Code for Life, an initiative by Ocado Group, provides educators with the resources they need to inspire the next generation of computer scientists. We aim to address the gender disparity in computer science through engaging, gamified learning experiences. In addition to its educational resources, Code for Life also offers coding club packs, robotics workshops, certificates, progress tracking and much, much more.

We are a not-for-profit, open-source initiative that engages with schools and educational institutions to provide career-based activities, and real world learning opportunities for tech enthusiasts.

Thank you to everyone - we all made it happen. ❤️

A

Abdelrahman AbouDeghedy, Adam Kirchberger, Adam Mandel, Alexandre Fernando, Ana Crisan, Anders Schuller, Andre Gomes, Andreia Silva Cabecinhas, Andrew King, Andrew Lucas, Andrew Males, Andrew Miller, Angela Brownsey, Anne Marie Neatham, Aparbek Smailov, Ashley Marshall, Assia Iossifova.

B

Barry Parker, Ben Cardy, Blazej Strozewski, Bree King.

C

Cam Mac, Céline Boudier, Cherie Pun, Chi-En Wei, Chris Leach, Chris Mukherjee, Chris Pavli, Christopher Brett, Clifford Bailey, Clyde.

D

Daniel Hourigan, Daniel Palma, Daniela Ortner, Darcie Gomer, Dave Owen, Dawid Chodura, Delivibot Dee, Devon Alexander, Dioni Zhong, Dhru Sachania, Duncan Russell.

E

F

Felix Stephenson, Florian Aucomte.

G

Gabby Barsoum, George Smith.

H

Helen Mead.

I

J

Jacq Train, James Dimmock, James Holland, James Smyth, Javi Carretero, Jazmin Hempenstall, Jennet Pitch, Joe Slade, Joseph Zammit, Josh Blake, Juan Lucas, Julie Yortson, Julieta Sanguedolce.

K

Kamil Sosiński, Katarzyna Zych, Kenny MacMillan, Kristian Brugts.

L

Laura Cumming, Leila Hajaj, Ligia Olmos, Liza Konstantinova, Lloyd Allen, Lucy House, Lucy Light, Lukasz Brzezowski, Luna Cao.

M

Maciej Zywiol, Mahana Clutha, Marcin Zieba, Maria Skrzypek, Mariana Fonseca, Marius Goubert, Mateusz Gizycki, Matt Whelan, Matthew Daggitt, Matthew Dyachuk, Matthew Harman, Meera Tom, Menelik Collymore, Michael Storey, Miguel Trigueira, Mike Bryant, Mo-anna Tucker, Mykhaylo Marfeychuk.

N

O

Olaf Szmidt, Oliver Cartz, Oliver Jeeves.

P

Q

R

Rachel Lord, Radhika Gudipati, Rafal Wawryk, Rain Ashford, Razvan Mahu, Rebecca D'Cruz, Ria Jha, Ricardo Mejias, Richard Hughes, Ridwanah, Rishika Varadarajan, Robert Brignull, Rosanna Danza, Roxanne Sammons, Ruby Arenson, Ruth Wall.

S

T

Thomas Cassany, Tricy Dino.

U

V

Varadh Kalidasan, Vikas Shah.

W

Wael Al Jeshi, Will Peck, Will Vauclain.

X

Y

Yongji Zhou.

Z

Zoe Broad.

Gaining experience through working on our products

What are the benefits of collaborating this way?

Some of the reasons we would like to highlight:

• Your students will learn a variety of technologies and gain experience developing a production-ready system.

• Your students will gain mentoring directly from the team, learn about software development in an Agile environment, and gain insights into working in a fast paced small software team.

• The contributions will be directly used by students and teachers worldwide, helping them to flourish in an increasingly digital world.

• Your students will build their portfolio and gain industry-experience, which is highly valued by employers.

• You and your students will have the satisfaction of making the world a better place, one contribution at a time. 😊

How to get started and find out more

In order to design projects suitable for your students, please get in touch with us at codeforlife@ocado.com and title your email; Industry Experience.

Some previous partners have been Imperial College London and CS in Schools Cadet scheme.

Services

Below is the list of microservices we have within our system. Each service has its own documentation and code repository. Read more about how to use each service, their responsibilities and how they work under the hood.

Packages

Below is the list of code packages we install across multiple services. Each package has its own documentation and code repository. Read more about the code each package contains.

Other

Below are empty code repositories that were created to track different types of tasks.

Wednesday 26 March 2025

codeforlife-portal: 8.5.1, rapid-router: 7.4.7

Added list of individual cookies to the privacy notice.

Thursday 20 March 2025

rapid-router: 7.4.5

Now counting number of times users play Rapid Router and Python Den using GTM.

Tuesday 18 March 2025

codeforlife-portal: 8.4.10, rapid-router: 7.4.4

• Most Rapid Router and Python Den levels can now be accessed only by logged in users

• Embedded Gitbook videos no longer keep playing in the background after closing the popup

Tuesday 11 March 2025

codeforlife-portal: 8.4.4, rapid-router: 7.3.6

• Students can now play their own custom level even if it still hasn't been approved by their teacher

• Added missing my_van.deliver()command to the Python commands popup in PD level 40

Friday 7 March 2025

codeforlife-portal: 8.4.3, rapid-router: 7.3.4

• Fixed a bug in the level access control feature where Episode 8 (Procedures) couldn't be unlocked

Thursday 27 February 2025

codeforlife-portal: 8.4.0, rapid-router: 7.3.2

• Linked the "Opportunities with Code for Life" document in the footer and Get Involved page

• Links to PDF docs now point to Gitbook URLs instead of GCP assets bucket

• Retired our use of Mouseflow

• Added a new button in the Play page banner to direct users to the Python Den

• Reworded the buttons on the Play page from "Play" to "Try"

• Made the level moderation feature proactive instead of reactive, meaning students now need to have custom levels approved by their teacher because they can be shared with others

Wednesday 19 February 2025

codeforlife-portal: 8.2.2

• Class names can no longer contain special characters

• Update to privacy notice around GA4 data collection

Monday 10 February 2025

codeforlife-portal: 8.2.0, rapid-router: 7.2.9

Improved Python error feedback in Python Den console log.

Thursday 30 January 2025

codeforlife-portal: 8.1.3, rapid-router: 7.2.8

• Removed trial "Donate" button

Friday 18 January 2025

codeforlife-portal: 8.1.2, rapid-router: 7.2.7

• Fixed small ordering and layout issues in Python Den's episodes accordion

Monday 16 December 2024

codeforlife-portal: 8.0.5, rapid-router: 7.2.5

• Improve input sanitisation on subtitle, description and hint fields in the Level Editor

Monday 9 December 2024

codeforlife-portal: 8.0.3, rapid-router: 7.2.3

Allow for Python Den worksheets to be locked from the teacher's level control form.

Wednesday 27 November 2024

codeforlife-portal: 8.0.1, rapid-router: 7.1.0

Released Python Den worksheets on 2D lists and Procedures and Functions.

Tuesday 12 November 2024

codeforlife-portal: 8.0.0, rapid-router: 7.0.1

• BREAKING CHANGE: Upgrade from Django 3.2 to 4.2.

Thursday 7 November 2024

codeforlife-portal: 7.4.9

• Fixed broken edit account details forms

Saturday 2 November 2024

codeforlife-portal: 7.4.6, rapid-router: 6.7.1

• Switched to PostgreSQL 16 from MySQL 5.7

• Transferred all data for all 3 environments to the new instance on GCP

Monday 28 October 2024

codeforlife-portal: 7.4.4, rapid-router: 6.7.0

• Updated the Coding Clubs page to match new structure after Python Den release

• Updated the marketing video for the Python Den on the Teach page

• Removed the temporary redirect to the Python Den from the old Rapid Router levels

• Included the Python Den in our Terms of Use

• Fixed the broken level moderation page, teachers can now view and delete custom levels again

Tuesday 15 October 2024

codeforlife-portal: 7.4.0

• Updated Home Learning page to reflect Rapid Router changes following Python Den release

• Added a tester Donate button to the header which links to a contact list in DotDigital

Tuesday 8 October 2024

rapid-router: 6.6.0

• Released Blockly translations for Bulgarian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese and Russian.

• Amended Python Den level 15 to accept more solutions.

Monday 30 September 2024

codeforlife-portal: 7.3.7, rapid-router: 6.5.3

• Fixed "days left" data binding in inactivity reminder emails

• Fixed broken links to the old CSR page, now redirecting to the Sustainability page

• Updated migrations to be Postgres-compatible

Wednesday 18 September 2024

rapid-router: 6.5.2

Fixed column alignment issue in Python Den scoreboard.

