Short animations to inspire young children about technology and tech careers.

Tech We Can animated lessons

These short animations, covering a range of technology topics, are aimed at inspiring primary school-aged children to think and talk about technology and the role it plays in their lives.

<h3>Share your children's work</h3>After watching the animation, please share your children’s creative ideas with us on social media using #TechWeCan, or email them to us at <a href="mailto:info@techshecan.org">info@techshecan.org</a>

Wi-Fi is a wireless internet connection that enables phones, computers, tablets and other tech gadgets to access the internet without being physically connected by a cable.&nbsp;Broadband cables that run either overhead or underground enter the building. These cables are plugged into a small box inside the building called a router. Through this router, you can access the internet in one of 2 ways:<ol><li>Ethernet Cable: Plug a device into the router using an ethernet cable</li><li>Wi-Fi: The router sends out radio waves which allow wireless devices (phones, tablets, TVs, laptops etc) to connect to the internet without needing to plug your devices into the router</li></ol>Using Wi-Fi to connect to the router means that lots of devices can access and use the internet at the same time.As well as using Wi-Fi to connect to the internet at home, school and in work places, you can&nbsp; use it to connect to the internet in some public spaces. Places like coffee shops, restaurants and libraries sometimes have routers which you can connect to using Wi-Fi to access the internet.&nbsp;In your home, school or office, the further you are from the router, the weaker the signal. Eventually, if you move your device too far away from the router, the radio waves won’t reach it so you can no longer access the internet via Wi-Fi. To get online again, you can either move closer to the router, or this is when you might connect to the internet using 4G or 5G (a different way of connecting some devices to the internet when you are not near a router). The challenge In the animation, Katie, Tex and Ava talk about how they use the internet to do lots of daily tasks like researching insects, shopping online and playing online games.&nbsp; The internet can be really helpful, and we often use it to help us with many everyday tasks. See the resources tab for a downloadable worksheet.&nbsp;

Katie and Tex explore wifi

<h3>Share your children's work</h3>We’d love to see what your students/children come up with! Please send us pictures of their creations using #TechWeCan on social media or email them to us at <a href="mailto:info@techshecan.org">info@techshecan.org</a> and we’ll get back to you with our feedback.&nbsp;

&nbsp;In this episode, Katie and Tex explore the challenges of eating food in space and Tex finds out about the technology that is being used to help astronauts grow their own food whilst on space missions.Whilst in space, astronauts eat special ‘space food’ which has been created for them to eat during their space missions. Because of the microgravity in space, the space food has been designed to make it easy to open so that it doesn’t float around. It also has to be in sealed packaging to make sure that it can last a long time. Space food scientists also have to make sure that the food is tasty and nutritious to help keep the astronauts fit and healthy.Scientists are also starting to use new technology to grow food in space. This means they can eat fresh fruit and vegetables whilst they are on longer missions, and they can have a constant supply of food. This new technology, called the ‘Veggie’ system, uses containers which can hold water near the roots. It also uses lights which act like the sun, and keeps the box at the right temperature to enable the plants to grow.As astronauts start to explore space for longer periods of time, this new technology will become a key part of space missions in the future, making sure that astronauts can travel further into space and also help to make the food they eat even better. The Challenge&nbsp; Ask the children to create a piece of technology that would help astronauts to eat their meals in space. How could their piece of tech stop the food from spilling or floating everywhere? Ask them to add labels to explain their ideas.&nbsp;

Katie and Tex explore space food

<h3>Share your children's work</h3>We’d love to see what your students/children come up with! Please send us pictures of their creations using #TechWeCan on social media or email them to us at <a href="mailto:info@techshecan.org">info@techshecan.org</a> and we’ll get back to you with our feedback.&nbsp;

