Digital Adventures
Classbot450
Classbot 450 is a whole school interactive adventure designed to inspire primary-aged pupils to learn computer programming using live immersive drama and an accessible coding interface.
The adventure begins when pupils are enlisted to participate in a new government teaching initiative, the ClassBot 450 Programme; they are then introduced to a humanoid robot teacher: ClassBot 450 LX. In addition to supporting pupils’ coding education, the project also explores the philosophical questions posed by the advancements in Artificial Intelligence.
'Usually the things we do are within a set framework. This opens up their imagination and gets them to work through a problem in a fun and engaging way, all while learning.'
Mansukh Hussain, Y3 teacher, Salusbury Primary School
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‘It stirs their imagination and engages them as they become active participants... I love the fact that some of them who previously have been really shy are now asking questions and really interested in coding.’
Y3 teacher, Salusbury Primary School
Classbot450 is generously supported by John Lyons Charity and by Arts Council England's Project Grants.
D.O.T.S (Dreams of Time and Space)
Created in partnership with Dr Angela Colvert (Senior Lecturer in English Education at University of Roehampton), D.O.T.S has been created as a tool for teachers to bring immersive adventures in their classrooms.
Partners: University of Roehampton
A ground-breaking fusion of augmented reality, coding education and immersive theatre, the Digital Ghost Hunt is a collaboration between KIT Theatre, King’s Digital Lab and the Univesity of Sussex.
An ordinary assembly is interrupted by the arrival of Undersecretary Quill, asking for their help. This begins a Ghost Hunter apprenticeship, a series of four coding challenges given to them by the erratic Professor Bray. These challenges help pupils to think like a programmer – learning to read and debug code, think about the steps of an algorithm, and basic logic structures – as pupils programme their own ghost detector in Make Code. Two weeks later pupils take their ghost detectors into the field, visiting a local venue where they explore and interact with the building in their quest to find the ghost, help the ghost and set the ghost free.
The Digital Ghost Hunt was awarded the 2019 Digital Humanities Award in the “Fun” category.
Partners: King’s Digital Lab, King’s College London, Sussex University
“It was amazing when all the detectors flashed at the same time when the ghost came in at the end.”
- Nathanael, Year 5 pupil at Shaftesbury Park Primary School
The Silenced Singer
A singer (who sang for the love of it, but also happened to be pretty good) loses her singing abilities after bumping her head in the night. Her best friend, who is also a musician, gets in contact with the class, explaining that as her singer friend needs to learn the basics of singing from scratch, she thinks it might work if the pupils helped her, as they might be about to start a similar journey.
Delivered in partnership with Essex Music Service.
“An unforgettable experience.”
- Adam Seakens, participating Year 5 teacher, Shaftesbury Park Primary School
“I liked the way that when we were in the attic room, the piano and the lights were operating themselves.”
- Amari, Year 5 pupil at Shaftesbury Park Primary School