This week Lindale CE Primary School were school of the week on Lakeland Radio. Last Friday our author, Liane O’Kane, who teaches computing at Lindale (a Lead School on the Network of Excellence for Computer Science) met with Breakfast presenter Yakkers and featured on their Back to School with Yakkers segment.
The children and Liane spoke with Yakkers about Computing at Lindale Primary. Lindale teach primary computing using iCompute for Primary Schools from EYFS to Year 6 and it was lovely hearing about how much the children have been learning and enjoying their lessons.
The Summer term is drawing to a close, the weather is warm and you’ll no doubt have lots of activities planned to take advantage of/celebrate the weather in your classes. Let’s not forget about Computing though. Take your pupils outside if you have laptops or mobile devices and use Scratch 2.0 with your Key Stage 2 children (pupils aged 7-11) and our free lesson for summer themed primary computing with supporting resources.
It’s a great end-of term opportunity for your pupils to showcase what they have learned all year in their programming lessons.
Click to download iCompute’s free summer computing lesson plan
I’ve written another step-by-step lesson plan and some teacher/pupil computing resources that I’m using and have added to iCompute to celebrate Summer. Feel free to download and use in your own classroom.
Summer time and the weather is sweet. Makes you want to make a nice cool treat… Challenge your pupils to create algorithms and program an ice-cream simulation/game.
Free ice-cream stand simulation programming activity
Pupil Support Card
As usual, lots of opportunities for differentiation. For instance, less able pupils could use pupil support cards (see Ice Cream stand card which is included in the pack) and/or concentrate on programming random customers and ice-cream combinations to appear.
Your more able pupils could:
program timers, scores and lives (e.g. customers leave ‘hide’ if their order isn’t made within time limits)
add a series of levels that become increasingly more challenging
generate random prices within a range
program your customers to pay
calculate and give change
Ideas for differentiation, extension and enrichment are included in the lesson plan. Plus program templates and partially-written programs for teacher and pupil support. Lots of opportunities to be inspired and get creative!
Primary Computing takes to the skies and goes intergalactic with a 6 week KS2 unit programming with iPads / tablets controlling physical systems with drones
I recently published two new 4-6 week physical programming units to iCompute’s Key Stage 2 scheme of work; which I blogged about in my post Teach Programming with LEGO™ WeDo
I admit to a rising sense of panic as I approached my first session: young children, small LEGO parts, computers and stuff that moves! However, we’ve been having a great time and thought I’d share some of the practises I’ve found necessary to manage these very active learning lessons.
First of all, get organised before each session. I’ve found it’s much better to work on the floor to prevent bouncing bricks, so book out the school hall if you can or clear your classroom of desks. I’ve assigned each pair of pupils a LEGO WeDo Construction kit and a labelled basket for their models. I also arranged space in the classroom for a ‘robot parking lot’. Whenever I need everyone’s attention, or if we’ll be working on the same model a few weeks in a row, we park the robots in their baskets on top of the construction kit boxes. This helps keep the kits organised so that, combined, the model and the kit = a full construction kit.
You need to be really firm about pupil movement around the space you’re using with LEGO parts! I use hula-hoops placed around the hall with big gaps between them. I explain the necessity of keeping the models and construction kits within hoops to that we don’t lose the parts. The children have been great, understanding the clear rules and why we have them.
Organisation is key!
In order to work on the floor, you’ll need either laptops or tablets. If you don’t have either, the children can transport their models in their baskets (always with their kits) to the desktops; but make sure they have plenty of space between them to program and operate the models.
I used the amazing LEGO Digital Designer to put together building instructions as a basis for each of the models the children would be making and programming. Don’t worry, you won’t have to if you are an iCompute school because I’ve done all that for you. Simply print and hand out to the children. If you fancy having a go yourself, you can virtually construct a model of your choosing and then opt to create the build instructions which your can display in a web browser or print. Love it!
Build Instructions for LEGO WeDo
Whilst build instructions can be vital for some pupils, there are still plenty of opportunities for creativity for others and I allow those the freedom to design, create and program their own models with only a rough guide.