&nbsp;In this episode Katie and Tex go on a car journey in Katie’s electric vehicle and Tex learns all about the technology which makes electric vehicles more environmentally friendly than traditional petrol or diesel cars.&nbsp;Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming increasingly popular. These vehicles are powered by electric motors and use rechargeable batteries instead of gas or diesel engines. One of the main advantages of EVs is their contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, as they produce zero emissions. This makes them a cleaner alternative to traditional internal combustion engine vehicles.EVs can be charged at home, fuel stations and in lots of public parking such as supermarkets and shopping centers. With advancements in technology, the driving range of EVs has significantly improved, making them a viable option for everyday use. Overall, electric vehicles are playing a crucial role in the move towards a more sustainable future for transport.Some EVs also have the ability to be autonomous vehicles. Autonomous vehicles, also known as self-driving cars, are vehicles that can operate without direct human input. These vehicles use a combination of sensors, cameras, radar, GPS, and artificial intelligence to navigate roads and make driving decisions. The goal of autonomous vehicles is to increase road safety, reduce traffic congestion, and provide more efficient transportation options.ChallengesChallenge option 1Create a poster all about the features and benefits of an electric car. You could include some of the following:<ul><li>No engine in the front</li><li>Cable and plug</li><li>Boot and frunk</li><li>No fumes/emissions</li><li>Very quiet</li><li>Charging options</li><li>Some cars can be autonomous</li></ul>Challenge option 2Write a letter or email to your local council to persuade them to try and change all of their bin lorries and recycling lorries to electric vehicles.Explain why this would be better for the environment.Think about how this would help our environment and how it could help your council.

Katie and Tex explore electric vehicles

In this episode, Katie and Tex explore technology which athletes wear as clothing or accessories.&nbsp;Wearable devices are designed into clothing, accessories or sports equipment to help monitor a person's health, well-being and exercise. One of the most common uses of this technology is smart watches which calculate data such as the number of steps we take in a day.&nbsp;In sports, wearable technologies are increasingly being used to help athletes:&nbsp;<ul><li>Track their performance e.g. the speed they are running&nbsp;</li><li>Support with training and progress toward a goal e.g. a swimmer comparing distance swam in a certain time to their previous performances&nbsp;</li><li>Avoid injuries during games and training e.g. inform an athlete if they are pushing themselves too hard by monitoring their heart rate&nbsp;</li></ul>Some wearable technology have screens connected to them like smart watches, this kind of technology gives the athletes real time data which they can see as they exercise or play. Others, like the sports vest Katie wears in the animation, download the information to another device like a tablet or computer and the athletes and coaches can look at this during the performance or afterwards to see if they can make any changes to their tactics or performance.&nbsp; <h3>The Challenge&nbsp;</h3> Ask the children to design their very own tech sports kit. It could be for any sport, or even just for general exercise use. Ask them to add labels to explain how their kit helps the athlete and what data their kit collects i.e. a hat to track their movements or boots to track how fast they kick a ball.&nbsp;A free downloadable Twinkl worksheet to support this challenge can be found <a href="https://api.techshecan.org/storage/files/t-par-1663856150-tech-we-can-design-a-tech-sport-kit.pdf?t=1679910252856">here.</a>

Katie and Tex explore Wearable Tech in Sports

<h3>Share your children's work</h3>We’d love to see what your students/children come up with! Please send us pictures of their creations using #TechWeCan on social media or email them to us at <a href="mailto:info@techshecan.org">info@techshecan.org</a> and we’ll get back to you with our feedback.

