:00:00. > :00:08.This week we are going back to school.
:00:09. > :00:45.It's the start of September, and I'm sitting in with Year 10
:00:46. > :00:51.computer science at the Brooke Weston Academy.
:00:52. > :00:52.This is Mr Chambers, award-winning tech teacher,
:00:53. > :01:00.and today we are learning about logic gates.
:01:01. > :01:10.Unusually, a lot of this lesson is going to take place in Minecraft.
:01:11. > :01:13.So can I ask you to log on to the computers and we will
:01:14. > :01:23.Microsoft bought this highly popular game for $2.5 billion back in 2014.
:01:24. > :01:29.Since then, behind closed doors, it has been developing a version
:01:30. > :01:33.specifically for use in the classroom.
:01:34. > :01:36.A couple of months ago, the Minecraft education edition
:01:37. > :01:38.started its public beta, offering schools the chance to try
:01:39. > :01:43.it out and incorporate it into lessons.
:01:44. > :01:46.And because they say that teaching others helps one to learn,
:01:47. > :01:55.You put three blocks next to each other.
:01:56. > :01:58.Logic gates are the building blocks of computer science,
:01:59. > :02:01.things that govern what the ones and zeros do inside your machine.
:02:02. > :02:04.It just so happens that the creative building environment of Minecraft
:02:05. > :02:07.lets you build and visualise logic gates really easily.
:02:08. > :02:23.In fact, all the students here have played Minecraft before,
:02:24. > :02:31.and that is the theory behind using it in class.
:02:32. > :02:36.What do you think about using Minecraft to do it,
:02:37. > :02:44.Because we know, we've all played Minecraft,
:02:45. > :02:47.so we are interested to see how we can use it in a lesson.
:02:48. > :02:51.I can see why the students have hit the ground running and can
:02:52. > :02:54.immediately engage with the game, but what about the teachers who have
:02:55. > :02:56.to plan their lessons inside Minecraft?
:02:57. > :02:59.There is a big education community out there on the Minecraft education
:03:00. > :03:04.website, and most of the teachers are on there communicating with each
:03:05. > :03:06.other at the moment and getting ideas, which is great.
:03:07. > :03:10.But to pick it up and use it, it is like any tool,
:03:11. > :03:14.to be honest, so if you have to use power point, how long does that
:03:15. > :03:21.It requires a level of creativity from the teacher, doesn't it.
:03:22. > :03:24.It is not just writing things on the white board,
:03:25. > :03:27.it is building things in a way that the students can learn from.
:03:28. > :03:31.I mean, for example I have seen people who have used it in English
:03:32. > :03:34.lessons before, where they have made theatres, so they have talked
:03:35. > :03:38.about Romeo and Juliet and got students to think a bit more
:03:39. > :03:43.I have seen students in science lessons who have made the whole
:03:44. > :03:46.respiratory system as well, and you go in through the diaphragm
:03:47. > :03:49.and they have put labels all around the different parts of the body.
:03:50. > :03:58.It is not just about that, it is about using the media
:03:59. > :04:05.It was ages ago I was teaching to, teaching logic gates to some
:04:06. > :04:08.of my students, and one student piped up and said "Sir,
:04:09. > :04:11.that is just like Minecraft, why don't you show us that?"
:04:12. > :04:15.I said "Yeah, sure it is" and I went away and started playing
:04:16. > :04:17.with Minecraft and I saw that there is a connection
:04:18. > :04:22.If you listen to them, and you can find that thing that
:04:23. > :04:25.engages them, it makes the lessons golden, because the kids want to be
:04:26. > :04:32.But it is not only about getting the kids to engage in lessons.
:04:33. > :04:38.Giving children a safe environment in which to fail.
:04:39. > :04:41.So the game gives you instant feedback, but you are not punished
:04:42. > :04:46.Ian Livingstone has been a government education adviser,
:04:47. > :04:50.and he is in the process of setting up two new schools which put
:04:51. > :04:55.technology, education at their heart.
:04:56. > :04:58.His gaming pedigree is almost legendary.