I’ve been really impressed with how well the children have responded to physical programming and how smoothly the lessons have gone. I hope some of you find my tips useful and please let me know how your lessons go.
This week sees the launch of iCompute’s new six week programming unit for Year 3 and 4-5 week unit for Year 4 which uses LEGO™ WeDo to teach children how to program robots and models in primary computing lessons.
Lego WeDo is a fantastic opportunity for children to bring the physical world to life through code. They build models using the bricks they know and love and then program them interact with the world around them!
Using robotics promotes interest in science and engineering, as well as computer science and helps develop motor skills through model building. Mechanisms, built by and ultimately designed by, the pupils themselves set computer programming in a meaningful context. Children learn more quickly when a model executes a program, physically, right before them.
The robotics elements of LEGO WeDo include motors and sensors. Our new units do not require the full educational LEGO WeDo sets to be bought. Schools that already have plenty of bricks and parts can simply buy the robotics parts that will enable models to move, sense and interact with the physical world.
Robotic Parts
LEGO WeDo has two versions 1.0 and 2.0. Our units provide support for both and the principle robotic parts remain the same at their core (albeit with enhanced features for 2.0).
The Hub: The WeDo hub connects models to your device. You can connect up to two sensors (motor, distance sensor, or tilt sensor)
The Motor: When connected to the hub, the motor can be programmed to turn on/off. It can also be programmed to adjust power, direction and duration
The Distance Sensor: The distance sensor can detect how far away an item is in front of it
The Tilt Sensor: The tilt sensor detects how far it’s tilted from left to right.
You can also connect and program LEGO Power Function lights which do not come with WeDo packs as standard but can be bought on their own and connected to the hub too.
As already mentioned, you can buy the robotic parts separately if you have plenty of LEGO bricks; however it is still possible to pick up education sets of WeDo 1.0 at a fraction of the price of WeDo 2.0. Search online for LEGO™ Education WeDo Construction Set 9580 (make sure it’s the construction set you are buying). I managed to buy 6 sets of WeDo 1.0 at £70 each compared to £150 each for LEGO™ Education WeDo 2.0 Core Set 45300.
Programming LEGO™ WeDo
iCompute uses MIT’s Scratch to program models. LEGO WeDo does have it’s own software that comes as part of the kit, but I don’t feel it offers the same opportunities for enhancing physical programming through storytelling so have chosen to use Scratch instead.
There are two versions of Scratch: 1.4 and 2.0. Scratch 1.4 is an offline editor that you download and use without the need for web access. Scratch 2.0 is available as both an online and offline version. Regular readers will know that I prefer 1.4 for primary aged pupils as the interface is cleaner and the debugging options are better. Scratch 2.0 however does allow models to be connected to tablets, as well as computers. You can use both versions of WeDo with Scratch 2.0, however you need to install a device manager and extension in Scratch 2.0 for them to work.
The teacher guides contained within the unit provide comprehensive guidance on the options and their respective setups.
Using Scratch and LEGO WeDo enables pupils to create some amazing models and stories to accompany them.
What Pupils Can Do with LEGO™ WeDo and iCompute
Programming, using software , designing and creating working models
Using the software to acquire information
Using feedback to adjust a programming system output
Working with simple machines, gears, levers, pulleys, transmission of motion
Measuring time and distance, adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, estimating, randomness, using variables
Doing narrative and journalistic writing, storytelling, explaining, interviewing, interpreting
Design: Use STEM principles to explore Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics and design models
Build: Improve motor function, communicate and collaborate with others in building working models and robots
Program: Create animated stories, and program models to interact with the story & physical world
Digital Literacy: Create factual and imaginative animations and narratives that explain, interpret and tell stories
Test : Use physical output as feedback to to detect errors easily
Debug: Correct errors found when models don’t behave as expected
Evaluate: Critically analyse work and that of others and discuss what is good, or not so good, about them
Improve: Revisit models and code then cycle through this process from ‘Design’ onward to make things better
Developing Digital Literacy by Blogging with Primary Children
A Powerful Tool for Developing Digital Literacy
Blogging is a powerful tool for developing digital literacy in primary schools. It provides a responsive community-driven environment that gives pupil’s writing a voice, an audience and a platform. When children share their world and their thoughts through writing, they understand how connected people are. They learn from each other, challenge one other, question and receive feedback.
