Control Technology

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http://www.shambles.net

Control Technology
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PicoCricket
http://www.picocricket.com/
A PicoCricket is a tiny computer that can make things spin, light up, and play music.
You can plug lights, motors, sensors, and other devices into a PicoCricket, then program them to react, interact, and communicate.
For example, you can make a cat and program it to purr when someone pets it. Or you can make a birthday cake and program it to play a song when someone blows out the candles.
The PicoCricket Kit is similar to the LEGO® MINDSTORMS™ robotics kits. MINDSTORMS is designed especially for making robots, while the PicoCricket Kit is designed for making artistic creations with lights, sound, music, and motion.

Lewisham (UK) : KS4 GCSE ICT Writing Frames - Control
http://tinyurl.com/anmhu
Lewisham (UK) : KS4 GCSE ICT Writing Frames - Control
Here are some useful resources and links to support ICT learning and teaching at KS4. Please do add your own links and materials by using the contribution folder at the end of this page.
Managing your DIDA Project

Project files for MMLogic (Multimedia Logic)
http://www.dst-corp.com/james/MMLogic.html
A collection of advanded and moderate project files for Multi Media Logic emulator program.
This program is quite complete in that it includes a comprehensive set of elementary to advanced functions: Inverters, And gates, Or gates, Xor gates, ALU's (Arithmetic Logic Units), Flip Flops, Multiplexers, Demultiplexers, RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. It has simulated LED's (Light Emitting Diodes) in various flavors, switches in many forms, plus the ability to play sounds and display pictures.

Terry 2
http://www.kudlian.net/products/terry/
Terry the Turtle is the ideal program to introduce children to logo type applications, where they can learn about measurement of distance and angles.
The configurable interface on initial levels is colourful and welcoming to allow children easy access to all of the functions.
Terry can be used at four different levels. Each level demonstrates progression from basic drawing to full logo programming.

Floor Robots web links
http://www.supporting-ict.co.uk/weblinks/floorrobots.htm
Floor Robots web links .. hardware, software, lesson plans, articles.

Swallow Systems make and sell educational robots.
http://www.swallow.co.uk/
Swallow Systems make and sell educational robots.

Control Ideas at ICTeacher
http://www.icteachers.co.uk/resources/resources_ict.htm
Control Ideas at ICTeacher
Some ideas on approaching control in IT. Useful information on various items of hardware and software.

Control UNIT the robot
http://www.mape.org.uk/startower/unit/index.htm
Control UNIT the robot

Spike Logo (free download)
http://nrich.maths.org/prime/spike/spike_guides/
Spike Logo
Download Visual Logo for Spike at http://nrich.maths.org/prime/spike/spike_download.htm
It comes with a substantial pack of guides, teacher/pupils work sheets that cover KS1 to KS3.

MSWLogo: An Educational programming language
http://www.softronix.com/logo.html
MSWLogo: An Educational programming language
This implementation of Logo brings the power of Windows and Logo together.
Now supports 3 dimensional geometry. This language will never cease in amazing you.
Combined with the Great Logo Adventure Book by Jim Muller, it's hard to beat.
It's also FREE.

MMLogic: A MultiMedia Logic Design System
http://www.softronix.com/
MMLogic: A MultiMedia Logic Design System
Intuitive to use: VCR like controls, Drag and Drop, Tip of the Day, Tool Tips, Comprehensive Online Help.
Interact instantly with your MultiMedia Logic circuits.
Learn an internationally recognized philosophy, Logic Design.
Supports networking over the Internet. Supports a programmable Robot device.
It's also FREE.

Introduction to Control
http://tinyurl.com/7k80
Introduction to Control
The attached file is a PowerPoint presentation designed to make pupils think about Computer Control and where it is used in society and the wider world.
The latter part of the presentation explores the sequence of traffic lights and the 'Logic' behind the sequence. This is good preparation for pupils before they start designing Control Systems.
control | http://tre.ngfl.gov.uk/ | technology | ICT |

Terrapin Logo
http://www.terrapinlogo.com/
Terrapin Logo
A 32-bit version of Logo designed for Macintosh OS 8 and OS 9 and Windows 95/98/NT/2000. Terrapin Logo includes all of the Logo features that you know and love with many new features that make Terrapin Logo even more fun to explore and a more powerful learning tool. Easy-to-understand commands let beginners, from kindergarten to adult, get started in minutes.
logo | control | technology |