:04:59. > :05:01.He co-created the Fighting Fantasy interactive adventure game books,
:05:02. > :05:03.and he is a great advocate of the educational value
:05:04. > :05:12.Like, for example, roller-coaster Tycoon.
:05:13. > :05:14.Games promote critical thinking, problem solving, conputational
:05:15. > :05:17.thinking, and I would argue computer science is the new Latin,
:05:18. > :05:20.because it underpins the digital world, and where Latin underpinned
:05:21. > :05:28.Now I don't suggest for one second that children should be playing
:05:29. > :05:30.games all day in class, but they can take principles
:05:31. > :05:33.of games-based learning and apply them for context.
:05:34. > :05:35.You want the red stone block in the middle.
:05:36. > :05:42.Minecraft is a great example of a game that is really popular
:05:43. > :05:46.that has been adapted for education, but there are other games that
:05:47. > :05:56.Why not, for example, use the out and about gotta catch
:05:57. > :05:59.'em all Pokemon Go phenomenon, to engage students with the ideas
:06:00. > :06:01.of mapping, geometry and data gathering?
:06:02. > :06:04.Could you see that been adapted for educational purposes?
:06:05. > :06:11.I mean, there is all the data in there that you could totally use
:06:12. > :06:14.for data analysis in your maths lesson, how many steps have you been
:06:15. > :06:22.You can start using it into PE lessons to encourage those students
:06:23. > :06:27.So it's a case of keeping your ears open and listening to what games
:06:28. > :06:29.are out there and just being creative with it.
:06:30. > :06:32.Do you think this says that kids should play more games
:06:33. > :06:40.Particularly in computer science it works for us,
:06:41. > :06:42.because we can teach students about the computer
:06:43. > :06:49.But at the end of the day I believe in quality time,
:06:50. > :06:51.with teachers, with family, with friends as well,
:06:52. > :06:55.so that you are not too immersed in technology and you are aware
:06:56. > :07:00.So I think there needs to be a balance.
:07:01. > :07:05.Class is dismissed, school is out for today,
:07:06. > :07:09.and it is time for these guys to get a screen break.
:07:10. > :07:12.Not for us though, we are off to Berlin, where Europe's biggest
:07:13. > :07:17.We will have in-depth coverage on next week's Click,
:07:18. > :07:24.but for now Jane Copestake's had an early look inside.
:07:25. > :07:28.We are in LG's signature garden gallery, and this year the company
:07:29. > :07:30.has commissioned an artist to realise some of the products that
:07:31. > :07:38.This is a washing machine, believe it or not!
:07:39. > :07:41.The lights that are flashing on the ceiling above me represent
:07:42. > :07:51.This high level of design could be masking the fact we are seeing a lot
:07:52. > :07:55.of similar products to last year's show, including a whole host
:07:56. > :08:00.But this year, the world's first curved laptop
:08:01. > :08:16.It has to be the world's largest laptop ever!
:08:17. > :08:21.The screen is designed to match the natural curve of the human eye,
:08:22. > :08:26.And Acer has released the world's thinnest laptop.
:08:27. > :08:29.This is the Swift and it is less than one centimetre thick
:08:30. > :08:39.Mobiles continue to have incremental improvement.
:08:40. > :08:42.Sony's latest Xperia XZ has added two more sensors to the camera,
:08:43. > :08:44.creating triple image sensing technology to help with blurry
:08:45. > :08:49.The company also announced a top of the range high res audio system,
:08:50. > :08:52.with headphones priced at ?1,700, and a gold Walkman, setting
:08:53. > :08:58.It is not targeted at the every day consumer.
:08:59. > :09:02.Our engineers really went back to the drawing board to say,
:09:03. > :09:06.you know, if cost were not an issue, you know, what kind of ultra premium
:09:07. > :09:09.Walkman, head phones and amplifier could we come up with?
:09:10. > :09:15.It is a little pricey, but I think the real audiophiles
:09:16. > :09:19.will appreciate the sound quality we have packed into it.