Wednesday 11 September 2024

codeforlife-portal: 7.3.3, rapid-router: 6.5.1

• Update Python Den web pages to ensure title says "Python Den" instead of "Rapid Router"

• Mark some MUI icons in the login dropdown as data-nosnippet to see if search engines stop rendering their text version

Tuesday 10 September 2024

codeforlife-portal: 7.3.2, rapid-router: 6.5.0

• Added the scoreboard feature to the Python Den

• Fixed link to Blockly phrasebook in Play page

• Allow admin teachers to move students from any class in their school

Thursday 5 September 2024

rapid-router: 6.4.4

• Replaced cows with pigeons in City theme

• Added solar panel options for Snow and City themes

• Fixed Python Den banners to match Rapid Router banner height

• Fixed links to Blockly phrasebook and Python guides

Tuesday 3 September 2024

codeforlife-portal: 7.2.1, rapid-router: 6.3.7

Upgraded to Python 3.12

Thursday 29 August 2024

codeforlife-portal: 7.2.0, rapid-router: 6.3.5

• Released Python Den

• Changed colour of upper-left hand corner text in Rapid Router game view from black to white.

Friday 9 August 2024

codeforlife-portal: 7.1.1, rapid-router: 6.0.2

• Fixed the "exploding flying van bug" where using an action block / command in front of a cow would cause a crash.

Tuesday 6 August 2024

codeforlife-portal: 7.1.0

Added three email alerts for users who haven't been active in a while, warning them that their account is about to be anonymised. The first reminder happens 2 years since last activity, the second 2 years and 8 months, and the final reminder 2 years and 11 months, 1 month before the anonymisation happens at 3 years of inactivity.

Thursday 1 August 2024

codeforlife-portal: 7.0.0, rapid-router: 6.0.0

• BREAKING CHANGE: Removed everything Kurono-related, including game dashboard functionality, Kurono-related text, images and videos and deregistered the URLs for Kurono.

• Added a migration to clean dirty class data, i.e. to nullify the creation_time of the few classes that inexplicably had a creation_time set to before we actually started tracking that data.

• Reintroduced the missing buttons to the "Overwrite" popup in Rapid Router's level editor.

• Enabled the is_animal_crossing() and sound_horn() commands in Python levels.

• Gave the "sound horn" action a wait time equal to all other action animations, allowing for the highlighting of the "sound horn" block or the sound_horn() command to be visible.

Wednesday 31 July 2024

rapid-router: 5.27.0

Friday 19 July 2024

codeforlife-portal: 6.46.0, rapid-router: 5.26.1

• Introduced functional cookie to save a user's preferred language in Rapid Router.

• Functional cookies are now automatically deleted from the browser after a user withdraws their consent and navigates back to Rapid Router.

• 10 years celebration page is under construction!

Friday 5 July 2024

Reintroduce the 2 email reminders for unverified users before their account gets anonymised.

Monday 1 July 2024

rapid-router: 5.25.0

• Added a sounded effect for when the Electric Van starts.

• Added a "battery gauge" for the Electric Van, similar to the fuel gauge for the classic van.

Thursday 27 June 2024

rapid-router: 5.23.1

Level subtitle, description and hint can now be customised with creating a level in the level editor.

Wednesday 19 June 2024

rapid-router: 5.22.0

• Scenery (cows and traffic lights) can now be dragged directly from the sidebar in the level editor!

• Added solar panels to grass and farm scenery!

• Added the electric van as a character option!

• Blocks can now be translated into Catalan and Spanish.

Thursday 6 June 2024

rapid-router: 5.19.0

• Scenery (trees, bushes and ponds) can now be dragged directly from the sidebar in the level editor!

• Disabled algorithm score for all custom levels

• Fix cow placement so they cannot be put on start or destination blocks

Thursday 30 May 2024

codeforlife-portal: 6.45.1, rapid-router: 5.18.2

• Added missing translations for the "Do" block

• Clarified verification email that gets sent to released school students

• De-verify students when they are released as verification of their new email address is required

• Clarified error text when requesting to join a class that doesn't exist or isn't accepting join requests

Thursday 23 May 2024

aimmo: 2.11.3, codeforlife-portal: 6.44.9, rapid-router: 5.18.1

Fixed level 36 so the van now drives under the trees instead of over them.

Monday 20 May 2024

codeforlife-portal: 6.44.5, rapid-router: 5.18.0

• Introduced a translation feature for the blocks in Rapid Router! Initial deployment includes English (UK), English (US), French and Hindi.

• Updated the level editor to allow for creation of multiple destinations (houses)

• Fixed the "wonky" level editor layout

• Added the Gmail and Outlook redirection buttons to the password reset request sent page

• Updated the contribute page with more up to date figures

Thursday 9 May 2024

codeforlife-portal: 6.44.3, rapid-router: 5.16.25

• Transferred all the other emails to DotDigital

• Ran migrations to clean illogical data states:

  • Anonymised "typeless" users

  • Anonymised empty schools

  • Verified all returning users

• All students are now automatically verified upon their first login

• Updated footer layout with social media icons

Tuesday 23 April 2024

codeforlife-portal: 6.41.12

Moved the jQuery script tag higher up in the DOM - seems to have fixed, or at least warded off, the ghost bug.

Friday 19 April 2024

codeforlife-portal: 6.41.11, rapid-router: 5.16.24

Host js-reverse script directly instead of downloading as an attempt to fix the jQuery ghost bug - turned out to be unrelated.

Friday 12 April 2024

codeforlife-portal: 6.41.10, rapid-router: 5.16.21

• Transferred some of our email messages from AWS to DotDigital to help with email authentication:

  • Email address verification on account creation

  • Email address verification on account email change

  • Email address update notification

  • Parent's / Guardian's email address verification on account creation for independent user under 13

  • Email address verification first reminder

  • Email address verification second reminder

  • Forgotten password reset

• Updated Privacy Notice to highlight the use of YouTube embedded videos

• Fixed broken Mouseflow cookie

Thursday 21 March 2024

aimmo: 2.11.2, codeforlife-portal: 6.41.5, rapid-router: 5.16.21

• Updated main logo to its trademarked version.

• Fixed broken mute cookie.

Friday 15 March 2024

codeforlife-portal: 6.41.3, rapid-router: 5.16.20

• Updated text on email verification and reset password pages to highlight need to check spam folder.

• Updated solutions to levels 106-109 to replace n variable with number.

Friday 1 March 2024

codeforlife-portal: 6.41.2, rapid-router: 5.16.19

Fixed issues relating to max scores in Rapid Router.

Monday 19 February 2024

aimmo: 2.11.1, codeforlife-portal: 6.41.1, rapid-router: 5.16.15

• Added a button which links to Outlook on the email verification page.

• Added the 10-year badge image to the footer.

• Slightly amended level and episode names to make them consistent.

• Teachers can no longer select Episodes that aren't ready in the scoreboard.

• The scoreboard now properly shows the results for all Episodes to the teachers.

Friday 2 February 2024

codeforlife-portal: 6.40.0

Added a link to the 2023 Impact Report in the footer.

Tuesday 23 January 2024

rapid-router: 5.16.12

Thursday 18 January 2024

codeforlife-portal: 6.39.10, rapid-router: 5.16.10

Monday 8 January 2024

rapid-router: 5.16.9

Thursday 21 December 2023

codeforlife-portal: 6.39.9, rapid-router: 5.16.8

Tuesday 19 December 2023

rapid-router: 5.16.6

Monday 11 December 2023

rapid-router: 5.16.4

• Replaced the van with the sleigh in the Start block during the Christmas theme.

• Updated the description of level 36 to show example code and cog icon.

• The level selection page now remembers which Episode the user was last on and opens that accordion by default.

Thursday 30 November 2023

aimmo: 2.11.0, rapid-router: 5.16.1

• Imports in Kurono are now restricted to the ones used in the worksheets.

• Cows are now always visible in Rapid Router.

• The van now needs to be on the square directly before a cow in order to honk the horn to make it disappear, instead of two squares away.

Tuesday 28 November 2023

aimmo: 2.10.15, codeforlife-portal: 6.39.8, rapid-router: 5.15.13

• Introduced else in Level 36 (in level intro and solution)

• Fixed and updated styles of missing Level Editor popup buttons

Wednesday 15 November 2023

aimmo: 2.10.12, codeforlife-portal: 6.39.4

• No longer gathering and processing school postcodes

• School countries are now optional

• UK schools can be linked to a county, which is also optional

• Fixed and issue with the flow for changing emails addresses

• Now tracking worksheet usage, worksheet badges and game load time in Kurono

Friday 3 November 2023

aimmo: 2.10.9, codeforlife-portal: 6.38.1, rapid-router: 5.15.5

• Created levels 110-122 in Rapid Router, within Episode 12 as an introduction to While Loops.

• Added episodes 13-15 to the levels list and marked them as coming soon.

• Added a formal method to capture volunteer acceptance of contributing terms.

