Computers and the programs that run on them work by following a strict set of instructions, or algorithms. Understanding how these instructions function and are created is key to understanding the process of computing. It gives us, and children, basic knowledge of computers and allows us to see them as more than an incomprehensible magical box that does our bidding.

Part of understanding how these algorithms work is knowing how complex and detailed our instructions need to be. Enter the Sandwich Bot! By encouraging children, or in this case PGCE students, to create a set of instructions on how to make a jam sandwich and then enlisting someone to follow these instructions painstakingly to the letter, it shows, with hilarious results, how minutely detailed our instructions need to be to get our intended results.

This was a great exercise that was hugely beneficial in showing us how detailed our instructions needed to be, and in turn showed us how complex the algorithms on computers are. I would definitely use this with my class before delving deeper into the topic of computing. Once they have gained this basic understanding or algorithms they could then take their knowledge and use it on programs such as Scratch to develop more detailed algorithms, with a far cleaner outcome then the jam sandwich!