:09:20. > :09:22.Wearables are every where you look at the show, including
:09:23. > :09:29.This feels very satisfying to wear and can be exchanged for a sportier
:09:30. > :09:35.Samsung have announced the Gear S3 I am wearing here.
:09:36. > :09:40.It is a lot bigger than last year's Gear S2, which is a bit of a shame,
:09:41. > :09:43.but it is a lot lighter than I expected.
:09:44. > :09:46.We will have much more from IFA next week, including the latest HDR TVs
:09:47. > :10:25.Welcome to the week in Tech. Apple has allegedly been paying a small
:10:26. > :10:31.fraction of the taxes it should have in Ireland. It was also the week
:10:32. > :10:35.that rules concerning the BBC iPlayer changed. You now need a TV
:10:36. > :10:41.licence to watch live or catch up on the service. And the UK got very
:10:42. > :10:48.excited about a button, as it finally went on sale here. The
:10:49. > :10:52.device allows you to order product at the touch of a button without
:10:53. > :10:59.actually leaving the house. And finally, a few weeks ago on Click we
:11:00. > :11:01.showed you the world's first music video produced by Artificial
:11:02. > :11:08.Intelligence. Now it seems that promo makers may need to fear for
:11:09. > :11:17.their jobs as the world's first cognitive movie trailer is unveiled.
:11:18. > :11:22.It exceeds our wildest expectations. Promoting the film Morgan, it was
:11:23. > :11:26.made more less through AI. IBM's Watson analysed 100 trailers and
:11:27. > :11:30.then watch the movie, picking the ten best moments which were then put
:11:31. > :11:42.together by an actual human to create the final result.
:11:43. > :11:46.At what rate in centimetres per second is the radius
:11:47. > :11:56.Believe it or not, this is still my recurring anxiety dream.
:11:57. > :12:00.Yes, it has been a long time since I've had to do any calculus.
:12:01. > :12:04.And back in the day if I had been stuck on a question like this,
:12:05. > :12:08.I would have had to have waited until the next day to get some help
:12:09. > :12:12.But now I have an app called Yup, which is on-demand tutoring.
:12:13. > :12:16.The idea is I take a picture of the question, through the app,
:12:17. > :12:19.and then tell it I need a maths tutor.
:12:20. > :12:21.And I am promised some help through the phone,
:12:22. > :12:36.As he reads my problem he starts to guide me towards an answer.
:12:37. > :12:43.Sending me suggestions as to how I can go about solving the equation.
:12:44. > :12:46."You've still missed something here on the part of the area
:12:47. > :12:53.He sent me a picture of a calculation he has just written
:12:54. > :12:57.Yup is based in San Francisco, but the tutors after being setted
:12:58. > :13:04.To date, it is being used by 500,000 students in 182 countries,
:13:05. > :13:06.and Yup has ambitions to spread across the world,
:13:07. > :13:13.offering lessons in several languages.
:13:14. > :13:16.To use the service, students can either subscribe to unlimited
:13:17. > :13:19.tutoring minutes for $80 a month or buy a limited
:13:20. > :13:24.Mr Reyes has been doing pretty well in guiding me through calculus hell,
:13:25. > :13:28.but it has left me wondering how a service like this can make sure
:13:29. > :13:37.First we take the students' rating, very similar to Uber.
:13:38. > :13:40.We look at how well the student believes the session went.
:13:41. > :13:43.That only looks at one thing, that looks at student satisfaction,
:13:44. > :13:45.which is important, but we also care about learning.
:13:46. > :13:54.So what we do is we have a completely different set
:13:55. > :13:57.of tutors, we consider tutor managers, they are more experienced
:13:58. > :13:59.tutors with more years, you know, with more credentials,
:14:00. > :14:03.who review all our sessions and give the tutors ratings on how well
:14:04. > :14:10.As my session progresses, I am genuinely starting
:14:11. > :14:13.to remember my calculus, but I am also finding it hard
:14:14. > :14:23.to talk maths, equations and symbols in a text message.
:14:24. > :14:26.But Yup's founder said he has a good reason for choosing text.