• Password fields in forms now have a "reveal password" icon.

• Removed autocomplete for some password fields.

• Increased the size of the Rapid Router level map so it takes up the whole section.

• Updated the button styles for the hint and level failure / completion popups in Rapid Router.

Tuesday 17 October 2023

aimmo: 2.10.7, codeforlife-portal: 6.37.1, rapid-router: 5.12.3

• Introduced cows to levels 38, 39 and 47

• Removed the game-creator and moved its logic to the Django aimmo app

Wednesday 20 September 2023

codeforlife-portal: 6.37.0

• Unverified users are now anonymised instead of deleted.

• Keep track of daily and total unverified users anonymisations.

Tuesday 19 September 2023

codeforlife-portal: 6.36.2

Implemented a quick fix for the 2FA bug.

Thursday 7 September 2023

codeforlife-portal: 6.36.0

Keep track of total registrations.

Tuesday 5 September 2023

codeforlife-portal: 6.35.3, rapid-router: 5.11.3

• Added a comma in some of the Rapid Router levels instructions for better readability.

• Only the selected road type in the level editor has a border now to improve user experience.

• Created two automated email verification reminders for unverified users who registered 7 days ago and 14 days ago.

• Created an automated deletion job which deletes unverified users who have registered over 19 days ago.

Monday 14 August 2023

aimmo: 2.10.6, codeforlife-portal: 6.34.1

• UK schools are now linked to a county.

• Kurono games are now stopped immediately upon deletion.

• Implemented a max limit of 15 for concurrent Kurono running games. Attempting to create or start a 16th game will show the user a friendly error message.

• Updated the starter code for worksheet 2 to reflect changes on Gitbook.

Thursday 20 July 2023

aimmo: 2.9.1, codeforlife-portal: 6.33.6, rapid-router: 5.11.1

• Fixed a bug with the password strength indicator on password reset.

• Fixed a bug with the password reset email form.

Thursday 29 June 2023

rapid-router: 5.11.0

Enabled secure boot for GKE nodes.

Wednesday 28 June 2023

aimmo: 2.9.0, codeforlife-portal: 6.33.0

• Upgraded to Python 3.8.

• Added a check for commonly used passwords upon registration.

Friday 16 June 2023

aimmo: 2.8.7, codeforlife-portal: 6.31.1

• Removed intermediate Teaching Resources pages, dropdowns now link directly to Gitbook.

• Shortened email verification links.

• Fixed Kurono cross-worksheet badges trigger bug.

• Testing out new GA4 script.

Wednesday 31 May 2023

codeforlife-portal: 6.30.11

Fixed mistakenly removed riveted.js library.

Thursday 25 May 2023

aimmo: 2.8.5, codeforlife-portal: 6.30.10, rapid-router: 5.10.6

Updated an outdated JS library.

Sunday 30 April 2023

aimmo: 2.7.0, codeforlife-portal: 6.30.4

• Updated Kubernetes to 1.26 and Agones to 1.31.

• Addressed a number of security issues related to the clusters and node pools.

• Added a custom action in the Django admin panel allowing admins to bulk stop Kurono games.

• Added text in Terms of Use describing the school admin powers.

Wednesday 26 April 2023

aimmo: 2.5.20, codeforlife-portal: 6.30.2

Implemented JWT tokens for the registration process, allowing users to have simultaneous valid email verification tokens on registration.

Wednesday 12 April 2023

aimmo: 2.5.19, codeforlife-portal: 6.29.9, rapid-router: 5.10.5

• Fixed Avatar auth token generation when creating an Avatar in Kurono.

• Teachers can now access the account settings page even if they don't have a school.

• Updated the solution for level 43.

• Matched the green in the level editor sidebar to the one in the actual game.

• Verification emails are now sent before the newsletter confirmation emails.

Tuesday 21 March 2023

aimmo: 2.5.18, codeforlife-portal: 6.29.4

• Updated text and padding of the Get Involved page.

• Added a "pause" functionality to the Kurono game - users can now pause their avatar, effectively stopping their code and the logs while the rest of the game carries on.

Monday 13 March 2023

aimmo: 2.5.16

Updated the Kurono avatar marker - made it bigger, changed the model to the Kurono logo and added a bounce animation.

Friday 10 March 2023

rapid-router: 5.10.4

• Reverted an issue introduced in the previous deployment which made the map no longer scrollable on tablets.

• Fixed the broken coin image that appears in the Episode title when all levels have been completed.

Wednesday 8 March 2023

rapid-router: 5.10.2

Fixed some issues with the zoom buttons in Rapid Router, namely, the game doesn't randomly zoom in on the first input, and the buttons remain in the screen for all screen sizes.

Tuesday 21 February 2023

rapid-router: 5.10.1

Fixed scoreboard bug whereby custom level names prevented the page from loading.

Friday 17 February 2023

aimmo: 2.5.15, codeforlife-portal: 6.29.3, rapid-router: 5.10.0

• Fixed level editor disappearing scenery bug

• Updated introductory videos order in Rapid Router

Wednesday 15 February 2023

aimmo: 2.5.12, codeforlife-portal: 6.29.2, rapid-router: 5.9.1

Fixed a broken DB migration.

Monday 6 February 2023

codeforlife-portal: 6.29.0

Added ratelimit to the student login as well as the tracking for the lockout reset mechanic.

Wednesday 25 January 2023

codeforlife-portal: 6.28.3, rapid-router: 5.8.1

Updated Privacy Notice with updated text and correct personal data information.

Thursday 19 January 2023

aimmo: 2.5.11, codeforlife-portal: 6.28.0, rapid-router: 5.8.0

• Added cows and cow-related blocks to Rapid Router

• Implemented a data tracker for when users reset their passwords to unlock their accounts (teachers and independent students only)

• Having no nearby artefacts in worksheet 4 no longer raises an error which blocks the user from progressing, instead it prints out a more user-friendly warning.

Wednesday 4 January 2023

codeforlife-portal: 6.27.8, rapid-router: 5.7.4

• Removed the snow in Rapid Router.

• Coding club page link now opens in the same tab as expected.

Monday 19 December 2022

codeforlife-portal: 6.27.7

• Updated instructions for level control and added a usage tracker for it.

• Fixed broken independent student newsletter subscription.

• Added a link to the coding clubs page on the Get Involved page.

Tuesday 6 December 2022

codeforlife-portal: 6.27.3, rapid-router: 5.7.3

• Brought back Rapid Rudolph

• Updated incorrect email address in privacy policy.

• Update Rapid Router UI including previous and next level buttons.

Wednesday 16 November 2022

aimmo: 2.5.10, codeforlife-portal: 6.27.1, rapid-router: 5.6.1

• Teachers can now control which levels of Rapid Router are available on a per-class basis.

• Fixed missing padding in level editor.

Monday 31 October 2022

aimmo: 2.5.7, codeforlife-portal: 6.24.1

Fixed a bug where old games would show in the Kurono games table.

Tuesday 25 October 2022

aimmo: 2.5.6, codeforlife-portal: 6.23.1, rapid-router: 5.5.2

• Upgraded Kubernetes to version 1.23 on all Kurono resources.

• Admin teachers can now create Kurono games for their colleagues.

• Updated Rapid Router Python levels styles.

Thursday 13 October 2022

aimmo: 2.5.2, codeforlife-portal: 6.22.1, rapid-router: 5.5.1

• Made the alert banner on the homepage dynamic.

• Fixed some bugs in the level editor.

• Admin teachers can now see, play, edit and delete any Kurono game in their school.

Friday 7 October 2022

codeforlife-portal: 6.21.0, rapid-router: 5.5.0

Admin teachers can now see, play and share any custom level in their school.

Friday 30 September 2022

codeforlife-portal: 6.20.3

Updated the Data Protection Officer's email address in the Privacy Policy.

Wednesday 21 September 2022

codeforlife-portal: 6.20.2

Removed the Kurono maintenance banner.

