[Neeve Hyland]

Hi Hannah,

This is a lovely choice and I like that you picked something that fits naturally into what you already use in the classroom. Turning a traditional dice into a digital one is a great way in for children because they already understand what a dice is meant to do.

Your STEM breakdown is really well thought out and the Maths investigation is my favourite part. Recording which number appears most often across 10 shakes gives the children their own data to work with and opens up lovely discussion about whether the dice is fair and what might happen if they repeated the experiment more times. I also like your idea of adding music when the micro:bit is shaken.

One small idea to stretch the Maths would be to combine the results from a few pairs. With a larger number of shakes, pupils could see whether the results begin to even out more than they do in a single set of 10. That would be a lovely way to introduce the idea that more data can give us a clearer picture.

[Neeve Hyland]

Hi Sinead,

I really like this and you are the first person to take on Morse Chat, so well done for giving one of the trickier tutorials a go. Using the radio to send messages between two micro:bits is a real step up because the children can actually see two devices communicating with each other. That gives them a lovely concrete way into thinking about how information can be sent from one device to another.

What impresses me most is that you did not just complete the tutorial, you went back and adapted it. Using button A for the dot and button B for the dash is a great practical change and I love that you spotted how the different tones could support accessibility too. Having both a visual pattern and a sound gives children more than one way to recognise the message which is really thoughtful design.

Your History and English links are fantastic too. Looking at real codes from history, then having the children design and test their own coded messages gives the activity a genuine purpose. The group testing is where the problem-solving really comes in because their system only works if another pair can understand and decode what they have sent.

This would be a lovely one to try with the physical micro:bits, as the radio communication really comes to life once pupils are sending messages to each other.

[Neeve Hyland]

Hi Marie,

I love this and the Granny narrative is what really makes it. Giving the activity a real-life purpose, using floodlights to help Granny feel safer living alone, gives the children a genuine real problem to solve. It turns the tutorial into a lovely integrated STEM activity. I also really like the brainstorming beforehand as it gets the children thinking about possible solutions before they start coding.

Your extension ideas are gorgeous too, especially adding a siren using “nee naw” style notes and a voice announcement. They give more confident coders a meaningful next step once they have the basic version working. 😊

[Neeve Hyland]

Hi Sarah,

This is a lovely clear reflection. A real strength is how comfortably you already use digital tools to engage your 6th Class from quizzes and collaborative tasks to research. That gives you a really strong foundation to build on.

Your area for development shows great self-awareness too. Recognising the difference between using technology to replace something on paper and using it to create new learning opportunities is an important shift. Moving pupils towards creating, problem-solving and reflecting is where the deeper learning can really happen.

Your plan to include one creativity or problem-solving activity each week feels realistic and manageable. Pairing this with regular self or peer assessment is a lovely combination too as pupils are not only creating something but also learning to look critically at their own work.

One question to help you focus. When pupils complete that self or peer assessment, would it help to use one consistent prompt such as “What would you improve next time?” This could make their reflections easier to compare across the term.

Looking forward to seeing how you get on with the rest of the course. 🙂

[Neeve Hyland]

Hi Rachel,

This is a lovely piece of coding.

I really like your reflection questions too especially getting children to think about where they have seen countdowns in everyday life and what other code might sit around one. That helps them connect this small piece of code to bigger programs they already know.

One thing worth thinking about for the classroom is the level of challenge. Because this version uses a loop, a variable and subtraction, it could be quite advanced for children who are only beginning to code. A nice way to scaffold it would be to build the countdown the long way first, showing 3, 2 and 1 separately with the sounds in between. Once pupils spot the repetition, you could introduce the loop as a tidier/more efficient way of achieving the same result. It gives them a really clear reason for using a loop.

I made the longer version here in case it is useful:
https://makecode.microbit.org/_Amfh4eUrDffx

It could be lovely to show pupils both versions side by side and ask what they notice about the amount of code needed in each.

Looking forward to hearing “Go!” 😊

[Neeve Hyland]

Hi Moritz,

There is a lot of genuine thought in this reflection. You have understood AI for Good really well particularly how it moves from gathering data about fire hazards to coding the Agent to clear them and then reforest the area. It is a lovely example of AI being used to respond to a real environmental problem.

I also really like your follow-up idea of applying the fire prevention factors to your own school. That brings the learning back into the children’s own environment and gives them a chance to think about what has actually stayed with them.

Your healthy scepticism about AI is a strength here too. Encouraging children to think about where AI can genuinely help and where it may have limitations is exactly the kind of critical thinking we want to build through AI literacy.

