03/09/2016 Click - Short Edition

It is the start of September, and I'm sitting in with Year 10

computer science at the Brooke Weston Academy.

This is Mr Chambers, award-winning tech teacher,

and today we are learning about logic gates.

Unusually, a lot of this lesson is going to take place in Minecraft.

So can I ask you to log on to the computers and we will

Microsoft bought this highly popular game for $2.5 billion back in 2014.

Since then, behind closed doors, it has been developing a version

specifically for use in the classroom.

A couple of months ago, the Minecraft Education Edition

started its public beta, offering schools the chance to try

it out and incorporate it into lessons.

And because they say that teaching others helps one to learn,

You put three blocks next to each other.

Now, logic gates are the building blocks of computer science,

the things that govern what the ones and zeros do inside your machine.

And it just so happens that the creative building

environment of Minecraft lets you build and visualise logic

In fact, all the students here have played Minecraft before,

and that is the theory behind using it in class.

What do you think about using Minecraft to do it,

Because we kind of know, we've all played Minecraft,

so we are interested to see how we can use it in a lesson.

I can see why the students have hit the ground running and can

immediately engage with the game, but what about the teachers who have

to plan their lessons inside Minecraft?

There is a big education community out there on the Minecraft education

website, and most of the teachers are on there communicating with each

other at the moment and getting ideas, which is great.

But to pick it up and use it, it is like any tool,

to be honest, so if you have to use power point, how long does that

It requires a level of creativity from the teacher, doesn't it.

It is not just writing things on the white board,

it is building things in a way that the students can learn from.

I mean, for example, I've seen people who have used it

in English lessons before, where they've made

about Romeo and Juliet and got students to think a bit more

I've actually seen students in science lessons who have made

the whole respiratory system as well,

and you go in through the diaphragm and they have put labels all around

It's not just about that, it's about using the media

It was ages ago I was teaching to - teaching logic gates to some

of my students, and one student piped up and said "Sir,

that is just like Minecraft, why don't you show us that?"

I said "Yeah, sure it is" and I went away and started playing

with Minecraft, and actually, I saw that there is a connection

If you listen to them, and you can find that thing that

engages them, it makes your lessons golden, because the kids want to be

But it is not only about getting the kids to engage in lessons.

Giving children a safe environment in which to fail.

So the game gives you instant feedback, but you are not punished

Ian Livingstone has been a government education adviser,

and he is in the process of setting up two new schools which put

His gaming pedigree is almost legendary.

He co-created the Fighting Fantasy interactive adventure game books,

and he is a great advocate of the educational value

Like, for example, Rollercoaster Tycoon.

Games promote critical thinking, problem solving, conputational

thinking, and I would argue computer science is the new Latin,

because it underpins the digital world, in the way Latin underpinned

Now I don't suggest for one second that children should be playing

games all day in class, but you can take principles

of games-based learning and apply them for context.

We shouldn't dismiss this scene as just child's play.

Children develop their language skills, emotions and creativity

And naturally, as technology impacts our lives

in so many ways, it has affected the toys kids play with too.

Initially, there was a trend towards kids' versions of grown-up

tech, like this tablet, which is full of kids' apps,

and has a safe web browser.

But now we are starting to see toy manufacturers move towards more

traditional-looking toys, but adding a bit of tech to the mix,

which is possibly to appease to parents who don't

want their children having too much passive screen time.

I have come across a few games that mesh physical play with tech.

These wooden smart letters look and feel like their low-tech

But download the app and a child can learn the sounds

of the alphabet while still holding an actual toy.

Some companies have taken this concept further,

tapping into the trend in teaching kids to code early.

The Osmo kit connects to an iPad, combining physical keys

The pattern the kids create with the tiles translates

into commands that move the bear across the screen.

It is aimed at children of three years and above,

and it combines some wooden toys and a play mat

Now, the kids don't need to be able to read or write yet,

as you select the commands by just choosing different colour pieces,

and then, at the touch of a button, the robot moves.

Six-year-old Ethan joined me for a bit of a play.

I want to go to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Soon we were trying to figure out how to get to our target.

He didn't even realise he was learning the basics

of coding, including creating functions, which would mean Cubetto

moves several squares at a time

with a single press of the execute button.

Face to face, that is where we are going.

And finally, for this week, I am joining some more academics,

this time at the University of Sussex, for a rather odd

Now, I am no expert, but I call this a bit strange.

Believe it or not, there is a good reason,

why these musical marshmallows are spraying polystyrene balls

Look very closely at their hands and you will see that

that particular polystyrene ball

Weird stuff that glows in the dark, even better.

Someone is going to have to do a lot of vacuuming though,

This is what was hidden inside the hands of the monster suits.

The beads are being held in midair using ultrasound.

Each of those black circles is an ultrasound speaker.

As we have seen before, they can actually move light

And here, the ultrasound waves they produce can levitate

Well, all of the prototypes in this room are part of the GHOST

programme, that is Generic, Highly Organic Shape-changing

It is investigating how we might replace our flat screens

with displays that are a lot more touchy-feely.

Take this stretchy screen, for example, that could one day let

you feel the things you're looking at, like this earthquake image

Then there is this interface, based just around clay.

And these bendy cubes, that play music.

These 3-D displays from a host of international universities

Now, the story of 3-D displays isn't just about feeling certain things

There is information that can be gleaned from how things transition

Imagine a calligrapher's swoosh as they write a letter.

And movement is a big part of this research.

This project wants to redefine how we think about pixels.

What if our displays could also become realistic,

tactile, useable buttons and sliders, that you could push,

The research here is really new, but it may one day redefine

It has already given me some new ideas for my dress sense!

To look at technology in education. Follow us on Twitter at: And you can

see the full version of this programme on iPlayer right now.

Thank you for watching and we will see you soon.