Generative AI (Gen AI) is a type of artificial intelligence where computers can generate text, images or other media in response to a request. It can be used for many different things such as translating languages, creating music and helping write code for other computer programmes.&nbsp;Gen AI learns from what humans input into it and the feedback it receives to continue to improve the accuracy and usefulness of the answers and solutions it provides. Gen AI is so powerful because it does not only learn from one user, it scans the internet to gather as much information as it can before providing an answer. The amazing thing is, this can be done much faster than a human, in most cases it takes only seconds.&nbsp;We can’t predict exactly what Gen AI will look like in the future or how we will use it, but we do know that Gen AI is already super smart, and with time, it will only get better and will be used more and more in our everyday lives. It could be our personal assistant and help us with homework and planning holidays, or it could even help scientists discover new things.Gen AI cannot totally replace humans because we have imagination and feelings which Gen AI does not. Although the accuracy of Gen AI is constantly improving, this doesn’t mean it will always get things right. This is why we should never assume that Gen AI will give us a perfect answer but it will often give us a great start which humans can then use their creativity and knowledge to build on.&nbsp;The challengeTell the children that we are going to have a go at learning and improving as we are given more information - just like Generative AI does.&nbsp;Ask the children to sit in pairs.&nbsp;Child A: The Generative AI Computer - sits with their back to the board with something to draw on i.e. whiteboard and pen or paper and pencil.&nbsp;Child B: The user/human - sits facing the board - no equipment needed.&nbsp;On the board,&nbsp; display a picture of a variety of shapes joined together. See example below:&nbsp; Vary the complexity of the shape in relation to the children’s mathematical language ability.&nbsp;Tell the users (child B) that they are going to tell their Gen AI computers (child A) how to draw the picture on the board as this is what they want them to create and would therefore be the perfect answer their computers could give them.&nbsp;Give the children a set amount of time i.e. 3 minutes to ‘input into their computer’. To do this they will use verbal instructions only - THEY CANNOT USE THEIR HANDS TO DEMONSTRATE.&nbsp;I.e: Draw a square in the middle of the page. Then draw another square around it.The GEN AI computers (child A) must not show their user what they are drawing until the end time is up.&nbsp;When the timer ends, Child A (who still needs to face away from the board) can show Child B their drawing and Child B needs to think about&nbsp; how it can be improved to make it more like the original picture. They can’t speak to the computer at this point though.&nbsp;Tell the users (child B) they are now going to help their Gen AI computers get even better by inputting more data to help them improve the picture.&nbsp;Repeat with a set amount of time to allow the users to improve the data they input (what they verbally tell their partner).After the time is up, Child A can show their drawing again and hopefully this time it is more accurate. &nbsp;The children can then swap roles and repeat. If time, you could even swap partners.&nbsp;Reinforce at the end that this is how Gen AI works, it learns from the input we give it. The more precise and accurate our input is, the better the result will be. Also, the more times we ask the same question or try to do the same task, the more information the Gen AI gets and therefore the better its answers will be.&nbsp;

Katie and Tex explore Generative AI

<h2><h3>Share your children's work</h3>After watching the animation, please share your children’s creative ideas with us on social media using #TechWeCan, or email them to us at <a href="mailto:info@techshecan.org">info@techshecan.org</a></h2>

In this episode, Katie and Tex explore the world of AR (which stands for Augmented Reality).&nbsp; <div>Augmented reality is the use of a device, such as a phone, tablet or headset to allow a user to combine their view of the real world with computer generated images. This means we can use AR to see the real world view in front of us, but the screen will also show other objects which have been added and are not really there. These objects can often be controlled and interacted with through your screen by using your voice, finger controls or moving the device (if it has motion sensors).&nbsp; </div><div>The difference between AR and VR (virtual reality) is that you do not need a headset to use AR. VR requires you to put on a headset and be completely surrounded by your new virtual world but AR allows you to see both your real world and computer generated images at the same time through the use of a screen and a camera.&nbsp; </div><div>There are many very popular uses of AR for entertainment such as filters added to videos/images and AR games and apps. Most of these AR experiences can be accessed on relatively modern tablets and smartphones. There are also some very exciting uses of AR to help people with their jobs and daily lives such as the RAF visor example in our animation and doctors using AR in their training.&nbsp; </div><div>AR technology is continuing to advance and mixed reality devices are now being created. Mixed reality is a combination of VR and AR technology.&nbsp; </div><div> The challenge </div><div>If you have access to AR app compatible devices:&nbsp; </div><div>Ask the children to explore an AR app to help with their current learning. We have a number of recommended apps in our <a href="https://techshecan.org/student-zone">Student Zone</a> - just click on the app tab. </div><div>If you do not have access to AR app compatible devices:&nbsp; </div><div>Provide the children with a selection of different pictures (these could be related to a current curriculum topic, images of environments, rooms, streets etc). Ask them to draw on top of the picture to show how they would like to use AR to explore that place and learn more about it. Depending on the children’s age and ability, they could also add labels to explain how the user would interact with the AR.&nbsp; </div><div>Examples:&nbsp; </div><ul><li>An image of a bedroom - Furniture and pictures can be moved around so you can use AR to rearrange your bedroom before doing this in real life.</li><li>An image of a park - if exercising in the park, the user could run to different AR tokens to collect them and when they get there, a reward appears on their screen.&nbsp;</li><li>An image of a street - arrows would appear on the view to show the user where to go, it would also highlight information about the shops they are passing.&nbsp;</li><li>An image of a plant - AR labels would appear over each part of the plant to explain how it helps it live.&nbsp;</li><li>An image of a person’s reflection in a mirror and different items of clothing would appear so that the person can ‘try them on’.</li></ul>