Thursday 15 September 2022

codeforlife-portal: 6.20.1, rapid-router: 5.4.3

• Fixed missing cookie banner and settings

• Fixed some UI bugs in Rapid Router

Friday 9 September 2022

codeforlife-portal: 6.19.1

• Added code clubs page with free downloadable content

• Updated text to registration forms

• Fixed issue where the Kurono preview video would not load on the independent student dashboard

Tuesday 6 September 2022

aimmo: 2.4.6, codeforlife-portal: 6.18.3, rapid-router: 5.4.2

• Fixed a major issue where deployment was broken by removing the legacy django-autoconfig package

• Added a banner on the homepage to warn users of ongoing issues with Kurono

• Updated session timeout to 30 minutes and added a 2 minute countdown to warn users of it

• Fixed some issues with Rapid Router button designs

• Users can now see their scores for custom levels on the scoreboard page

Friday 5 August 2022

codeforlife-portal: 6.16.0, rapid-router: 5.3.1

• Admin teachers can now see and moderate all custom levels in their school

• Admin teachers can now see, accept and reject all external requests to their school's classes

• Updated Rapid Router icons

• Updated Rapid Router Python levels design and made each component resizable

Wednesday 27 July 2022

aimmo: 2.4.3, codeforlife-portal: 6.15.4

• Admin teachers can now see, edit and delete all the classes in their school

• Admin teachers can now create a class for a fellow teacher

• Updated the "Make admin" popup

Thursday 14 July 2022

aimmo: 2.4.1, codeforlife-portal: 6.15.3, rapid-router: 5.1.0

• Updated Rapid Router levels design

• Removed Dee from Python levels

• Added Bav the Brain to brainteaser levels

• Admin teachers can now see all classes in their school

• Gave admin teachers the ability to create classes for other teachers

• Updated the "Make teacher admin" popup

• Created child-friendly versions of the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

• Independent students under 13 now need to provide their parents' or guardian's email address

Friday 1 July 2022

aimmo: 2.4.0, codeforlife-portal: 6.12.4, rapid-router: 4.4.1

• Gave admin teachers the possibility to invite other teachers directly to their school

• Removed the ability to join another teacher's school by looking it up and sending a join request

• Added a confirmation popup to the independent student account deletion process

• Updated the teacher registration form and added a consent checkbox

• Added a one hour screen time warning popup

• Made the Rapid Router scoreboard clearer and easier to work with

Tuesday 21 June 2022

aimmo: 2.3.5, codeforlife-portal: 6.8.9

• Removed newsletter signup for independent students

• Fixed registration boxes width

Friday 17 June 2022

aimmo: 2.3.4, codeforlife-portal: 6.8.8, rapid-router: 4.3.0

• Added badges for challenge 1 in Kurono

• Independent students can now delete their accounts

• Signing up for the newsletter using the footer form now requires the user to be over 18

• Rapid Router solutions for levels 101-104 now have a main() method

• Teachers can now re-share the levels that are shared with them

• Fixed deleting workspaces in Rapid Router

• In Kurono, when moving towards is blocked by an avatar, a message is now displayed in logs

• Security updates

Thursday 19 May 2022

aimmo: 2.1.2, codeforlife-portal: 6.8.2

• Add worksheet 4 for Kurono

• Security updates

Thursday 12 May 2022

codeforlife-portal: 6.6.0, rapid-router: 4.1.0

• Update Rapid Router level 48 to include multiple houses

• Anonymise schools and classes without any active teachers

Thursday 5 May 2022

codeforlife-portal: 6.5.2

• School is now anonymised when the last admin leaves and marked as inactive

• Fix email display and link

Friday 29 April 2022

aimmo: 2.0.4, codeforlife-portal: 6.4.4, rapid-router: 4.0.9

• Anonymise classes instead of deleting them

• Update style and content of emails sent to users

• Update Pyodide to fix Kurono issue running on certain browsers

• Rename v variable in Rapid Router to my_van

• Fix multiple start blocks bug in Rapid Router

Friday 8 April 2022

codeforlife-portal: 6.3.1, rapid-router: 4.0.4

• Delete account functionality for teacher

• Admin role is passed to the next teacher when admin account is deleted

• Fix bugs where deleted teachers were showing

• Update image credits and alt texts

Friday 18 March 2022

rapid-router: 4.0.2

• Fixed Rapid Router not loading properly

Friday 18 March 2022

aimmo: 2.0.1, codeforlife-portal: 6.0.1, rapid-router: 4.0.1

• Upgraded Django to version 3.2

Monday 14 March 2022

codeforlife-portal: 5.42.0

• Independent student and login update to use email only and no username

• Added videos to Educate and Play pages

Tuesday 8 March 2022

rapid-router: 3.8.9

Fixed student scoreboard not showing data.

Friday 4 March 2022

codeforlife-portal: 5.40.0

Added Dotmailer address books integration on registration / newsletter subscription (user types).

Thursday 3 March 2022

codeforlife-portal: 5.39.1, aimmo: 1.4.11, rapid-router: 3.8.8

• Scoreboard now does not display everything on page load

• Kurono student dashboard update

• Fixed Rapid Router freeze issue when using fast play

• Fixed Crowdin resources that were blocked

Tuesday 1 March 2022

rapid-router: 3.8.5

Fixed Crowdin's In-Context translation tool.

Monday 28 February 2022

rapid-router: 3.8.3

Fixed bug introduced with previous level 74 improvement.

Friday 25 February 2022

rapid-router: 3.8.2

Improved Rapid Router level 74 solution.

Thursday 24 February 2022

codeforlife-portal: 5.37.2, aimmo: 1.4.10, rapid-router: 3.8.1

• Thickened road divider lines in Rapid Router

• Updated remove / leave teacher page

Wednesday 23 February 2022

codeforlife-portal: 5.36.1, aimmo: 1.4.9, rapid-router: 3.8.0

• Improved registration process

• Disabled local storage in Rapid Router

Thursday 17 February 2022

codeforlife-portal: 5.35.1, aimmo: 1.4.7, rapid-router: 3.7.8

• Ensure no duplication of email when releasing student

• Cookies updates

Monday 14 February 2022

codeforlife-portal: 5.34.3, aimmo: 1.4.6

• Data tracking for join and release of student

• Updated starter code for Kurono worksheet 3

Wednesday 9 February 2022

codeforlife-portal: 5.33.3

Cleaned up some teacher and independent student accounts that had the same email.

Monday 7 February 2022

codeforlife-portal: 5.33.0

User sessions will now expire on browser close.

Thursday 3 February 2022

codeforlife-portal: 5.32.3

• Updated 2FA pages

• New registration for independent student or teacher now require unique email across the different account types

Friday 28 January 2022

rapid-router: 3.7.1

Removed snow from Rapid Router.

Thursday 27 January 2022

aimmo: 1.4.5, codeforlife-portal: 5.32.0, rapid-router: 3.7.0

• Updated OneTrust instance for cookie management

• Added scrollbar in Python pane in Rapid Router Python levels

• Made Python pane resizeable in Rapid Router Python levels

• Made email verification link expiry time explicit on verification page

• Redesigned password reset and email verification pages

• Redesigned Kurono teacher dashboard

• Redesigned level moderation page

• Fixed level moderation delete level bug

• Scoreboard page now loads all classes and levels data by default

• Deleting Kurono games now archives them instead of deleting them completely

• Upgraded to Kubernetes 21.7.0

• Tidied up independent student duplicate accounts with the same email

Thursday 13 January 2022

aimmo: 1.3.3, codeforlife-portal: 5.28.1, rapid-router: 3.5.7

• Account details page updates

• Registration page update

• Kurono worksheet 2 starter code update

• Crashing, running a red light and running out of fuel in Rapid Router now count as an attempt

• Scoreboard filter update

Friday 7 January 2022

codeforlife-portal: 5.27.9, rapid-router: 3.5.5

Fix scoreboard loading issues.

Wednesday 5 January 2022

codeforlife-portal: 5.27.8, rapid-router: 3.5.4

• Fix alignment and text issues in edit class pages

• Fix scoreboard spacing and functional issues

• Allow logged in users to view other login pages

Friday 31 December 2021

codeforlife-portal: 5.27.5, rapid-router: 3.5.3

• Update Scoreboard page with new designs and Improvements table

• Update all class edit pages

Monday 20 December 2021

aimmo: 1.3.2, codeforlife-portal: 5.26.14, rapid-router: 3.4.5

• Remove Wagtail

• Align pages to container width

• Fix 2FA QR code not showing bug

• Fix 2FA banner bug

• Stick website footer to bottom of the screen

• Remove all Rapid Router resource pages and link to Gitbook instead

• Fix heading sizes on Play page

Thursday 9 December 2021

codeforlife-portal: 5.26.3, rapid-router: 3.4.4

• Student login details CSV now includes student passwords and class link

• Fix for class code login issue

• Rapid Router functions renaming to be more descriptive

• Data and error logging

Friday 3 December 2021

codeforlife-portal: 5.24.2, rapid-router: 3.4.3

• Updated Educate page

• Updated Play page

• Updated teacher and independent student navigation bars

• Fixed alignment issues on student Kurono dashboard

• Fixed alignment of header and footer

• Fixed teacher dashboard and Kurono page

• Fixed size of table buttons

Friday 26 November 2021

codeforlife-portal: 5.21.3, rapid-router: 3.4.1

Further CSP fixes.