My pupils love blogging and I often use it as a way to engage my reluctant writers. See below some of the comments the children wrote about blogging in my classes.
When pupils know they have a genuine audience for their writing, especially when its other children, I see both an increase in motivation and in product; which in turn helps me more accurately assess their work.
To help other schools introduce primary blogging into their classrooms, I’ve developed six new units for iCompute primary computing scheme of work. iBlog contains step-by-step primary blogging lesson plans and associated resources. Existing iCompute Online schools have access to all new units at no additional cost.
I’ve also put together a free infographic about the benefits of blogging with primary children that you can download here.
Now that Computing has been statutory in primary schools since the introduction of the National Curriculum for Computing at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 in 2014, many schools feel that they have got to grips with the objectives and have a view, if not a plan, of how to meet them. With computer science being at the core of the curriculum, its perhaps easy for schools to neglect the other aspects of it – including digital literacy.
I’m writing a new six week unit for our primary computing scheme of work for Year 2 children about creating multimedia eBooks and thought I’d share one of the resources I’ve created for eSafety. Most children, and many adults, think that the first result returned from a search engine is the best and likely to be reliable.
As I detail in this post, I make eSafety part of everyday discussion with my pupils and advise the teachers I train and schools using iCompute to do the same. Feel free to use the attached resource with your pupils to help them develop a little healthy skepticism about the information available on websites.
We Computer Scientists like our jargon but now (due to the National Curriculum for Computing) we are teaching pupils as young as five about how computers and computer systems work; teachers need to know – and be able to explain to children – what a plethora of confusing words mean. As Kurt Vonnegut observed “if you are going to teach, you should either teach graduate school or fourth grade… and if you can’t explain it to fourth graders, you probably don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Here I’ve put together a computing glossary of terms that I hope are useful to computing teachers and are used in iCompute’s primary computing schemes of work.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I have recently written a primary programming robotics scheme of work as part of my role as a primary computing master teacher with Computing At Schools and having been kindly loaned five Sphero. @cas_lancaster will be lending these lesson plans and resources out as part of their equipment loan scheme and the complete unit and associated resources, assessment guidance etc, now forms part of the iCompute for iPad scheme of work.
Today, I presented at #CASLancaster16 conference about my experiences of teaching with Sphero. Check out my posts elsewhere on this blog for tips on teaching with physical systems and visit iCompute Free Stuff to download the free robotics resources I contributed to support The Hour of Code.
Also, check out this post which is an updated version of my teaching experiences with Sphero SPRK+ Edition.
Visit iCompute to find out more about primary robotics
As part of my role with Computing At Schools (CAS) as a Primary Computer Science Master Teacher, I have recently been fortunate enough to teach using Sphero, having been lent a set by @cas_lancaster. The task was to produce a set of step-by-step Sphero lesson plans and associated teacher and pupil support materials for primary teachers to use. That is all now done and I’ve had great fun creating our new robotics unit – iCompute with Sphero – which forms part of our iPad pack , as well as being available separately. It will be lent out to other local schools by @cas_lancaster. Teaching progressive lessons using Spheros enables primary schools to meet a number of the objectives of the National Curriculum for Computing at Key Stage 2 Specifically:
design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts
use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input and output
use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs
select, use and combine a variety of software (including internet services) on a range of digital devices to design and create a range of programs, systems and content that accomplish given goals, including collecting, analysing, evaluating and presenting data and information
Visit iCompute to find out more about primary robotics
iCompute – Features Flowchart
Here, I share my experiences of using Sphero 2.0 with primary pupils and give some general advice and classroom tips about how to use them effectively, engage and challenge your pupils. See this post which details my more recent experiences of teaching using Sphero SPRK+ edition.