One thing worth knowing for the assignment is that AI for Good is one of the 2019 Hour of Code lessons and is not part of the current demo library. The four demo worlds available in the app at the moment are Bad Connection, Hour of AI: The First Night, Fantastic Fairgrounds and Generation AI. AI for Good sits in the wider lesson library, which requires a Minecraft Education licence.

For this task, it would be worth playing one of those four demo worlds and building your reflection around what you actually experienced there. It is definitely worth keeping AI for Good in mind for your own teaching though if you have access to a licence.

[Neeve Hyland]

Hi Nicola,

Heads or Tails is a lovely choice and I really like the touch of adding the little animation before the result appears. Having the icons flash up first gives the coin toss a sense of movement and anticipation which makes the micro:bit feel much more interactive for the children.

Your probability plan is really strong too. Getting each pair to complete 100 shakes and see how close their results come to 50/50 is a great way to make probability concrete. Turning those results into graphs and percentages brings the Maths in really naturally. Using a larger number of trials also opens up lovely discussion about why the results tend to move closer to 50/50 as the number of tosses increases.

I especially like your extension idea of getting the micro:bit to record the heads and tails itself. This would actually take you into data logging, so it would be a whole new program and a lovely challenge.

There is a really useful micro:bit data logging activity here that you could use as a starting point:
https://microbit.org/projects/make-it-code-it/traffic-survey-data-logger/?editor=makecode

The example records different types of traffic, but you could adapt the same idea so the two categories are heads and tails instead. That would allow the micro:bit to collect the results and give pupils a real data set to explore afterwards.

[Neeve Hyland]

Hi Irene,

Your Leprechaun game is a lovely idea and using the Gaeilge feature is such a natural fit for a Gaelscoil. Getting the children to build vocabulary such as cúlra, suíomh, carachtar, bogadh, bia and rialacha through something they are actually creating is a gorgeous way to make the language meaningful. Keeping the design simple and supporting younger pupils with example games and step-by-step instructions is really well judged too.

There are a couple of small things worth a look in your code. First, the projectile block is showing a warning triangle which means there is a small bug there. In the Sprites category there are two projectile blocks to choose from. You have used the first one, but for this game you need the second projectile block instead. Swapping that in should get the flowers spawning properly.

Second, when Larry overlaps a flower you add a point which is great, but the flower stays on screen. This means Larry can keep overlapping the same flower and the score can increase very quickly. Adding a destroy “otherSprite” block just after the change score by 1 will remove the exact flower Larry has collected and keep the scoring to one point per flower.

I would also add a countdown timer so the player has a set amount of time to collect as many flowers as possible. This gives the game a clear ending and makes the final score more meaningful.

I had a little play with your code and made those changes here so you can see how they work:
https://makecode.com/_WdeUW2004cxs

Have a look and see what you think. Let us know if you have any questions. 😊

[Neeve Hyland]

Hi Ellen,

This is a lovely plan. Because your pupils already know the Burren area, an AI-generated sheet about Burren wildlife gives them local knowledge to draw on when spotting errors. That makes the fact-checking much more meaningful than working with a topic they have no connection to.

Your critical question is really well pitched too. Helping pupils recognise the difference between something sounding convincing and actually being accurate is right at the heart of AI literacy and it is an important skill for 6th Class to develop.

One small idea to build on this would be to ask pupils to predict which facts they think might be wrong before they begin checking them. They could then compare their predictions with what they discover. This would encourage them to actively use their existing knowledge and could open up a lovely discussion about why some errors were easy to spot while others were more difficult.

[Neeve Hyland]

Hi Cathal,

This is a really solid plan and it is clear that you understood what the episode is teaching. You have the core idea spot on, that the model learns from labelled examples and then uses patterns to make a prediction. Getting pupils to sort and label leaves themselves is a lovely way to make that idea concrete.

Your critical question is probably the strongest part. Asking whether a model trained on only a small selection of leaves could give a biased prediction gets right to the heart of why training data matters. It is exactly the kind of question that will get Fifth Class thinking more deeply about how AI works.

I also really like your pause, question, check and decide steps. Giving pupils a simple routine they can use when looking at an AI prediction helps turn the lesson into something they can apply again in other situations.

One small idea to build on this. When pupils compare the model’s prediction with their own observations, you could ask what they would add to the training set to make the model more reliable. This moves them from spotting the limitation to thinking about how they might improve it.