Thursday 25 November 2021

aimmo: 1.3.0, codeforlife-portal: 5.21.2, rapid-router: 3.4.0

• Home Learning page update and Independent student resources

• Fix for deleted students appearing at places

• Class code is now case insensitive plus related fixes

• Implemented CSP header

• Kurono worksheet updates - moved from model to a data file

• Privacy policy and Terms of use pages design updates

Friday 19 November 2021

codeforlife-portal: 5.17.1, rapid-router: 3.3.1

• Updated Rapid Router level selection page

• Removed django-hijack

Friday 12 November 2021

codeforlife-portal: 5.17.0

Added student login type data.

Friday 5 November 2021

rapid-router: 3.2.0, codeforlife-portal: 5.16.3

• Moved and linked Kurono resources to Gitbook

• Updated teacher onboarding pages

• Updated About Us page

• Updated student dashboard including independent student

• Updated lockout page

• Removed Ocado logos from in-game images

• Added functionality to import students from CSV file

• Fix for class deletion

Wednesday 20 October 2021

rapid-router: 3.1.0, codeforlife-portal: 5.10.0

• Updated most of the Rapid Router level help texts (morning)

• Updated student deletion data (afternoon)

Monday 18 October 2021

codeforlife-portal: 5.9.0

Added school and class creation time and data.

Friday 15 October 2021

aimmo: 1.1.0, codeforlife-portal: 5.8.0

• Updated reminder cards design

• Replaced IndexError of scan_nearby returned list with a more meaningful error

• Fixed "Update account details" in the account dropdown

• Added login metrics

• Upgraded reportlab and pillow libraries

Monday 11 October 2021

codeforlife-portal: 5.6.1, rapid-router: 3.0.5

• Student login updated - option with class code or with direct link

• Updated page with student login details

• Updated class code format and student password policy

• Split teacher dashboard in 3 tabs and updated designs

• Updated teacher password policy

• Updated login pages to have branding shapes

Monday 27 September 2021

Updated Dotmailer's "Thanks for staying" campaign ID env var to point to the new one, which is aligned to the new design.

Thursday 23 September 2021

codeforlife-portal: 5.2.3, rapid-router: 3.0.4

• Fixed some issues with page banners and header styles

• Improved 2FA pages UI to match new styles

• Disabled Turkish language localisation in Rapid Router after reports of it causing issues in classrooms

Wednesday 15 September 2021

codeforlife-portal: 5.2.1, rapid-router: 3.0.3

• Added index to Terms of Use

• Removed country flag from Update School form

• Header image repositioning and other header updates

Friday 10 September 2021

codeforlife-portal: 5.0.1

Button and table display fixes.

Monday 6 September 2021

aimmo: 1.0.0, codeforlife-portal: 5.0.0, rapid-router: 3.0.0

• Updated website logo, design and style

• Removed teacher title

• Updated privacy policy

Monday 23 August 2021

codeforlife-portal: 4.34.0, rapid-router: 2.7.14

Thursday 5 August 2021

codeforlife-portal: 4.33.0

Added Get Involved and Contributor pages.

Monday 26 July 2021

aimmo: 0.69.19, codeforlife-portal: 4.32.4, rapid-router: 2.7.13

Improved user experience of login forms.

Thursday 22 July 2021

aimmo: 0.69.18, codeforlife-portal: 4.32.3

• Kurono games now stop properly

• Fixed empty game name bug

• Dockerised portal for development

Wednesday 7 July 2021

aimmo: 0.69.14, codeforlife-portal: 4.31.4, rapid-router: 2.7.12

• Changed Kurono game load text to be more informative

• Improved load time of Kurono games

Monday 28 June 2021

codeforlife-portal: 4.31.2

Enforced account's email verification on login.

Friday 25 June 2021

codeforlife-portal: 4.31.1, rapid-router: 2.7.11

• Additional hint text for Rapid Router level 80 onwards

• Top navigation bar fix on onboarding phase

Wednesday 23 June 2021

codeforlife-portal: 4.30.13, rapid-router: 2.7.10

• Display updates to the Rapid Router 'if else' block: clearer separation, clearer hints

• Security header update

Thursday 17 June 2021

codeforlife-portal: 4.30.12, rapid-router: 2.7.7, aimmo: 0.69.11

• Upgrade to Django 2.2.24

• Prevent changing an account's email address to that of another account's

Thursday 10 June 2021

codeforlife-portal: 4.30.8, rapid-router: 2.7.5, aimmo: 0.69.8

• Prevent concurrent login sessions for the same user

• Security fixes and documentation updates

Friday 21 May 2021

codeforlife-portal: 4.29.2, rapid-router: 2.7.4, aimmo: 0.69.3

• Added ability to edit saved custom levels

• Fixed invalid character bug

Friday 21 May 2021

• Fixed ReCaptcha bypass issue

• Added ratelimit to sensitive forms and re-implemented 24 hour lockout

• Fixed session not invalidated after password change issue

• Removed autocomplete from forms

• Added warning banner for email verification

Friday 7 May 2021

Security fixes and JavaScript updates

Thursday 22 April 2021

• Added Dotmailer consent renewal form

• Fixed interchangeable GETs/POSTs issues

Monday 19 April 2021

• OneTrust Cookie Management

• Updated Privacy Policy

Thursday 15 April 2021

Removed the admin login page! Admin access now requires a superuser profile with 2FA enabled.

Friday 9 April 2021

• Fixed a link in the Worksheet 3 resources.

• Made portal only send Google Analytics events in prod environment.

Thursday 1 April 2021

• Released Kurono Challenge 3!

• Added MoveTowardsAction and scan_nearby methods to Kurono.

• Challenge 3 has a new theme and two new different artefacts.

• PDFs and solutions file have been updated with Challenge 3.

• Not an April Fools, the above actually happened 🙂

Friday 26 March 2021

• Fixed worksheet selection bug.

• Fixed Recaptcha dual-script bug.

Monday 8 March 2021

• Revamped the admin login page.

• Added 2FA to the admin login form for accounts with 2FA.

Friday 5 March 2021

Fixed pickups not spawning.

Monday 1 March 2021

Navigation and text updates on Kurono pages.

Monday 1 March 2021

Consent data when signing up to newsletter is now saved.

Monday 1 March 2021

Agones has been integrated to improve game creation and loading.

Monday 1 March 2021

• Stats on Home and About page updated with the latest data.

• Copyright year in the footer now updates automatically.

Monday 1 March 2021

Console update to increase font size and make colour contrast more accessible.

Tuesday 9 February 2021

Fixed the "Trash Can" bug.

Tuesday 2 February 2021

• Finished updating games table on Teacher Kurono Dashboard page.

• Added the Kurono solutions file to the Kurono Packs page.

Friday 29 January 2021

• Updated the Teacher Kurono Dashboard page by simplifying the resources section and add the "Add Class" and "Challenge" dropdowns.

• Updated Recaptcha script in hope to fix Recaptcha issues in certain countries.

Thursday 21 January 2021

• Added Kurono Resources.

• Added Kurono Teaching Packs.

• Reset Code has been fixed in Kurono - it now resets the code to the Worksheet's starter code.

Wednesday 30 December 2020

The sub nav has been fixed - it is now visible on mobile!

Wednesday 23 December 2020

We upgraded to Django 2.2!

Monday 14 December 2020

Rapid Rudolph has returned!

Monday 14 December 2020

The Kurono "Add Game" form was improved by clarifying the labels

Help Build Code for Life

• code changes

• design

• student resources

• teacher resources

• strategic insights from qualified teachers

• process review

• cloud infrastructure setup

Why Should I Contribute?

Some of the reasons we would like to highlight:

• Your contributions will be directly used by students and teachers worldwide, helping them to flourish in an increasingly digital world.

• You'll learn a variety of technologies and gain experience developing a production-ready system.

• You'll build your portfolio and industry-experience, which is highly valued by employers.

• You'll have the satisfaction of making the world a better place, one contribution at a time. 😊

Getting Started

Get ready to dig in! 💪 We're hoping that contributing to this project will be as rewarding to you as it is to us. 🚀

Create a GitHub Account

Notice of Intention

Sign our Agreement

1. Set up your Git identity.

Set user.name to be anything you like.

Set user.email to be an email address that you own. Note that:

• You cannot use a private/noreply email address. If you have a GitHub account, this is enabled by default and can be turned off at Settings > Emails > Keep my email addresses private.

3. Sign your email address.

On the main branch of your forked codeforlife-workspace repo, write your email address on a new line at the bottom of CONTRIBUTING.md.

4. Commit your changes.

Replace user.email with your email address.

5. Push your changes.

6. Create a pull request.

7. Verify your email address.

Finding Tasks

Although you're welcome to pick up any task, not all issues are suitable for contributors. This is because some tasks require specialised knowledge or familiarity with how our system works. To help contributors find tasks we believe to be suitable for them, we label some of our tasks with a volunteers tag.

