'Robot' algorithms in Class 2!

We first discussed how we could get computers to do what we want. We thought about how we might give a computer instructions on different programs or by clicking/ tapping buttons and keys.

We then put it to the test! ‘Robot Miss Walsh’ needed to get ready for Forest School. The class took it in turns giving the robot instructions to wrap up for the cold- but after the robot put the coat on backwards, the gloves ON top of the hand and then put their hand inside the WRONG glove, they soon realised that they needed to be more specific with their instruction giving and the order in which we gave them.

We considered what might happen if we were not specific with our instructions and decided to play a game on our whiteboards. The class were instructed to draw only what they were told to draw but not what the object was. We realised that we had all created very different drawings to each other by the end! When we were given more specific instructions, however, we all were able to create similar drawings and clearly identify that we had drawn a house!

Then, it was Class Two’s turn! We paired off into ‘programmer’ and ‘robot’. The programmer was given an object or animal to instruct their partner to draw, without the robot knowing what they were drawing. This time, Class Two were much more successful at giving clear and specific instructions (bar a few wiggly stemmed flowers and a cat with ears on its chin!). Can you figure out which animals our robots drew?

Finally, we discussed the sequences of instructions that we gave and considered what made them successful, as well as what needed to be adapted. We learnt that these sequences of instructions can be called 'algorithms' in Computing!