[Neeve Hyland]

Hi Cathal,

Feed the Shark is a lovely game and I really like how you have built a clear Science idea into it. Framing the fish as food the shark depends on brings in the marine food chain and how animals interact within their habitat, so the children are learning about living things as they play.

Your debugging account was really clear too. Testing the spawning, collisions, scoring and timer one at a time is exactly the right way to work through the game.

One thing worth a look is the destroy block in your overlap code. At the moment, it is set to destroy the “projectile” variable which points to the newest fish that has spawned. That may not be the same fish the shark has just caught, so the scoring and disappearing fish can behave a little strangely.

The fix is a small one. Use the “otherSprite” from the overlap block instead, so after changing the score by 1, destroy “otherSprite”. That removes the exact fish the shark has caught.

[Neeve Hyland]

Hi Aoife,

Funny Farmer is a lovely playful idea and I really like the Geography link. Getting pupils to recognise and collect the farm animals gives the game a clear learning purpose while also opening up discussion about the role different animals play on a farm.

Your debugging account was really clear too. Spotting that the animals were not moving as intended, working out what was causing it and adjusting the code until it behaved properly is exactly what debugging looks like.

One thing worth a look is the scoring. At the start you have used the built-in set score to 0 block, but in your overlap code you are changing a separate variable that you have also called “score”. They look as though they are the same thing, but MakeCode treats them separately, so the score displayed on screen stays at 0.

The fix is a small one. You can remove your own score variable and use the built-in change score by 1 block from the Info section when the player catches an animal. That will update the same score you set to 0 at the beginning and you will see it changing on screen as you play.

One other small thing to think about is the zoo animal. At the moment both the farm animal and zoo animal are set as Projectiles, so the same overlap rule gives a point for catching either one. If the idea is that pupils should only collect farm animals, you could make the zoo animal a different sprite kind (example enemy) and have it lose a point or a life when caught.

[Neeve Hyland]

Hi Miriam,

Catch the Stars is a lovely idea and the space setting suits a falling catch game really well. Your Maths link is nicely pitched too with pupils collecting, recording and comparing their scores so the coding supports the learning.

Your debugging account was really clear as well. Testing the movement, collecting, scoring and timer one at a time is exactly the right way to work through the game.

One thing worth looking at in your code is the destroy block. You are right to include one, but at the moment it is set to destroy the “star” variable. That variable points to the newest star that has appeared which may not be the same star the spaceship has just caught. This means the star being touched can stay on screen and the score can increase very quickly.

The fix is only a small one. In the overlap block, you could use the “otherSprite” from the overlap event instead. So after changing the score by 1, destroy “otherSprite”. That will remove the exact star the spaceship has collected and give you one point per catch.

Once that is changed, the scores will be much more reliable for the Maths activity especially when pupils are recording and comparing them.

[Neeve Hyland]

Hi Danielle,

Treasure Collector sounds like a lovely game and your explanation of decomposition is spot on. Breaking the game into the player, the treasure, the movement, the scoring and the timer, then building and testing each part before bringing everything together, is exactly how decomposition works. It is clear that you really understood the process.

One thing worth checking is the link in your post. At the moment, it opens a blank MakeCode Arcade editor instead of your game, so it looks like the share link did not quite come through. Could you post the working link when you get a chance?

The easiest way to share it is to watch the MakeCode Arcade website tour video in the module or follow these steps:

1. Open your project in MakeCode Arcade.
2. Select the Share icon in the top-right corner.
3. Add a title for your project.
4. Add a thumbnail or GIF if you want to, although this is not necessary.
5. Select Share Project.
6. Copy the link that appears and paste it into your post.

Just one thing to keep in mind. The share link is a snapshot of your project at the time you create it, so if you make changes afterwards you will need to generate a new link to share the updated version.

Looking forward to seeing Treasure Collector once the link is up.

[Neeve Hyland]

Hi Danielle,

Please watch the video of the micro:bit website tour in the module or follow the steps below to share your micro:bit project link:

1. Open your project in MakeCode.
2. Select the Share icon in the top-right corner.
3. Add a title for your project.
4. You can also add a thumbnail image or animated GIF, but this is optional.
5. Select Share Project.
6. Copy the link that appears and paste it into your forum post.

Please note that this link is anonymous and is not connected to your MakeCode account. Make sure to copy or save the link, as it cannot be recovered if it is lost.

The link is also a snapshot of your project at the time you share it. If you make any changes afterwards, you will need to create and share a new link with the updated version.

Anonymous share links cannot normally be deleted or unpublished.

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