You can search for these with the filters:

Furthermore, we label some tasks with good first issue that we believe to be easy enough for first time contributors:

Contributing as a Developer

General Skills

All dev contributors will need to have these skills to contribute code changes:

• • git clone

  • git pull

  • git commit

  • git push

Back End Skills

It's recommended contributors wishing to contribute to our back end familiarise themselves with:

Front End Skills

It's recommended contributors wishing to contribute to our front end familiarise themselves with:

Working on Tasks

Below is everything you need to know about how to handle tasks as a contributor.

Picking up a Task

Support Requests

If you have questions or require guidance, we'll do our best to respond promptly and provide you with support.

Review Requests & Change Requests

When you've completed your task, you must request a review from us to determine whether we can accept your contribution. The simplest way to do so is to comment on the task:

If we discover issues in our review, we'll request changes. It's normal to have multiple rounds of review requests (by you) followed by change requests (by us) until the task is completed to our standards. Change requests will usually be commented directly on their respective GitHub task or pull request.

Closing a Task

Once a task has been closed by us we'll go through some internal processes which will ultimately result in your contribution getting deployed in the next version of system.

It may take some time before your accepted contributions are live on our system as we batch changes and release them as new versions on our system.

algorithm

A precise step-by-step set of instructions to solve a problem or complete a specific task.

avatar

A picture or cartoon, for example this could be a favourite character that you use to represent yourself online. It is sensible to protect your privacy by not using a recognisable photo of yourself.

boolean

A data type with only two values, TRUE or FALSE.

debugging

Identifying and correcting the errors in a computer program.

decomposition

Decomposition is breaking a problem into smaller manageable chunks that can be solved individually. This might mean creating ‘sub-programs’ or procedures that contain the code for a particular part of the task.

input

Data put into a computer system, for example through the keyboard, mouse, microphone, or other sensors connected to the computer.

logical reasoning

A systematic approach to solving problems using a set of consistent rules that apply to the system. For example, when fixing a bug in their Rapid Router program, children might apply the rules they have learnt about the way repeat loops work in this app.

output

The information produced by a computer system for the user, for example on a screen, printer, through speakers.

sequence

A set of programming instructions carried out in a specific and consistent order every time.

procedure or function

A self contained sub program, also called a subroutine, to which you give a unique name, that can be used or ‘called’ by the main program multiple times. Both a function and a procedure can accept inputs.

A function sends information back into the main program, whereas a procedure does not. A multiplication function might, for example, have two number inputs and return an answer to the main program.

program

A set of instructions encoded in a programming language understood by the computer.

(A program is also an algorithm, but not all algorithms are programs e.g. a recipe in English is an algorithm but it is not a computer program).

repetition

A feature of a programming language where sections of code are repeated. This can be a fixed number of times, or until a condition is met (Rapid Router example: repeat 5 times, repeat until at destination).

selection

A feature of a programming language where a choice is made. The instructions followed depend on whether a particular condition is met (Rapid Router example: if traffic lights red, wait).

subroutine

A general term, also called a subprogram, for a function or procedure.

variable

A programming structure that contains data (often numbers or text) and can change or be changed. Variables are used to keep score in computer games, and in Rapid Router to store the colour of the traffic lights.

Opportunities with Code for Life

Impact Reports

This newsletter, we have packed in resources for you to read, enjoy, and get involved with. We want to hear what you think is useful, and how we can make things easier to navigate. Alongside this, we celebrate Bett 2025, our Industry experience scheme and much more!

Please provide feedback for our User Experience Cadet!

Two other students from the scheme are also working on tasks. They have picked up development tasks and are being guided by Stefan, one of our Senior software engineers.

Events

This month we are celebrating robots and how we make them move with instructions. We have included real-world applications to interactive coding projects and spotlighting student achievements in a competition. Join us in fostering a passion for STEM education and empowering young minds to shape the future through innovation and creativity. Happy coding!

“AI is the most powerful tool ever invented by humanity.”

Demis Hassabis, Co-founder of DeepMind

First Robot to Use Artificial Intelligence (1972)

Can you complete a Code for Life brainteaser? They are quite tricky!

There are some levels in Rapid Router for those that need a bit more of a challenge.

You can find them in the red section on the levels page.

An afternoon designing robots, and coding with Rapid Router!

Code for Life partnered with some talented colleagues at Ocado Technology to create an engaging robotics and coding workshop for primary school students. The event was a resounding success, captivating approximately 90 young minds over a fun-filled afternoon.

“The children were buzzing after the session and found it really exciting to be able to design a robot and to meet real life coding experts. It was great to see them applying their coding knowledge on the Rapid Router game.”

Mr Emanuel, Deputy Headteacher.

Mr Emanuel from The Grove Junior School in Harpenden, arranged for the team to take over three classes, one after the other, initially showing a short presentation and then, encouraging the children to design a robot to solve a problem. If they managed to finish this task they then moved onto coding with Rapid Router, which we demonstrated on the screen beforehand. The feedback we received was fantastic and we all had a great time working with the children.

Under the Spotlight

I live in North London with my family and a labradoodle named Zuko. My first summer job was selling ice cream on a beach in Norfolk. I did it for six years in a row and loved it, despite working long hours as a 13-year-old. One summer, I worked on a local fairground which was seriously tough but a good reference point for hard days in the office.

"Early Ocado was like a rollercoaster whose bolts hadn’t been tightened. If you get the chance to work in a start-up you should do it. The task seemed enormous, but so was the drive and determination."

I studied Physics at UCL before joining the IT department at John Lewis Partnership. They trained me in software development, let me build a procurement team and improve their network infrastructure. I also created their first e-commerce website.

I then moved on to work for Ocado, where I ran the Technology team for ten years. Early Ocado was like a rollercoaster whose bolts hadn’t been tightened. If you get the chance to work in a start-up you should do it. The task seemed enormous, but so was the drive and determination. I have been responsible for Logistics, building new CFCs, creating our own ASRS, and installing it around the world.

A Decade of Empowering Young Minds with Coding Education!

We are thrilled to announce a momentous milestone in our journey - Code for Life is celebrating its 10th anniversary! 🎉

What started as a small initiative has grown into a thriving community, and we couldn't have done it without the support and enthusiasm of educators like you who share our vision for equipping the next generation with essential coding skills. We've been on an incredible journey, developing innovative teaching resources that cater to learners at various stages, starting with Blockly and progressing to Python.

To celebrate a decade of empowering learners through coding, we have some exciting updates and celebrations in store this year. Stay tuned for new features, enhanced game experiences, and more engaging content to keep the coding journey fresh and inspiring!

Thank you for being an integral part of Code for Life's success story. Here's to another decade of fostering curiosity, creativity, and coding brilliance!

Impact Report

Code For Life is consistently used in over 180 countries, achieving over 600,000 registrations worldwide.

Exciting milestones for the year ahead!

Python with Rapid Router and Raspberry Pi Code Editor

AI with Barefoot Computing

Under the Spotlight - Darcie Gomer, Graduate User Researcher

Have you ever clicked on a button expecting it to do one thing but it does another? My role in UX (User Experience) is to capture instances like this, and feed them back to my team so they can make better choices in the design of websites. I do this by running interviews, sending out surveys, and testing prototypes directly with the people who will use the website. My job means I get to learn from new perspectives and ask lots of questions. I find it really exciting knowing that data I collect impacts product decisions and improves what we offer to customers.

"Understanding your user is especially important in a technology company. It takes a lot of time and effort for software engineers to write code for a new feature, programme, or product. So, it's critical to make sure that what is developed is needed and understood by users."

I had a tough time choosing what I wanted to do at university; for my A levels I did Chemistry and Maths, Theatre Studies and English Literature! I then came across Anthropology - a social science where you can study people and their cultures. Anthropology combined my passion for learning about people and reading with my skills for research and analysis. When it came to my career I did not think I would be able to use my degree every day, but now I'm a User Experience Researcher!

Seasons greetings!

The snow is back in our games, just in time for the festive season! Santa and Rudolph are on hand to help with deliveries, so don’t miss out—get stuck in before the snow melts away for another year!

Technology has completely transformed the way we celebrate festivals over the years. From digital vouchers to virtual promises in e-cards, the internet has made gifting easier and greener. Many digital gifting services now include eco-friendly touches, like planting trees or supporting carbon offset schemes with every purchase. So, while you’re spreading joy, you’re also helping to keep the planet merry and bright!

Create a more environmentally friendly challenge for your students using our electric van!

Have you tried out our solar panels and electric van in the level creator yet? It may not be much, but it is a step towards creating levels more aligned to helping our planet. Every bit we can do to help towards creating a cleaner climate counts.

Planning for next term's activities?

Under the Spotlight

Our amazing volunteers at Ocado Group!

For the past 10 years, Code For Life has been supported, and was initially created by a community of volunteers from within Ocado Group. Now a small dedicated full-time team builds the free-to-use products, drives quality and ensures security of the platform, data and all its users. We are still reliant on our volunteers to contribute to new features, improvements, and help with our multiple outreach programmes.