What is Sphero?
Sphero is a robot ball with several features that can be controlled though apps and also includes the facility for pupils to create their own computer programs. The main features are:
Rolling – Sphero can roll at specified speeds and directions
Colours – Sphero can light up to a specified colour
Bluetooth – Sphero connects to mobile devices through wireless Bluetooth
Preparation
As Spheros are connected to iPads via Bluetooth, preparing to use them in your classroom before your roll up brandishing them and creating general hysteria is vital! Make sure all are fully charged and that your have paired each to a particular tablet in advance. Each Sphero flashes a unique sequence of colours when they are ‘woken’ which can be used to identify them. A Sphero will appear on your tablet’s Bluetooth list using the initials of the three colours it flashes in order, Eg. Sphero-RGB for a colour sequence of Red, Green and Blue. Update: Connecting Sphero to tablets is much easier and more reliable since Sphero SPRK+ edition has been released (which I now have and teach with). Here, you simply hold Sphero close to your iPad to make a connection.
For Sphero 2.0, I added stickers to each of the Spheros with their unique name, as ‘YGO’, ‘RGW’ etc., and also to the corresponding tablet I’d paired it to. This made distributing them and the iPads much easier when in class. This isn’t necessary if using SPRK+.
Environment
You need lots of space to use these. I used the school hall. I refer back to ‘Preparation’ for this as it may be something you need to organise. I forgot on my first session and arrived with a very excitable class to a hall full of lunch tables. The first half of my lesson therefore involved getting those out of the way.
You can also buy covers called a ‘Nubby’ for outside use.
Sphero Cover
I tried this with one of my classes and we had to come back inside as it was sunny and therefore impossible to see Sphero’s tail-light: essential to be able to aim it to move in the direction you want it to go. Also, we had iPads and the children couldn’t see the screens. When our school went on to buy the SPRK+ edition of Sphero, we didn’t bother buying the covers.
Lesson Ideas
Now on to the good stuff. My specialism is teaching primary pupils aged 3-11. I think coding with Sphero is suitable for Key Stage 2 pupils, children aged 7-11.
I suggest your first session focus on teaching the children how to wake Sphero, Orient (aim) it and control it using the standard Sphero app. Each Sphero (2.0 version) comes with, amongst other things, a pair of ramps and once the children have got used to moving Sphero forward and backward with reasonable accuracy, add the ramps and other obstacles to make things interesting and develop accuracy further. The SPRK+ edition, doesn’t have ramps but has tapes and measures instead.
Sphero App
A lesson, including step-by-step instructions for both teacher and pupil for this are available in our robotics pack.
iCompute with Sphero
The following lessons progress to using the drive function of the Sphero Edu app enabling the children to gain greater control and begin to understand that Sphero can be controlled to perform specific actions.
I then move things on for the rest of the unit to programming Sphero using Sphero Edu.
We created quizzes that the children programmed Sphero to move and change colour to answer. This presents great cross-curricular opportunities. We create algorithms and program Sphero to be our dance partners for Physical Education. Also, mazes to navigate with excellent links to Mathematics for distance, direction and angle work. The children also program Sphero to travel the globe, linking to Geography, using a free floor map from National Geographic.
Using robotics in the primary classroom presents creative and engaging opportunities for the children to extend what they have learned about algorithms and programming in Computing by understanding that physical systems can be controlled too. With the right blend planning and imaginative resources, using Sphero’s in your classroom has the potential to inspire the next generation of software designers and systems engineers! The possibilities are exciting…
Computational Thinking is a life skill for everyone. It’s analytical problem solving: finding solutions to ‘problems’ using logical reasoning and systematic approaches. By ‘problem’ I mean something you want to achieve. This could be anything from designing and building a physical structure to creating a piece of art.
