From education to employment

Providing meaningful educational experiences in STEM during COVID-19 through remote learning

The National Museum of Computing (@TNMOC), an independent charity, has today announced its new online remote learning packages which go live on October 1st. The remote learning packages extend the highly successful in-person programmes, reimagined for the online learning world, giving students an interactive and fun experience with STEM subjects during a difficult time for teaching.

For the museum’s online remote learning programme, they are offering 45-minute sessions with two themes to choose from: World War II codebreaking or modern electric computing – as well as the choice to do both. The programmes can be tailored not only to support schools but also universities, colleges, home education groups and academics.

Each remote learning session includes a live guided virtual tour and two live hands-on interactive sessions. In the live interactive sessions, students will get a choice of three activities: experiment using a Python programme to act as Lorenz keys to decipher messages, programming experience through the BBC emulator or a virtual reality session to create a virtual WWII era Block H, where the museum is housed now – generously provided through CoSpaces, an educational AR & VR creation platform. 

Following the remote learning sessions, teachers will also gain access to a multitude of resources to use throughout the term around their STEM teaching, including access to 4 programs custom written for BBC Basic and Python, the museum’s online learning pack, and a 30 day trial of CoSpaces’ pro platform – as well as a recording of the students’ own virtual tour to reuse throughout the school year. 

The aim of the remote learning packages is to help encourage students to engage with STEM subjects and to inspire the next generation of software developers, hardware engineers and beyond; hoping to give students a deeper understanding of the technology around them. The sessions will show that the students themselves can be involved in developing the technology of the future, inspiring those interested to get engaged.

On the museum’s new remote learning packages, Education Coordinator for TNMOC, Anne-Marie Langford says: ‘the new remote learning packages provide expert knowledge and access to the museum’s collection from the safety and comfort of your classroom or learning space. The packages give students a positive learning experience which differs from the usual classroom lesson, offering first-hand insight into key STEM concepts, leaving students with a new-found perspective and, hopefully, inspiration to get more involved in STEM.’

Even though The National Museum of Computing houses historic computers, it continues to be at the forefront of innovation and creativity. 

About The National Museum of Computing

The National Museum of Computing brings to life the history and ongoing development of computing for the enjoyment and benefit of the general public and specialists. The Museum combines a distinctive approach to engagement with an emphasis on British computing heritage and on-going innovation. TNMOC acquires, conserves, restores and rebuilds historic computing machinery. Our approach is furthered through a process of engagement, with the display and demonstration of historical systems. The Museum runs a highly successful learning programme for schools and colleges and introduces computer coding to young people to help inspire the next generation of computer scientists and engineers. The Museum also runs a popular, on-going program of festivals, lectures and interpreted displays and interactive events.


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