This includes colleagues that are based all over the world in various departments. Recently, we teamed up with our office in Sofia to continue our 10 year coding and robotics workshop celebrations!

Our 10 year celebrations reach Sofia!!!

"Joining Code for Life has been an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s inspiring to see students light up as they grasp new concepts and gain confidence in creating something with their own hands. The program’s focus on making technology accessible and engaging ensures that participants are not only learning valuable skills but also developing a love for problem-solving. Being part of this initiative has allowed me to contribute meaningfully to the next generation’s education."

Today, Code for Life has grown into a vibrant coding platform supported by the expertise of Ocado Group’s talented teams. From regular security testing by Ocado’s specialists to ensuring data protection and compliance with the latest regulations, we take safety and privacy seriously. Our solutions benefit from industry-leading advice, ensuring scalability and reliability for classrooms everywhere.

"Helping young students learn about robotics and coding let me share my expertise and passion for technology. This was fulfilling as it hopefully helps inspire the next generation of engineers/STEM workers. Furthermore, teaching these concepts to young students helps develop soft skills such as communication, patience, and adaptability, which are valuable in my professional role."

Seasons greetings!

What a year it has been for Code for Life. Our small, dedicated team, housed amongst the roboticists in Ocado Technology, has remained resilient in a tough year. We have continued to push and drive our platform forward, building new features, new teaching resources, and new relationships with companies such as Barclays, CS in Schools, BCS and Barefoot Computing. We are excited to see what the new year brings, and are itching to show you our new features and lessons we are putting together for you.

Our newsletter this quarter is celebrating this time of year and we have packed this stocking of an issue full of fun facts and puzzles to keep you and your students busy in the run up to Christmas.

"Listeners to BBC radio heard an utterly new sound in 1951 — a computer playing music"

Among its Christmas fare the BBC broadcast two melodies that, although instantly recognisable, sounded like nothing else on earth. They were Jingle Bells and Good King Wenceslas, played by the mammoth Ferranti Mark I computer that stood in Alan Turing's Computing Machine Laboratory, in Manchester.

Did you know?

Now we hear computer generated music all the time, can your students identify any of their favourite Christmas songs that have been created with help from a computer?

Have you used our new While Loop section yet?

Under the Spotlight

Claire Ainscough, Chief People Officer, Ocado Group

"My four years here have been a whirlwind - like all tech organisations, no day is ever the same. My role is responsible for Ocado’s employees- basically ensuring this is an amazing place to work regardless of your background.

The best thing about my job is when I see people grow and develop - here you can do this through your role, through professional courses and by volunteering internally. One great example of this is through Code for Life which benefits the skills and wellbeing of our volunteers, and inspires people to a future career in tech. This combination of learning, wellbeing, diversity and inspiring young people is one of the best ways Ocado builds a stronger organisation for the future."

"The best thing about my job is when I see people grow and develop... One great example of this is through Code for Life which benefits the skills and wellbeing of our volunteers, and inspires people to a future career in tech."

"Prior to Ocado I held senior HR roles with Expedia (online travel) and Premier Farnell (B2B distributor) and before that I worked at a start-up - all were great places where I learned loads. I was lucky enough to live in Chicago for five years which was a fantastic work and life experience. Chicago definitely gave me the travel bug and I love to take trips for holidays or work."

New Python lessons

We are very excited about this. We have been busy exploring the open source IDE from Raspberry Pi and we think it's great!

We have a set of lessons ready to test in your classrooms and homes. If you'd like early access, drop us a line and we can share a link with you.

Intro to Coding for Primary Schools

A while ago we mentioned we were partnering up with our Australian friends, CS in Schools. Well, we have a Beta set of lessons for you to test here in the UK too!

Here is what the CEO, Megan Woff says:

"This is the perfect introduction to grade 5 or 6 primary school students to algorithms and block coding! The course contains a full classroom-in-a-box for any teacher to be able to introduce fun & effective coding skills over 6 lessons.

The course includes full lesson slides, classroom based activities, worksheets, assignment, teacher notes & support and of course Rapid Router. The course is mapped to the Australian upper primary school curriculum (ages 8-12) and can be adapted for UK key stage 3."

"Computer scientists have so far worked on developing powerful programming languages that make it possible to solve the technical problems of computation. Little effort has gone toward devising the languages of interaction." Don Norman, "The Design of Everyday Things", 1988.

Today, "user experience" (UX) is a widely recognised term, and companies across various industries are increasingly valuing the role of UX designers. Don Norman notes that the term UX has evolved beyond his initial vision. He intended it to encompass everything affecting a person’s experience with a product, even beyond direct interactions.

Now, UX covers more than just websites, apps, and smartphones. It includes emerging technologies like virtual reality, AI, augmented reality, inclusive design, voice technology, and wearables. For example, designing a self-driving car requires considering the entire user experience, from approaching the vehicle to ending the ride.

At Ocado Group, the importance of UX design is paramount. UX designers play a critical role in crafting seamless and enjoyable experiences for not only the customers, but also the Ocado workforce. They are essential in designing intuitive interfaces for the Ocado online grocery platform, efficient systems for the automated warehouses, and innovative solutions in robotics.

New AI primary resources

Rapid Router is becoming renewable!

Under the Spotlight

Ligia Olmos Rossi - Senior UX Designer

I'm a Senior Product Designer at Ocado Technology. My job is to make the website where you can buy groceries online look awesome and easy to use. I've loved drawing and making things look cool since I was really young. I always wondered how the things we use every day are made and how they make us feel. So, I decided to learn how to make them better!

Making websites and apps is like a mix of being super creative, understanding how people think, and knowing how technology works. I kept learning and practising, and now I get to do it as a job! It's not just a job for me, though. Making things look great and work well is like my whole way of life! I feel really lucky to be able to help make the world a better-looking and easier-to-use place for everyone. It's pretty cool to think that something I design can help lots of people buy their groceries with just a few clicks!

Ocado Innovation Limited is registered in England under registered company number 08813912 with its registered office at Buildings One & Two Trident Place, Mosquito Way, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, AL10 9UL

We’re excited to welcome you back with some fantastic updates and new features. This term, we’ve introduced a beta release of our Python Den, some updates to Rapid Router, and some new features in the level editor. Our goal is to support you in creating an engaging and effective learning environment for your students. Stay tuned for upcoming events and online sessions to help you get the most out of these new features. Here’s to a successful school year ahead!

"We can track heart rhythm, breathing, temperature, posture and movement, and by applying algorithms, we can use this data to decode symptoms, articulate arrhythmia triggers and generate personalised digital biomarkers."

Translations of blocks

Our colleagues at Ocado have been helping us out with some translations for our customers in other parts of the world. You now have the ability to translate the blocks in Rapid Router into Catalan, Spanish, French and Hindi, with other translations coming soon. Get in touch and let us know what could help you out too.

Events and Workshops

Craig n' Dave conference

Upcoming

We have a few events to look forward to this term too. including an adult re-skilling session through Careers you Love. Keep a look out on social media for upcoming sessions.

Under the Spotlight

Salman Ashraf - Intern software engineer

Salman, a computer science student from Manchester University, worked with us as an intern for 10 weeks this summer. Read about what he got up to in the text below, and what he thinks about learning new digital skills.

"In just 5 weeks, I had the opportunity to dive deep into Python Django and to explore the vast capabilities of AWS and GCP. I've engaged with the senior developers, learned about the technologies at CFL and contributed to a meaningful project. "

I work as a Software Engineer Intern, where I help build computer programs to improve user experience. I got this role by studying hard in school, learning about computers and coding in my free time, and doing well in my classes at the University of Manchester. I enjoy my job because I get to solve puzzles every day by figuring out how to make our programs run faster and better.

A celebrated female in technology to hit the headlines recently was Mira Murati, the CTO of OpenAI.

Mira Murati is currently the chief technology officer of OpenAI, the artificial intelligence research company that develops ChatGPT. She rose to prominence after the release of ChatGPT where she was widely celebrated by women in tech.

Women at Ocado

We celebrate our female colleagues too here at Ocado Technology, and Carisa Lopez, one of our Business Support Specialists, has helped us highlight how diversity in technology is fundamental in producing high quality products and services:

“Throughout history, women have made notable contributions across diverse fields, including computing, programming, engineering, and more. In the contemporary landscape, the role of women in technology holds unparalleled significance." ... "Women offer distinct viewpoints, ingenuity, and adeptness in problem solving, which fuel innovation and extend the boundaries of possibility." ..."Celebrating the achievements of women in technology, who serve as a continual source of inspiration, has been a truly enriching experience... ” Carisa Lopez, Ocado

New features coming soon 🎉

We are teaming up with CS in Schools

New Robotics worksheet 🤖

Brainsteaser time!

