Student Instructions
Today we're learning about the language that computers speak—binary code! 1. Listen to the voice instructions below to learn about binary code. 2. Create a bracelet using binary code for your initials. Choose two different colors of beads. Choose which color will be the 1s and which color will be the 0s. 3. Use the Binary alphabet printout to know how a computer would write your initials. Initials are the first letter of your first name and the first letter of your last name. Spell out your initials in the binary code alphabet and put them on the string. 3. When you're done, take a photo of your bracelet. 4. Use the microphone to share what you learned about binary code.
This activity requires beads, string, and a printout of the binary alphabet. Here’s a bit about binary code (this will be shared in the voice instructions for students to listen to): There are many programming languages, but computers themselves are quite simple. They consist of electrical circuits. Similar to a light in your home, computer circuits can either be ON or OFF. Since there are only two states—OFF or ON, STOP or GO—we refer to the language that computers use as “Binary.” Because computers communicate in binary, they do not use the same alphabet (A, B, C, etc.) that we do. When you type a letter, like A, on your phone or keyboard, the computer actually interprets it as a series of 1s and 0s.