Click to download the poster
Fundamentally, Computational Thinking is about transforming a seemingly complex problem into a simple one that we know how to solve. It involves taking a complex problem and breaking it down into a series of smaller, more manageable parts (decomposition). Each part can then be looked at individually, considering how similar problems have been solved in the past (pattern recognition), and focusing only on the important details whilst ignoring irrelevant information (abstraction). Next, simple steps or rules to solve each of the smaller problems can be designed (algorithms). Once we have a working solution, we then use evaluation to analyse it and ask – Is it any good ? Can it be improved? How?
Computational Thinking
Teaching computational thinking is not teaching children how to think like a computer. Computers cannot think. Computers are stupid. Everything computers do, people make happen. It’s also not teaching children how to compute. It’s developing the knowledge, skills and understanding of how people solve problems. As such, it absolutely should not be confined to computing lessons and should be used throughout the curriculum to approach and solve problems and communicate and collaborate with others.
Search our blog for our free cross-curricular computing resources and try six free units from our cross-curricular computing scheme.
Biography for children – 200th birthday of ‘founder of Computer Science’ George Boole
Download our free biography of George Boole for primary aged pupils. This works really well with our Binary Beads unit in iData which is available free as part of our contribution to this year’s Hour of Code.
The children encode their first names using binary and then make bracelets using coloured beads, where one colour represents zero and another represents one.
This resource will also soon form part of a computing and history unit in our forthcoming cross-curricular computing pack – iCompute Across The Curriculum. Download the free lesson and associated materials from our Hour of Code page.
Click image to download the biography – for the associated lesson plan, visit www.icompute-uk.com/hoc
iCompute’s Liane O’Kane marks Ada Lovelace Day with #iLookLikeAnEngineer
I’m not cut out to be a participant in online social media campaigns. I’m a Computer Scientist and a teacher. Case in point: I’m having a touch of angst about a selfie I posted on Twitter yesterday to celebrate Ada Lovelace Day. I’m now wondering whether I’ve addressed sexism in the technology industry or perpetuated it?
Being a graduate of computing science in the 90’s where I was one only one of three women in my year and now as a teacher of computing, I was thrilled to see that #AdaLovelaceDay was trending on Twitter yesterday. I had just written a computing unit for primary pupils featuring her contribution to history as the worlds first computer programmer as part of my primary computing scheme of work. I then saw that it was being celebrated by thousands of women around the world in technology/science/engineering/maths posting photographs of themselves at work with the hashtag #iLookLikeAnEngineer. I joined the many women keen to dispel the stereotype of what constitutes an engineer – in my case a software engineer – by adding my photo.
All good. Except that I then spotted the BBC headline “‘Too hot to be an engineer’ – Women mark Ada Lovelace day”. The connotations of that headline and my contribution marking Ada Lovelace Day did not sit at all comfortably. Some posts on Twitter, by women, added to my unease: asking whether women posting images of themselves inevitably focused the conversation towards looks, thus perpetuating perceptions of women in technology. True, if that’s what is is about. But it’s not. Note the quotes in the headline – ‘Too hot to be an engineer’. That is a comment made by male colleagues to a female software engineer after she took part in a promotional campaign for her company. To put it diplomatically, they questioned whether her image fit that of a ‘typical’ engineer and suggested that people would find it unlikely that she was one. The Twitter campaign, #iLookLikeAnEngineer, has taken flight because women working in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) want the world to see that women are engineers – in my case a software engineer.
I’m not interested in showing men that I’m an engineer because I have never, in all my many years in the computing industry, encountered what I would call sexism. I’ve never missed out on a job, had my contributions dismissed nor been promoted because I’m a women. I’ve been mistaken for the tea lady in meetings but I didn’t get hysterical about it – I simply spoke with some authority on my subject and they no longer expected a milk with two sugars. I’ve also been asked, when taking notes, if I was writing a shopping list for making my husband’s dinner. That was a joke and I laughed. We women need to lose the silicone chip on our shoulders. They’re not out to get us and we’re not posting pictures of ourselves to look good.
I participated in the campaign because I’m a teacher and I want more girls to take STEM subjects. I want girls to know that they won’t be the first woman in technology (thank you Ada Lovelace) and that there are lots of us out there continuing to make a contribution. A contribution that we’d love them to be a part of. So girls, here is what an engineer looks like:
At this time of year, with the gorgeous weather we’ve been having throughout the UK, it’s not hard to see the benefits of teaching primary computing with iPads.