Katie and Tex explore augmented reality

<h3>Share your children's work</h3>After watching the animation, please share your children’s creative ideas with us on social media using #TechWeCan, or email them to us at <a href="mailto:info@techshecan.org">info@techshecan.org</a>.

Cyber security means keeping your information and your devices (like your smartphone, tablet and computer) safe on the internet.&nbsp; We need cyber security because people called 'criminal hackers' sometimes try to steal important information and money online. That's why it's really important to keep your personal information safe - this is information about you like your full name, address and birthday, and also your passwords for things like gaming, social media and email accounts you may have.&nbsp; Hacking means using or accessing computers that you don’t have permission to access. Criminals hack computer systems or networks (these are groups of computers that work together). They are usually trying to steal money or valuable information from a person or a business.&nbsp; Hackers use lots of different ways of stealing money and information. One of these ways is known as ‘phishing’, where they try to trick people into giving them their passwords and important information. Phishing is where hackers send emails, text messages, social media messages or make phone calls pretending to be from a bank, or a well known company. The aim of this is to get people to give them information which they can use to hack into their accounts and buy things or steal money. Sometimes, phishing messages will try to make the person feel excited - for example, asking them to send their details because they’ve won an amazing prize. Sometimes, the messages will try to make people feel worried by saying things like, ‘You haven't paid for your account this month, send us your details to stop your account being cancelled’. Or the message might ask the person to click a link, which then downloads a virus to the phone, computer or tablet. A virus is a computer program which is designed to damage a device, and give someone else access to the important information on it. &nbsp; We don’t know exactly what the future will look like, but it’s really important that we carry on inventing and developing cyber security to keep us, and our information, safe online. <h3>Children's challenge</h3>Ethical hackers make it harder for criminal hackers to commit crimes by learning to think and act like them. Try and think like a criminal hacker to trick someone into giving you their personal information. You could:&nbsp;<ul><li>Write an email to try and gather information from someone&nbsp;</li><li>Act out a phone call a hacker might have with someone else.&nbsp;</li></ul>Think about how a criminal hacker might act, what they might say and what information they might want.&nbsp; Once you've done this and you have an understanding of how a criminal hacker’s mind might work, can you help people spot a hacker on a phone call or a phishing email? What things should they look out for? What kind of things should they NEVER share? You could create a poster or perhaps a video.&nbsp; We’d love to see what your students/children come up with! Please send us pictures of their creations and we’ll get back to you with our feedback.

Katie and Tex explore cyber security

<h3>Share your children's work</h3>After watching the animation, please share your children’s creative ideas with us on social media using #TechWeCan, or email them to us at info@techshecan.org

The cloud is a collection of powerful computers that allows you to store and access your data (whether that’s photos, videos or documents) over the internet, rather than on a computer’s hard drive or a mobile’s internal storage. So, no matter what happens to the device you’re using - for example, if you lose it or it gets damaged - you can still access the cloud to retrieve all your data that’s stored there. These powerful cloud computers are found in secure data centres all around the world, including underground bunkers, warehouses and even out in the desert.&nbsp; Any information we store in the cloud can be kept there forever, even after we delete it. So we need to be cautious about adding sensitive or personal information to the cloud.&nbsp; The cloud has many benefits:<ul><li>It gives everyone more space to store data as you’re not limited by the amount of storage on your physical device (i.e. your phone or tablet).</li><li>It allows students and workers to share and access digital resources from any part of the world.</li><li>It gives users a back-up, just like Katie needed in the animation. If the physical device gets damaged or the user accidentally deletes something, the original data can still be accessed from the cloud.</li><li>It’s better for the environment, as less energy is consumed when we connect and use the cloud versus traditional hardware systems.</li></ul> <h3>Children's challenge</h3>After watching the animation, here’s a follow-up challenge for children to complete:<ul><li>Draw two outlines of clouds on a piece of paper or on a computer programme. &nbsp;</li><li>In one of the clouds, write or draw things that you’d like to save in the cloud so that they’re safe and you can always find them (i.e. a photo of you and your grandma, your world on Minecraft, or your dad's favourite pancake recipe).</li><li>In the other cloud, write or draw things which you think you shouldn’t save in the cloud (i.e. a list of passwords, your medical notes, or a picture of your passport).</li></ul>We’d love to see what your students/children come up with! Please send us pictures of their creations and we’ll get back to you with our feedback.

