computational Thinking PO2/PO3
This activity is a CT PO2/3 activity. This computational thinking activity can be used as a stand alone activity as an introduction to Makey Makey and Scratch or be used in conjunction with the follow up Dance Mat part II activity. With Makey Makey, computational thinking requires external physical inputs and in this activity students have to create cardboard reed switches to make a “finger” dance mat that acts as a prototype for the full size version they will be making in Dance Mat part II.
As mentioned above there is an extension to this activity in Dance Mat part II which has more complex coding and a range of extension activities to extend all students as far as they wish to take this activity
If you have not used Scratch before then the following video tutorial may help you to become a little more confident with its learning potential. Scratch Tutorial
Whilst this resource was created using a Makey Makey and Scratch it is entirely possible to do this same activity using Tynker or a BBC Micro:bit instead of a Makey Makey.
If you want to use Tynker to do this project and you are not a confident user of Tynker then these tutorials may be of use to you. The lessons illustrated here also apply to the blocks in Scratch and as such will work on Scratch too.
Loops, conditionals and variables – Part 1
Loops, conditionals and variables – Part 2
To use this resource, simply make a copy of this resource and rename it so that you become the owner of it then adapt it to meet the learning needs/intentions of your students/planning. If you want us to make more of this kind of resource please contact us at david@dakinane.com and we will make more resources to share with you, related to your need.
