Computing students create a vibrant showcase room during work experience week

July 12, 2024

It’s that time of year when our Y10 and Y12 students go off into the world of work. This year, we were fortunate enough to have a small group of Y12s experience what it’s like running a series of projects for our computing department.

We tasked the group with the mission of bringing a ‘Computing Showcase’ room to life. Our students do a wide range of project work and we wanted to create a space where they can proudly display their projects. The room will also act as an immersive focal point for visitors where they can get an understanding of the breadth of incredible work that is produced in computing each year.

It all started on Monday morning of work experience week – we had a kick-off meeting where our Curriculum Director, Ifatgar Ahmed, set out a bold vision for the room. It was a big challenge for our students, but they did not disappoint us!

By the end of the week, there had been some exceptional work and apart from some tidying up and hoovering (!), the room was ready to go and will be open to visitors from the new term in September 2024.

Here’s some of the projects that will be on display:

3D printed robotic arm

In computing, we love our 3D modelling and printing. One of the students spent the week completing a robotic arm to show off their skills in design, 3D printing, hardware and electronics. Every piece had to be printed out then carefully put together. There was a lot of frustration, sandpaper and soldering involved!

Next year the student plans to take the project a step further by making the arm mimic your own movements. They might even expand on it by adding a torso. Fantastic work!

Augmented reality information labels

In computing, we like to do things that are a little out of the ordinary. When we talked about making labels to explain each project, we decided that paper and sellotape just isn’t what we are about! That’s what led to the decision to create QR codes that a visitor could scan with their phone to get project information. The information then displays in augmented reality.

As well as display labels, the students designed and printed  3D label holders and deconstructed a PC. The PC will be on display in one of the classrooms and when a visitor scans the code, they see a 3D image and explanation for each component.

Greenhouses…with a difference

Technology is revolutionising the farming industry and at the UTC, we’ve explored this topic on a smaller scale. During the school year, Y12 students rigged up mini greenhouses with various sensors to collect and monitor data. Based on the data, the greenhouses automatically adjust conditions to ensure that the plants are growing in optimal conditions.

The task for the week was for some of our work experience students to improve the website where the greenhouse data is displayed. This is how it started out:

And this is what was produced during work experience week. What a difference!

Motion sensing LEDs

We wanted the showcase room to feel like a real experience when a visitor walked in. Our students have achieved this by adding a motion sensor to an Arduino and programming it to turn on a large strip of LED lights.

After ordering rolls and rolls of LED lights, the students excitedly opened the packages and promptly put them up around the top of the room. The LEDs now light up as you enter the room, and it looks fantastic. This picture does not do it justice!

There’s more than macOS and Windows…

Most people will use Windows on a PC or laptop, but there are many different operating systems you can use to run computers. One of the students took on the challenge of finding and setting up several PCs to showcase these different systems in the room.

They experienced some network challenges but from brilliant support from our network team, the PCs were set up and working well.

Virtual reality gaming experience

Our final project of the week was to set up a VR headset with games that students have produced to show off their work. VR games are a challenge to make and require the students to harness their skills in design, 3D modelling and game programming.

Some of the featured games include:

• Archery
• VR school
• Boxing

That’s a wrap!

What a week! We were very impressed with how hard the students worked and what they were able to produce in a short space of time. The computing team will look forward to taking visitors around the showcase room soon.