/Demystifying programming and controlling the real world

Coding/programming and computer science have a reputation for being hard, needing perseverance and a daunting array of concepts to learn such as iteration, recursion, selection, logic and abstraction.

As with many things, mastery is hard but starting to program can be accessible and engaging. Simple programs can produce interesting and seemingly complex results.

This session is therefore designed such that participants can get a feel of what programming is like through hands-on activities such as:

• producing the sort of repeating patterns that occur in textiles, architecture and Islamic art and even in nature
• exploring computer science through the patterns in programs that produce geometric art.

Participants will also learn about the building blocks behind latest buzz words such as the Internet of Things and program basic sensors and outputs to interact with the real physical world.

The aim of the session is for participants to leave with an insight into thinking like computer scientists and see for themselves how starting to program can open up a world of possibilities.