:14:27. > :14:28.Students are comfortable chatting with their friends.
:14:29. > :14:32.I even joke and say I would rather chat with my mum and my girlfriend
:14:33. > :14:35.over a text, than speak to her over the phone.
:14:36. > :14:38.So, that is something that is very true about our student base,
:14:39. > :14:45.Although I would really prefer a video or an audio call,
:14:46. > :14:52.the text conversation is gradually getting me to that answer.
:14:53. > :15:00.OK, first of all, Mr Reyes did not give me the answer,
:15:01. > :15:03.he helped me to get there, so that is proper tutoring,
:15:04. > :15:09.Even at the end, he asked me to go through the steps
:15:10. > :15:12.that we went through, to kind of remind myself
:15:13. > :15:17.and show him that I have learned something from the conversation,
:15:18. > :15:22.It's all a bit awkward over text, but maybe
:15:23. > :15:38.We shouldn't dismiss this scene as just child's play.
:15:39. > :15:40.Children develop their language skills, emotions and creativity
:15:41. > :15:42.through play, and naturally, as technology impacts our lives
:15:43. > :15:55.in so many ways, it has affected the toys kids play with too.
:15:56. > :15:58.Initially, there was a trend towards kids' versions of grown up
:15:59. > :16:01.tech, like this tablet, which is full of kids apps and has
:16:02. > :16:08.But now we are starting to see toy manufacturers move towards more
:16:09. > :16:20.traditional looking toys, but adding a bit of tech to the mix,
:16:21. > :16:23.which is possibly to appease to parents who don't
:16:24. > :16:25.want their children having too much passive screen time.
:16:26. > :16:27.I have come across a few games that mesh
:16:28. > :16:38.These wooden smart letters look and feel like their low-tech
:16:39. > :16:41.predecessors, but download the app and a child can learn
:16:42. > :16:44.the sounds of the alphabet while still holding an actual toy.
:16:45. > :16:46.Some companies have taken this concept further,
:16:47. > :16:51.tapping into the trend in teaching kids to code early.
:16:52. > :16:54.The Osmos kit connects to an iPad, combining physical keys
:16:55. > :17:00.The pattern the kids create with the tiles translates
:17:01. > :17:04.into commands that move the bear across the screen.
:17:05. > :17:09.It is aimed at kids at three years and above, and it combines wooden
:17:10. > :17:14.toys and a play mat with basic coding.
:17:15. > :17:18.Now the kids don't need to be able to read or write yet,
:17:19. > :17:23.as you select the commands by just choosing different colour pieces,
:17:24. > :17:34.and then, at the touch of a button, the robot moves.
:17:35. > :17:37.Six-year-old Ethan joined me for a bit of a play.
:17:38. > :17:40.I want to go to the Golden Gate Bridge.
:17:41. > :17:47.Soon we were trying to figure out how to get to our target.
:17:48. > :17:53.He didn't even realise he was learning the basics
:17:54. > :17:56.of coding, including creating functions, which means Cubetto moves
:17:57. > :17:58.several squares at a time with a single press
:17:59. > :18:11.But while I saw him engaging with the kit, I wasn't sure how much
:18:12. > :18:15.actual coding was taking place, so I took the toys to a primary
:18:16. > :18:21.The Cubetto and the Osmo went down a treat.
:18:22. > :18:24.Kids were soon working together to solve problems and were clearly
:18:25. > :18:32.I also had a new edition to my selection, the Sphero SPRK.
:18:33. > :18:35.The kids instructed to flip, roll, spin or change colour,
:18:36. > :18:37.building up to more complex instructions
:18:38. > :18:49.I love this idea that they are playing and learning,
:18:50. > :18:51.so it is both of those things happening.
:18:52. > :18:55.All of the core elements of what they were doing is the same
:18:56. > :18:58.things that we teach within Code Club, which is very much
:18:59. > :19:03.screen-based interaction, so the ideas of algorithms
:19:04. > :19:06.or recipes for instructions how to get something to do something,
:19:07. > :19:13.So while they were playing, the core concepts are there,
:19:14. > :19:23.Coding is one trend, but another is to keep children moving.