Logo Survey
http://www.logosurvey.co.uk/
Logo Survey
This website was established at the end of December 2000, and was originally created as a place to hold a survey about the use of Logo today (hence the name).
This survey was commissioned as part of my final year degree project on Logo and Turtle Graphics, which involved creating a Logo website, researching Logo, and developing a Turtle Graphics Library, which is now in evidence in the Interact area.
The survey ended in January 2001, but I decided to keep developing the site as a hobby. Since this time, the site has grown considerably, and now contains over 100 pages of information about Logo and Turtle Graphics, as well as games, downloads, and interactive Logo applets.
Logo tutorials are starting to make their way into the Using Logo section, and I am now concentrating wholly on the content of the site to make it as good as possible.
35 different logo software packages are listed and reviewed on this site

LOGOland - resources at nrich maths
http://nrich.maths.org/mathsf/journalf/rb_logoland.html
LOGOland - logo resources at nrich maths
logo | control | technology |

First Logo - Instructions Sheet
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/ict/firstlogo.htm
First Logo - Instructions Sheet

Terry Turtle - Logo
http://www.kudlian.net/products/terry/terry.html
Terry Turtle - Logo
Terry is the ideal program for introducing children to turtle and logo type applications. A clear and easy to use control panel allows the children to move Terry around on screen and create exciting patterns whilst learning about measurement of distance and angles.
Terry can load picture files as a background which means that children can navigate around mazes and other environments.
Drawings can be saved as picture files for use in other programs
Sets of commands can be saved as Turtle files.
A configurable interface allows you to setup the application to meet the individual needs of the pupils
control | logo |

BECTA (UK) Educational Software Database
http://besd.becta.org.uk/
Use the search facility on the BECTA (UK) Educational Software Database to find details of (you've guessed it) ... software
BESD contains information about software for pre-school to further education. Software included in the BESD is educational in nature and available in the UK.
BESD information has been provided directly by software publishers. Each of the product records may contain an outline of system requirements, formats, networking options, a description of the software and references to reviews. Where available, we have also linked to reviews of the product on the TEEM (Teachers Evaluating Educational Multimedia) Web site.
control | technology | software |

Who's in Control? Granada Learning (UK)
http://www.granada-learning.com/home/catalog/jsps/product.jsp?product=667&group=290
Who's in Control ? Granada Learning (UK)
The team visits LegoLand, Windsor to find out how ?ontrol technology?is used to control models, rides and even turnstiles. Who? in Control? allows pupils to mirror the content of the video by writing control stories for a set of lights, a railway barrier, and a bridge.
Who? in Control? also includes an activity to control a set of traffic lights at a junction: pupils can set the time of day, as well as the lights, and see how these variables affect the flow of traffic!
An interactive glossary is included to introduce ICT language, as well as suitable links to control-related web sites, and a set of worksheets.
control | technology | lego |

See the Robots section on Shambles
http://www.shambles.net/pages/learning/DandT_S/Robot/
Links to robotics resources
control | technology | robot | robots |

LEGO Mindstorms for Schools
http://www.lego.com/eng/education/mindstorms/default.asp
LEGO Mindstorms for Schools provides teachers with a complete framework within which students natural desire to learn can unfold optimally.
LEGO Mindstorms for Schools provides you, the teacher, with the ideal hands-on tool for helping your students explore a variety of topics. The classroom solutions contain everything you need to work with a whole group of children. They require little preparation time and thus leave plenty time for in-class activities. You will find yourself released from the role of instructor, becoming instead a consultant for students actively involved in problem-solving processes.
This improves the quality of teaching and makes for more efficient learning.
The well-structured and paced Activity Packs directly link LEGO Mindstorms for Schools to specific areas of national curricula.
control | technology |

Mission: Control (Crystal Rainforest 2)
http://www.teachingandlearningresources.co.uk/robolabmission.htm
We used Mission Control to introduce the children to control technology, as we did not have the funding at the time to purchase the LegoDACTA Robolab equipment and software.
Mission Control is an adventure program which simulates control technology. The children face a series of problems and challenges that introduce and develop the idea of control technology in a carefully structured and logical manner as they battle to save the last remaining rainforest on the planet of Oglo. They have to create, test, modify and store sequences of instructions to control events using motors and lights. As the adventure develops, they progress to systems that respond to data from virtual sensors.
control | technology |

Softease Turtle
http://www.textease.com/turtle
Softease Turtle is a very flexible control program which handles all aspects of turtle graphics. It starts with the simple movement of a single object, and progresses to complex programming and control over multiple objects.
At the simplest level, easy, on screen buttons are used to control the movement of a traditional turtle, optionally leaving a path trail of graphics. This subtly teaches about distances and angles.
Sequences can be pre-set and run as scripts to create repeating patterns. This introduces simple programming and control concepts to students. Embed scripts within other scripts for a powerful, yet simple programming language.
Any Textease object can be named and used as a turtle, whether it is a simple shape, a photograph or clipart. Control as many of these turtles as you wish, to demonstrate more complex programming, provide an interesting multimedia show, or as an ideal way to create animations.
control | technology | Runs independently or fully integrates with Textease Studio | Designed with full network capabilities | Available for Windows, Mac or Acorn |

