THERE is a belief among teachers that students are being put off computing. The University of Northampton is doing its bit to break down these barriers by trying to get primary and secondary school students interested in becoming the next generation of bright young things in the world of science. LAWRENCE JOHN spoke with computing senior lecturer, Dr Scott Turner
FUNNY looking robots called junkbots could be the key to encouraging more children across the county to become engineers, computer programmers or scientists.
One force which is driving this idea forward is the University of Northampton.
For the past few years, staff from its science and technology department have been going out to primary and secondary schools to spread the word that science is fun.
By working with schools, the university hopes to show pupils a different side to computing and hopefully raise their interest in what they can achieve.
Taking this type of learning into the classroom has proved very successful and has allowed the university to reach more than 150 students.
Senior lecturer in computing at the university, Dr Scott Turner, said: “The junkbots is a three part project.
“Firstly the pupils at school do a bit of waste recycling, plastic bottles or cans, and they re-use these out of context.
“The second is they are given a motor, propeller, battery and wires and are asked to build a robot out of these items and the recyclable items they have brought.
“The third part is we give them a programme which is used by the students to get the robot to do a sweeping action.
“It is a way for them to try out their ideas and it is interesting for them as they show a lot of enthusiasm.
“It is about problem solving and getting them to work out what is happening if the robot doesn’t work or doesn’t do what they want it to.
“The children create something which is about computing and engineering.
“They can see how things work and it gives them a more direct route of problem solving. This is what we should be doing to encourage students.”
Dr Turner believes this type of interaction, where students work in groups, gives them the key skills which not only apply to computers and engineering but to business and social science and indeed any part of life.
He said: “The industry does need more people with these skills.
“There are always new challenges and new skills to learn as technology is always changing.
“It is a case of what could be done, what could we try out.
“At the university we developed an application for the county council which people can download.
“We worked in partnership with them and something like this gives us a real life example of how we can try out ideas working with the client.”
Dr Turner’s interest in his chosen career was sparked when he was a child when he became fascinated by robots.
It was this which led him to do an electronic degree before moving on to computing.
In a recent blog on the University of Northampton’s website, he wrote: “It is in the best interest of the universities to do this.
“Undergraduates who know something about programming and computing before they start would make the courses even more intellectually stimulating.
“As an aside, personally I find ideas tried in outreach activities sometimes inform or lead to activities I do with undergraduates, as well as the other way around.”
