Can Darth Vader really help kids learn how to code?

The scene is set for a legendary face-off. It might be in a primary school classroom in East Sussex, but for ten year-old Peter, this is a matter of life and death.

He’s designed a set to rival the biggest blockbuster movie, and programmed his Robotic Arm to deliver an Oscar-worthy performance, because today, he’ll be battling Darth Vader (and his mum is watching).

The world needs more engineers.

It’s a fact. In the UK alone there’ll be 2.5 million new jobs in engineering companies by 2022, and we’ll need 2.5 million new engineers to fill them.

These new engineers could come from anywhere, but the statistics say that they’re unlikely to come from Peter’s class. In an industry where education is so dependent on technology and cross-subject knowledge, it’s inevitable that the barriers to entry will be particularly high for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, for a number of reasons;

The pace of change in technology and the lack of those qualified and confident to teach it, makes reliance on the state school system problematic.

Schools find it difficult to achieve the cross-curricular learning required in siloed subject lessons with cost, knowledge and attitudinal challenges compounding the problem.

Furthermore, many families also feel unable to support their children’s learning, both financially and educationally, which can result in low attainment.

‘It’s very important for Peter to learn about programming for his future.
He has a lot of questions and there’s not enough time at home!’ Lili (Peter’s Mum)

In addition to the economic disadvantages this presents, there’s a clear correlation between digital exclusion and social exclusion – a fact confirmed by the government in its Digital Inclusion Charter.

Less than a great recipe for success for the future.

Enter Darth.

Governments, parents, teachers and businesses are all looking for answers, and Darth Vader is ours.

In a project run with Nominet Trust, Learning and Work Institute and Brighton and Hove Council, we created a six-week, low-cost, project-based course to to teach and demystify technology.

Families worked together to build and program a Robotic Arm from scratch, with absolutely no prior knowledge or experience; impressive by anyone’s standards.

The workshops culminated in a movie shoot, the results of which are available here.  Grab some popcorn and treat yourself; those families achieved something incredible.

(Full video available on our YouTube channel).

‘Star Wars: Attack of the Moulescoombe Droids’ might look like a bit of fun, but a project like this is an amazing vehicle for learning. It’s a way to learn different disciplines in tandem. An opportunity to be creative. An approach that applies skills in an exciting and collaborative context, and that makes learning new things seem less scary, more familiar and fun.

The bottom line?

Project-based learning is amazing.

It really is, and involving family is key. Ask a child to program a motor to move and you might get a motor to move once in that classroom. Ask a family to tell a story using technology, and you’ll get a lasting experience that they can take home and will remember.

“They wanted to get the coding right because they had invested so much in it and had been part of the whole process.” Margaret Allen (Family Learning, Brighton and Hove Council)

In fact, we’re so passionate about the success of this project that we’re launching something very special.

On June 1st, we’re opening the first real-world MakerClub in Brighton, where families can access the resources, equipment, space, time and expertise needed to learn and invent spectacular things with technology.

In weekly after-school sessions, children will be supported through the design and creation of their own projects and work towards awards that will stand them in great stead for the future.

Family members will be encouraged to get involved in their child’s learning and we’ll be actively facilitating this with show-and-tells, family workshops, and group projects.

In fact, don’t take my word for it, why not come along to one of our free launch events and take a look at what we’ve got planned…

All in all, I’d say Darth has redeemed himself.