Did You Know? Young Computer Scientists (YCS) series
Did you know that our students learn a smorgasbord of fun and interesting things in the wide variety of courses available right here at Coding Lab? We want to share the joy of learning with you too!
Our Young Computer Scientists graduates holding their certificates
Our YCS students happily receiving their certificates!
With 12 different badges for students to collect and advance their coding abilities, it’s no wonder our P11S Young Computer Scientists (YCS) students always have a whale of a time learning and exploring the diverse fields that coding can be applied to (like Animation and Movies, Augmented Reality, Music, Robotics, etc) in our classes!
Our YCS course - which is suitable for ages 7 to 9 - covers a good mix of 3 groups of classes (hardware-based learning, applied learning and subject-based learning) which will broaden students’ exposure and understanding of the power of computational thinking.
Our hardware-based learning classes involve the use of unique tools like Micro:bit, the pocket-sized computer transforming how kids learn digital skills. Our applied learning classes teach students how coding can be applied - like artificial intelligence and machine learning! We've also got subject-based learning classes involving Maths, Physics and Biology, which will also pique students’ interests in coding as they get to reinforce what they’ve learnt in school!
Check out these 3 ‘Did You Know’ facts that we share with our YCS students across their different classes - and make sure to pass on the knowledge to others! You know what they say, sharing is caring. 😉
1. Augmented Reality:
Augmented reality is a technology that overlays a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world, thus providing a blended image.
In 1968, Ivan Sutherland, with the help of his student Bob Sproull, created what is widely considered to be the first virtual reality and augmented reality (AR) head-mounted display (HMD) system at Harvard University [1]. Now, there are numerous applications of AR - like in the military, navigation, sightseeing, medical, entertainment, advertising and gaming!
This advancement in technology has brought numerous benefits in education, one of them being further enhancing students' visual and auditory skills as they immerse in a digital construction of their surrounding [2]. It makes learning so much more fun! In YCS’s Augmented Reality class, students learn to create AR games - just like this Piano one! 😎
2. Physics:
We all know that what goes up must come down. Gravity is the force that keeps us grounded on earth, and it is also this force that makes things fall to the ground. The bigger (and heavier) an object is, the stronger its gravity. The moon is 1/6 the size of the earth and thus the moon’s gravity is 1/6 of that of earth’s. This means that you can jump six times as high on the moon than on earth [3]!
In YCS’s Physics classes, students learn to create fidget spinners, spinning wheels and projectile motion games, among others... As they get acquainted with Physics by seeing how matter interacts with energy and forces, they'll start to do higher-level thinking that enables them to see the big picture in the world around them [4]!
3. Artificial Intelligence:
Some of us are better at face recognition than others. In the last decade or so, it’s become apparent that around 2% of the population is born with a severe face-recognition impairment (known as congenital prosopagnosia) [5]. There is a similar proportion of ‘super-recognisers’ with unusually exceptional face-recognition skills, and the rest of us are on a spectrum in between.
In YCS’s Artificial Intelligence class, students get to dabble in machine learning to create a 'face unlock' system. It's almost like they're recreating Face ID! With an early understanding of this technology faucet, students will get to breed their creativity and develop their imaginations as they take a step closer to becoming a technology innovator.
Now that you’ve learned some cool information, make sure to spread the joy of learning by sharing this post with your close friends and family!
(Written by Zulaikha)
Join the Coding Lab family! Click here to sign up for our monthly newsletters.
Our mighty students showing their strength!