Roamerworld from Devon (UK)
http://www.devon.gov.uk/dcs/ict/roamer/roamer.htm
Roamerworld from Devon (UK)
Roamerworld is a simplified Logo. It is based on the popular Roamer floor turtle and provides good progression from floor based exercises to more abstract computer modelling problems. Suitable for years 2 to 6.
There are only 6 Logo commands. Pupils can use Roamerworld to create programs and procedures through a standard keyboard. They can create routines that make the screen turtle move, turn, draw and make sounds. Roamerworld facilitates the development of projects which address aspects of numeracy, geography, Design technology as well as specific aspects of IT. In particular the ICT programme of study on modelling, requires pupils to be taught to: "explore the effects of changing variables in simulations and similar packages, to ask and answer questions of 'what would happen if ?' type eg. Change the value in a given logo procedure and see the results."
Roamerworld is ideal for providing practical and exciting activities to enrich pupil learning. It can be linked to aspects of learning in other curriculum areas and can be planned to address learning from the IT PoS.

About the Marconi Project .. ECT (not just ICT)
http://www.marconiect.org/about.php
Information and communications technology (ICT) dominates many aspects of most of our lives. It plays a significant role in business, industry and in education. Over the past twenty years there has been a significant move towards ICT resources being used to make all of our lives more effective, productive and interesting. No one doubts the growing influence of ICT in the world.
However our education system has made little significant effort to educate young people in the basic skills that under-pin ICT. These skills are related to what is becoming known as electronics and communications technology (ECT). There has been little effort in the past decade to teach pupils in schools about some of the details of the all pervasive technology that surround us, for at the core of all ICT systems are electronic circuits and systems.
ECT impacts on our lives in a countless number of ways, ranging from our everyday use of heating, lighting and water systems, to our interactions with systems which control power, computers and communications, motor vehicles and transportation.
The Marconi ECT Project is an ambitious attempt to address this need to interest and educate a significantly larger number of young people in ECT. The intention is that this will increase the level of technological literacy in ECT. The Marconi ECT Project aims to encourage young people to consider working in this dynamic sector of industry that needs able young people who can develop, service and maintain the increasingly complex electronic highways and control systems that are the key building blocks of a modern technological society.

Valiant Technology
http://www.valiant-technology.com/
On 31 December 2001 we sold the 83,758th Roamer The enduring educational value of this product is now helping students in 27 different countries. Populations of Roamer can be found in the mountains of New Zealand and the highlands of Ethiopia.
They can be found in downtown Chicago or sunning themselves on the beaches of Barbados. A particularly large group of over 2000 has recently emigrated to the hustle and bustle of Shanghai.
Roamer | turtle | turtles | roamers | control products | control | data | logger | tronix | roamer workcards | inventa | classroom ideas |

New Wave Concepts
http://www.new-wave-concepts.com/
Welcome to New Wave Concepts—the home of PCB Wizard and Control Studio. New Wave Concepts develop and publish world-class curriculum software for electronics education. Its software is used in thousands of schools and colleges around the world and has a reputation for technological excellence and innovation.
PCB Wizard Cookbook
A 138-page resource that covers all aspects of designing and making Printed Circuit Boards with PCB Wizard and Crocodile Clips software.
Electronic Systems with Control Studio
A 72-page book that will help you exploit the full interactive learning potential of Control Studio software.

Logicator
http://www.logicalsoftware.co.uk/
Logicator is the award winning design software for creating computer-control applications.
Study control through simulated systems
Develop control with model systems
Create real microprocessor applications
See how Logicator is used in schools
See some example Logicator Project Flowsheets
Logicator is voted the top UK control software in a national survey. Logicator is the eighth most used software in D&T departments in UK schools.

Crocodile Technology
http://www.crocodile-clips.com/tech.htm
Crocodile Technology is a powerful simulator for Technology courses, covering electronics, programming, microcontrollers and mechanics. Suitable for ages 10-18, and college work, it lets students create and test electronic designs quickly and simply by dragging components from the toolbars.

Welcome to the 'Flowol' web site
http://www.flowol.com/
'Flowol2' is a program which will work on PC (Windows 95,98, ME and NT, 2000), Apple Mac, Acorn and some CE machines and provides computer control for pupils/students at all levels.
The on-screen, controllable pictures (Mimics), allow solutions to be modelled and simulated.
Real situations can be controlled through a range of interfaces, and primary data-logging is also possible with suitable sensors.