Intent/What we aim to do through our Computing Curriculum
Catholic Social Teaching is integral to our whole curriculum. Here are some examples of where this can be seen in Computing:
Dignity: As every human is made in the image of God, we have duty to treat everyone with dignity and respect online.
Solidarity: we recongise that computers connect us globally allowing us to help one another online.
Peace: the internet should be a space for peace, which is a cornerstone to our Catholic faith.
The Option for the Poor: by teaching computing to all children at St.Anne's, we are giving very one a fair start in life to undersanding the cyber/ global world.
Statment of subject intent:
Students at St. Annes will be confident coders, debuggers, users and creators of programmes by the time they leave in year 6. This will lead them to fully understand the ever growing use of technology in society allowing them to be active digital citizens of society both locally and gobally. Adaptations are made to Computing lessons to ensure that all children are able to access the curriculum and are not disadvantaged by Special Educational Needs or Disability.
Progression accross the Key Stages:
Across KS1 and KS2 there similar objectives cross those key stages; The progression in those areas is shown by the use of different programmes and resources to develop each area and eventually master. The programmes throughout the years will progress in complexity and will require different levels of skill and Computational thinking (knowledge).
There are three strands of the computing curriculum:
Implementation/How we teach Computing: Progression maps and knowledge organisers
Computing Systems and Networks
Programming
Coding progression diagram ( KS2)
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Impact/Children's Learning
Information Technology
Year 4 have been learning how to create neat word process work for different purposes, including create posters for the school disco and typing up their historical narratives. They showed how to change font, font size, front colour, align the text, use bold and underline as well as add pictures. This also inlcuded using processing key such as full stops, inverted commas, commas etc...
Year 4 have been creating their own online multiple choice quiz to show use of use of different types of documents and programmes, setting them out neatly and clearly.
Coding - Beebots
Year 2 have been learning what algorithms are and how they are implemented on Beebots. The children followed precise and unambiguous instructions to move the Beebots and create different shapes.
Coding: scratch
Year 3 have been using scratch to sequence algorithms with precise instructions, including adding sound, changing size, starting algorithms in different ways as well as moving sprites (characters) around the screen.
Other things of interest
Book suggestions for computing
Latest computing news
RoboKrill: The tiny swimming robot inspired by krill
This tiny robotic leg could help scientists to study underwater creatures and explore hard to reach parts of the ocean!
Monica Martinez Wilhelmus and her team of researchers at Brown University in the United States were inspired by the way that krill move in the ocean, and decided to try to recreate this in a robot.
Krill are tiny crustaceans - in the same class as crabs and lobsters - and can be found in all oceans on Earth.
They are a hugely important part of the food chain and many ocean creatures depend on them to survive.
Monica wanted to create a robot to study krill better, to help improve our knowledge of them
Why krill?
Despite being about the size of a paperclip, Krill are one of the most important creatures on Earth.
They form big swarms in the sea and are the main food source of hundreds of marine animals - including the world's biggest creature - the Blue Whale.
They also provide important nutrients, carbon and oxygen in the Antarctic.
However there is much about krill that scientists don't know because they are so small and difficult to study.
How did they build RoboKrill?
To better understand how krill move, Monica and her team built a robotic leg called RoboKrill, using a 3D-printer.
They used high speed cameras to slow down a krill's movements to help them to learn how their robot should move.
RoboKrill moves in a similar way to a krill's swimmerets - the swimming legs they have on their bottoms.
Currently RoboKrill can't swim on its own, but the researchers hope that one day it can be sent into the wild to swim with krill and help to study them, and even explore hard to reach areas of the ocean.
(Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/60403127.)