Recently added to the @CS4FN blog – a round-up of computing stories, classroom ideas and discussion points – Sep – Oct 2024 | Teaching London Computing: A RESOURCE HUB from CAS LONDON & CS4FN

CS4FN loves blogging and we regularly post a mix of new articles about computer science as well as ones from the archive to the CS4FN blog, our sister site aimed at a school readership (primary through to A level). Teachers might use these articles to spark discussion on a particular topic, just for general background interest or use more directly in teaching about aspects of computer science.

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The Teleporting Robot
(23 September 2024)

Download, print and cut out our one-page disappearing robot activity and draw parallels between algorithms and self-working tricks. See an animated gif (left) of the activity. [Read the article]

This quantum message will self-destruct in 10 seconds…
(28 September 2024)

Quantum holograms and quantum meta-materials – and how they might be used in future in quantum computing and encrypted communications. [Read the article]

Solving Railway Timetabling Problems with Data Visualisation
(29 September 2024)

How data visualisation helps trains run on time. ‘Marey charts’ help timetable designers see where trains are and how fast they’re moving across the network. [Read the article]

Sonifying zebrafish biology
(30 September 2024)

Listening to data can help us spot its patterns. Software developed by people at QMUL lets them track chemical activity in zebrafish cells by converting it to an audio signal. [Read the article]

Byte Queens
(5 October 2024)

Women in Tech: an interview with Ilenia Maietta, a computer science student at Queen Mary University of London about supporting girls and women in computer science. [Read the article]

The Logic of Queens
(20 October 2024)

This logic puzzle asks you to fit one puzzle piece into each coloured block, so that no pieces touch (not even diagonally) and that each row and column has only one piece in it. Here’s a strategy to help, using pattern matching. [Read the article]

A corner of the Queens logic game showing a piece in play

A light green background with a dark green maze on it. A small cartoon mouse faces an entrance into the maze and must decide which direction to go in to reach the piece of cheese hidden within it.

Claude Shannon: Inventing for the fun of it
(21 October 2024)

Claude Shannon founded information theory which underpins all digital communication. He also invented the rocket powered Frisbee, gasoline powered pogo stick, a calculator that worked using roman numerals, and was the discoverer of the fundamental equation of juggling! [Read the article]

Marc Hannah and the graphics pipeline
(31 October 2024)

For Black History Month: Marc Hannah was one of the cofounders of Silicon Graphics. His computer chips and programs were able perform faster calculations to create 3D images which supported the special effects of popular films like Jurassic Park, Beauty and the Beast and Terminator II. [Read the article]

A poster showing Arnold Schwarzenegger in character for Terminator 2. He's dressed in black leather, wearing sunglasses, sitting on a motorbike and holding a large gun.

The Illusion of Good Software design
(3 November 2024)

Programmers need to understand the limitations of people in order to design well. This article, based on a talk for sixth form computer scientist students, looks at the “simple” problem of number entry for medical devices and uses illusions to make the point that we can design to make people make mistakes (or not). [Read the article]