Katie and Tex explore the cloud

<h3>Share your children's work</h3>After watching the animation, please share your children’s creative ideas with us on social media using #TechWeCan, or email them to us at <a href="mailto:info@techshecan.org">info@techshecan.org</a>

Drones are unpiloted aircrafts or spacecrafts which are either operated by humans with a remote control, or use computer technology and sensors to move on their own. They vary in size and can be as small as your hand or as large as an aeroplane - and can fly long distances and to high altitudes. Drones are used in many different ways - from taking photos, to delivering parcels and even assisting in emergency rescues. They’re often able to complete tasks more quickly than humans and can tackle jobs which may be too dangerous for us.&nbsp; In this animation, Katie and Tex focus on how drones are being used for environmental sustainability. Drones are powered by electricity and don’t directly emit fumes into the atmosphere. While many only have relatively short flying times before needing to be recharged, they tend to offer a more sustainable form of transport for short deliveries than vehicles such as vans and planes. Drones can also help protect the environment and animals - from planting new trees by dropping seed pods from the air, to tracking endangered animals.&nbsp; <h3>The challenge</h3>Katie asks children to think about how drones could help people in their daily lives. Perhaps you can ask your students or children to create an image of their drone in action and label it to explain how it works and what it’s doing.&nbsp;We’d love to see what they come up with! Please do send us pictures of their artwork and we’ll get back to you with our feedback.

Katie and Tex explore drones

<h3>Share your children's work</h3>Please share your children’s creative ideas with us on social media using #TechWeCan, or email them to us at <a href="mailto:%20info@techshecan.org">info@techshecan.org</a>

As cashless payment technology continues to advance, we’re increasingly able to buy things digitally, using smart devices such as phones and watches, without the need for traditional banknotes and coins. However, the way we now make purchases, with just a simple tap of a card or device, can be confusing for children who don’t see any cash being exchanged. It’s therefore important to remind children that cashless payments still involve transferring money to the company or person being paid, as we explain in this animation. <h3>The challenge</h3>If you’d like to explore this topic further with your students or children, take a look at this <a href="https://natwest.mymoneysense.com/parents/worksheets-activities/name-the-digital-payments/">activity sheet for 5-8 year-olds</a> from NatWest MoneySense, with whom we partnered on this animation. See how many digital payment methods they can identify (this <a href="https://natwest.mymoneysense.com/parents/worksheets-activities/digital-ways-to-pay/">handy info sheet</a> will help them with any they don’t know). There’s also a <a href="https://natwest.mymoneysense.com/parents/articles/the-different-ways-we-pay-for-things/">guide for parents</a> on how to explain the different ways we pay for things to children. We’d love to see your students or children interacting with these resources. Please send us pictures of them completing the activities and we’ll get back to you with our feedback!