:19:24. > :19:26.Mover is a prototype wearable that reacts to movement.
:19:27. > :19:28.Today's challenge, to be active enough to make the colours
:19:29. > :19:36.Many of these devices provided advanced challenges as you progress,
:19:37. > :19:38.which could help maintain this level of enthusiasm even once
:19:39. > :19:47.Face to face, that is where we are going.
:19:48. > :20:11.And finally for this week, I am joining some more academics,
:20:12. > :20:14.this time at the University of Sussex for a rather odd
:20:15. > :20:22.Now I am no expert, but I would call this a bit strange.
:20:23. > :20:27.Believe it or not, there is a good reason, a good sciency reason,
:20:28. > :20:34.why these musical marshmallows are spraying polystyrene
:20:35. > :20:39.Look very closely at their hands, and you will see that that
:20:40. > :20:43.particular polystyrene ball is in fact levitating.
:20:44. > :21:00.Weird stuff that glows in the dark, even better.
:21:01. > :21:09.Someone is going to have to do a lot of vacuuming though, I think.
:21:10. > :21:12.This is what was hidden inside the hands
:21:13. > :21:19.The beads are being held in midair using ultrasound.
:21:20. > :21:22.Each of those black circles is an ultrasound speaker.
:21:23. > :21:26.As we have seen before, they can actually move
:21:27. > :21:28.light objects, and here, the ultrasound waves they produce
:21:29. > :21:48.Well, all of the prototypes in this room are part
:21:49. > :21:51.of the GHOST programme, that is Generic Highly Organic
:21:52. > :21:54.It is investigating how we might replace our flat screens
:21:55. > :21:57.with displays that are a lot more touchy-feely.
:21:58. > :22:00.Take this stretchy screen, for example, that could one day let
:22:01. > :22:03.you feel the things you're looking at, like this earthquake image
:22:04. > :22:13.Then there is this interface, based just around clay.
:22:14. > :22:15.And these bendy cubes, that play music.
:22:16. > :22:17.These 3-D displays from a host of international universities
:22:18. > :22:30.Now the story of 3-D displays isn't just about feeling certain things
:22:31. > :22:32.in certain positions, there is information that can be
:22:33. > :22:38.gleaned from how things transition from one position to the other.
:22:39. > :22:42.Imagine a calligrapher's swoosh as they write a letter.
:22:43. > :22:47.That is what this demonstration is for.
:22:48. > :22:52.It is copying my movements as I move between one state and another.
:22:53. > :22:55.And movement is a big part of this research.
:22:56. > :22:59.This project wants to redefine how we think about pixels.
:23:00. > :23:02.What if our displays could also become realistic, tactile,
:23:03. > :23:05.useable buttons and sliders that you could push,
:23:06. > :23:14.This whole idea of 3-D display is really new,
:23:15. > :23:17.so a lot of the prototypes around here have meant that before
:23:18. > :23:20.they can test their ideas, the researchers had to build stuff
:23:21. > :23:24.with loads of wires and loads of mechanics in them.
:23:25. > :23:26.This is an idea that makes prototyping a lot easier.
:23:27. > :23:29.These 3-D pixels are light-sensitive.
:23:30. > :23:33.As you move them towards white they get higher and as you move them
:23:34. > :23:42.So that means you can test out your idea on something as simple
:23:43. > :23:45.as a tablet screen without having to build a huge machine first,
:23:46. > :23:48.only to find out your idea wasn't very good in the first place.
:23:49. > :23:52.The research here is really new, but it may one day redefine
:23:53. > :23:58.It has already given me some new ideas for my dress sense!
:23:59. > :24:01.And that is it for our look at tech in education.
:24:02. > :24:04.If you are going back to school or college this week,
:24:05. > :24:08.best of luck, have a great time - it never did me any harm after all.
:24:09. > :24:11.Follow us on Twitter throughout the week, why don't you, @BBCClick.
:24:12. > :24:13.Thanks for watching and we will see you soon.