Under the Spotlight

Carisa Lopez - Business Support

I am a Business Support Specialist in North America for Ocado. I work as a key player to support the operation of the site. As a woman without a technical background, I’ve had to learn and understand a basic level of technical operations by submerging myself in technology. I work on projects called BOT School, Peripheral school, and Safety Training. These activities are aimed at providing the necessary assistance to ensure smooth site operations and support for my team.

Gaining a foundational understanding of equipment, diverse software systems and achieving expertise in Google Suite has empowered me to constantly advocate for my team members. Furthermore, I can foster a sense of inclusion among my team onsite, which is essential for creating an environment conducive to attracting and retaining top talents.

What I enjoy most about my role is that it has pushed me to become innovative and think outside of the box to become a stronger professional, but the best part of my role is the ability to form a professional relationship with each of my team members onsite and getting to know them individually. I hope to continue to inspire and encourage women and allies to get involved in the technology industry.

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

The Father Christmas worm (even hackers get into the holiday spirit!)

In December 1988, a worm named ‘The Father Christmas worm' was released into a NASA network. The aim of this worm was to send a Christmas greeting from "Father Christmas" from the affected system. The infection, originated in Switzerland, was thought to have spread to more than 6,000 computer nodes through the NASA network! 😱

When discovered, an email was sent out to warn centre managers that a worm had been released. One strategy to prevent infection was to create an empty "Hi.com" file which would stop the worm from being able to create a new version of the same file (this was its own strategy). This prevented mass infection and only 2% of infected devices launched the worm.

Although the Father Christmas worm caused little damage, it greatly increased the awareness of computer security protocol. This was proved in 1989, when a nearly identical worm was released into the Easynet intranet. The network manager was able to quickly prevent the spread of the worm because of the exposure of the Father Christmas worm from the previous month.

Try your luck with a random snowy level!

Help Santa and Rudolph through a snowy level deliver to the presents to the houses.

Logic Puzzle

Oh no! Rudolph has eaten the labels from three children’s presents. Can you help Santa deliver the presents to the right children?

• The children are aged 12, 14 and 15.

• Gilly isn’t the youngest and she doesn’t live in Greene Road

• The child who received the telescope lives on Birch Grove and is younger than William.

• Timothy didn’t receive a bicycle.

• The oldest child received a remote-controlled car but doesn’t live on Freeman Avenue.

Help Santa find the present!

Under the Spotlight

Anna Len - Automation Development Tester

"Nowadays digital shopping is very popular and in the near future it could possibly dominate the market. I am just happy that I can be part of it."

Anna, an Automation Development Tester, joined the Ocado Technology team from one of Ocado's Customer Fulfilment Centres. "I've received an incredible opportunity to move to the Technology department. This was a great occasion for me to develop my passion as I am fascinated by the large amount of automation within the warehouse. I really enjoy what I am doing as I work with the robots. I get to test them every day to make sure they work perfectly when they are being used. Which helps me be able to learn something new everyday, meet new people from other parts of the world, and be a part of the great team which makes a difference in the technology and future."

This month we have a special AI focus, including our colleague's thoughts on ChatGPT. Have you experimented with it yet, are you worried about its capability, or are you celebrating the success of OpenAI?

ChatGPT and the future of homework

But lots of teachers and parents are worried about students using it to churn out homework! One camp says this is fine - ChatGPT can be used as a shortcut to produce a solid first draft that a student needs to learn to refine and review. They compare its impact on writing to how using a calculator has made mathematics much easier and quicker.

Others are concerned about cheating and poor quality learning. They point to the fact that ChatGPT’s output isn’t always accurate, and that students won’t learn how to formulate their own, original work.

What do you and your students think about using ChatGPT?

🐰 Easter Quiz 🐰

The paragraphs below describe types of machine learning.

Question 1: Can you decide which type of machine learning might be suitable for these applications?

1. Beat this human player at this game

2. Spam email detection

3. Image recognition

4. Recommendation engines

Question 2: How is it possible for a machine trained with millions of correct examples to produce the wrong answer?

Under the Spotlight

Myrna Macgregor - Lead, Responsible AI & Robotics

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is becoming a key part of how Ocado works: from computer vision systems which allow robots to pick a wide variety of items, to recommendation engines which identify the most relevant products for each customer. It’s critical that we develop and deploy these technologies responsibly.

It’s really motivating to work on such a cutting edge issue. One of my key tasks has been to bring 40+ colleagues together to figure out what responsible AI means to our business - it’s been fascinating to hear their perspectives. And I’m really proud that we got sign-off to publish the commitments we came up with in Ocado’s 2022 Annual Report (see: Ethics of AI and Robotics).

"My role is thinking through how Ocado can use AI and robotic AI technologies in a safe and trustworthy way."

I’m not a technical specialist. My degree was in European Studies, French and German. Prior to joining Ocado, I worked for Foreign Office and the BBC. My career journey has been translating my experience in policy, strategy and human rights to a technology context. So I’m proof that all kinds of people can transition into a career in AI!

Our UX volunteer

Marie Barsoum

"Volunteering for Code for Life allowed me to gain professional experience before graduating. The brief was exciting and helped me to explore a unique user journey from the gamer’s experience. .."

"...Liaising with Laura from the Code for Life team was very smooth and friendly. I can't wait for user testing to see how people react to proposed screens to allow me to improve and iterate my work"

We recently had the pleasure of working with Marie Barsoum who is currently studying UX at the University of Arts London. Marie contacted us in the hope she could volunteer to gain some industry experience and work on a live product. We were delighted to be able to get her onto one of our tasks and support her with the work. Now it's up to you, our teachers, to take it to the next stage.

"It struck me that whilst there was government investment in a new computer science curriculum for school children, there wasn’t enough being done to support adults."

Try it out/Can you solve this?

Under the Spotlight

Richard Watkins - Data Scientist

Richard is a Data Scientist working in Supply Chain at Ocado Technology. His team design forecasting algorithms – helping retailers offer their customers good levels of product availability, while minimising waste. As customers can add items to their orders until just a few hours before delivery, and fresh items can have a very short shelf life, this is a huge challenge.

"It's nice to be able to see your algorithms reducing food waste."

Help, it won't stop!

Have a look at the code below. Why does it create an infinite loop?

Answer: The loop is controlled by the value of number but number is never changed.

Therefore which is the correct solution from the examples below?

Celebrate National Coding week with Code for Life

Solutions

Brain Teaser solution

Python solution:

a) No, number is not being increased. You must assign number + 1 back to number

b) No, number is not being increased. You must assign number + 1 back to number. You can’t do this in a print statement

c) This is correct. 1 is being added to number and that value is being stored back in number

d) Here, the increment to number is not inside the loop. It must be indented to line up with the print()

The history of personal computers

Personal computers are a relatively new invention, believe it or not! The very first one was the Altair 8800 which was released in 1975. These early personal computers weren’t very easy to use though and were only really used by electronic hobbyists. The Altair 8800 came as a build-it-yourself kit which involved soldering!

There was no keyboard, mouse or screen with the Altair 8800! You used switches to enter your program in binary and there were lights on the front for your output.

Did you know?

The ZX Spectrum was programmed using BASIC. It was really easy to learn and I’m sure you can work out what this program does?

Can you rearrange these lines of Python code to count down?

The program should only output “Blast off!” once…

Under the spotlight

Radhika Gudipati - Research Coordinator (Robotics & AI)

My role as a Research Coordinator is to interact with various technology teams within Ocado, understand their current challenges (e.g., what is the best route for an Ocado van to deliver the shopping to a customer) and collaborate with the research teams at Universities to develop a solution.

My biggest challenge is to find a solution and at the same time not give away the secret sauce to the competitors. I enjoy working with roboticists at different organisations. My PhD in robotics and my passion in taking the research to solve real world challenges brought me into this role.

"My first exposure to a computer was in my Yr 8 where a class of 50 students had to share 10 computers in a small room (air conditioned lab was the highlight for the hot tropical weather)."

COBOL was the language we were taught in the classroom and we were asked to handwrite the code in our homework books. As I typed the code in, executed it and saw the special characters printed in shapes appearing on the screen - it made my day! 🙂

Code for Life updates - your chance to have your say!

Renaming v to my_van

We have updated the variable in Rapid Router so that it makes more sense to the students. It should make your Python lessons easier to follow.

Bett Show 2022

Did any of you come and meet us at the Bett show this year? If so, let us know what you think of our resources so far by feeding back to us through the link below.

Gitbook Resources

It has been some time now since we moved our resources to Gitbook in order to improve your experience.

Scoreboard and tracking progress

You told us that you needed more and we have responded. The new scoreboard allows you to select and focus on particular areas of Rapid Router and highlights areas which may need improvement. We will be updating the scoreboard further still to give you more flexibility and feedback on how your students are doing.