Katie and Tex explore cashless payments

In simple terms, a robot is any automatically operated machine that replaces human effort. Robots come in all shapes and sizes - sometimes they look like humans and sometimes they don’t! Robots perform many different tasks and can often do these faster and with more accuracy than a human. Robots can be guided externally by a separate device or they might have controls embedded within them. Most robots are now using artificial intelligence (AI) technology. AI refers to a machine's ability to think, learn and adapt to different situations like a human. It’s already used in many areas of our lives such as personal assistants - like Alexa and Siri - in autonomous cars, and to track our online shopping habits.&nbsp; Robots combined with AI are known as ‘AI robots’. AI robots - such as our character, Tex - learn to perform their tasks as a result of humans coding and programming them. They then use ‘machine learning’ to adapt and change what they do to get better at it. AI robots are currently used in places like hospitals, restaurants, manufacturing and recycling.&nbsp; There are often fears that robots will take over people’s jobs in the future. While this may be true for certain jobs, robotics will also create new jobs and free up time for people to work on more ‘value-add’ activities by making time-consuming processes more efficient. Automation and robotics will continue to advance in the years ahead so it’s important for children to understand the need for people to work in technology to design, create and control the robotics technology of the future.&nbsp;<h3>The challenge</h3>In the animation, Katie asks children to have a go at designing their own robot - especially one which can help others in some way. She asks them to create an image of their robot and label it to explain how it works.&nbsp; We’d love to see your students' or children’s creative ideas, so please do share them with us (see below) and we’ll get back to you with feedback.

Katie and Tex explore robotics and AI

Autonomous shops are shops without any checkouts. Customers walk in, pick up the items they’d like to buy and simply walk out. An app on the customer’s phone, along with special sensors placed all around the store, detect what the customer picks up from the shelves and also if they put something back again. When the customer leaves the store, the app calculates the total price of the products they’ve collected, sends them a notification and then charges their bank. There are therefore no queues and no checkouts in the shop. Some companies call this technology ‘WiWo’ which stands for ‘Walk in. Walk Out’. Autonomous shops already exist in the UK and the adoption of this type of shopping experience is set to grow in the coming years.&nbsp;<h3>The challenge</h3>Here’s a follow-up creative challenge you can set for children to complete after watching the animation on autonomous shopping:&nbsp;Next time you’re out shopping, what technology can you see in shops and how is it used? We’d like you to create a poster, drawing pictures of the technology you see in shops and explaining what it does (ask an adult if you spot something and are unsure what it's used for).&nbsp;For an extra challenge, you could even think about what kinds of technology might replace this in the future. Katie and Tex think holograms might greet you as you enter a shop and augmented reality mirrors could be used in the changing rooms so you won’t even need to try clothes on!We’d love to see your students' or children’s creative ideas, so please do share them with us (see below) and we’ll get back to you with feedback.

Katie and Tex explore autonomous shopping

Virtual reality (VR) is the use of computer technology to create a simulated environment. Instead of the user viewing something via a screen in front of them, they put on a VR headset and are immersed in an interactive 3D world.&nbsp;Virtual reality experiences have a wide range of uses from entertainment, to education, architecture, healthcare and more. Currently, VR experiences rely on the use of two of our five senses - sight and sound. However, this area of technology is advancing rapidly and likely to play a significant role in children’s future careers and personal lives.&nbsp;<h3>The challenge</h3>In the animation, Katie asks viewers to imagine being a VR designer and create an image of a world they’d like to explore using a VR headset. We’d love to see your students' or children’s creative ideas, so please do share them with us (see below) and we’ll get back to you with feedback.

Katie and Tex explore virtual reality

<h2>Why teach young kids about tech?</h2>Technology is advancing at an extraordinary pace and its role in our lives continues to grow. To ensure all children are able to participate in the jobs of the future, we believe it’s vital to educate and excite them about technology, and the&nbsp; people who develop it, from an early age. Our Tech We Can animations range from 3-5 minutes in length. They feature the characters, Katie and Tex, who explore the role of technology across different areas along with guest appearances from Katie's lab assistant, Ava, and real-life role models working in each area. Aimed at making tech fun for youngsters, our animations cover topics including virtual reality, autonomous shopping, robotics and AI, and cashless payments. Suitable for use in the classroom or at home, and available on demand so they can be delivered at a time that suits you.

Katie Katie is a research scientist. She carries out experiments and investigations across a wide range of subjects. Katie loves learning about technology and often talks to her friends to find out how it's used in their areas of work.

Tex Tex is an advanced and very clever robotic dog created by Katie as a research experiment. He's programmed to know lots of facts and to help Katie around the lab - and has a mischievous sense of humour. &nbsp;

Ava Ava is Katie's lab assistant. After school and on weekends, Ava visits Katie to help her with her experiments. Ava loves science and technology, and enjoys learning new things and discovering interesting facts.

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Why teach young kids about tech?

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