One of the main advantages that my pupils point out about iPads over pcs/laptops is that you can pick them up and carry them around. So carry them around we have throughout this summer term. I’ve been teaching from our iPad pack and taking our computing lessons outside.
Taking computing learning outside
Teaching our iPad units just got easier with the launch of our iCompute for iPad apps that now also sell as individual year groups on the App Store.
I can now tap and share resources like pupil support materials and worksheets using AirDrop, play our video screencasts and model how to use the programming apps on the interactive whiteboard using AirPlay. Our teaching resources are now literally at my fingertips. All I need is my iPad, iCompute for iPad and appropriate programming apps and I’m good to go. Anywhere.
Fun in the sun
The possibilities are limitless and I’m so enthused by the success of teaching computing using iPads that I’m currently developing a new product – iCompute Across the Curriculum. This will help consolidate the children’s learning in computing, allow them to practice their skills and enhance other areas of the curriculum.
For now though, the children are enjoying the great outdoors and creating some fantastic apps to compliment their forthcoming sports days. Fingers crossed the weather plays ball!
iCompute, the digital computing scheme of work for primary schools, is proud to announce the launch of its iPad app on the App Store this week.
iCompute for iPad is a digital primary computing scheme of work matched to the algorithms and programming objectives of the 2014 National Curriculum for Computing at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Designed and authored by a computer scientist and primary computer science master teacher, it provides step-by-step lesson plans and all the materials schools needs to teach primary computing creatively and with confidence from Year 1 to Year 6 using iPads. iCompute has been specifically designed to teach the teacher, as well as the pupils, with innovative and engaging activities that use the very latest tools and technologies.
Liane O’Kane, founder and author of iCompute comments: “We are so pleased that our iPad app is now available on the App Store. As a leader in providing innovative digital educational curricula and materials, it’s fantastic that teaching primary computing using iPads just got easier for schools. We were the first UK company to provide a primary computing scheme of work and lead the way in providing innovative, engaging and challenging teaching materials and resources that improve teaching and learning in computing. Our iPad app is the first of many to come. Watch this space for our forthcoming, fab, programming app for Key Stage 1!”
With the introduction of the new primary computing curriculum in September 2014 and Ofsted inspection guidance emphasising the need to use mobile technologies in classrooms, more primary schools than ever now have iPads.
One question I get asked frequently as a primary computer science master teacher and author of iCompute, a primary computing scheme of work, is how best teachers and schools can make full use of their iPads to, not only teach computing discretely, but also to embed it in other subject areas.
The list is by no means exhaustive and will be ever changing, but I’ve put together a document you can download and use outlining what I consider to be some of the best iPad apps around the moment that offer potential for enhancing and enriching teaching and learning in primary computing and embedding it throughout the curriculum.
I’ve also cross-referenced the apps against the three areas of primary computing – Digital Literacy, Information Technology and Computing and highlighted which our iPad Pack use explicitly for structured half-termly units of work with step-by-step lesson plans and pupil worksheets/support materials.
Click to download
I’m developing new schemes at the moment aimed at enhancing teaching and learning using iPads across other subject areas.
Coming soon will be the first in a series, iInvestigate, providing units for engaging, practical, primary science investigations that also use iPads and some brilliant iPad apps.
iCompute, the digital computing scheme of work for primary schools, is proud to announce being shortlisted for the ‘Primary Digital Content’ and ‘Best Whole Course Subject Curriculum Resource’ BETT Awards 2015 for its whole-school and iPad computing scheme of work.
The primary computing curriculum aims to help young children develop the skills to become digitally literate enabling them to fully participate in an increasingly digital world: to communicate, collaborate, create and express themselves using technology. The ever-increasing wealth of technologies available presents exciting, and rapidly evolving, opportunities to interact, socialise and learn online. But it also poses potential dangers and the new National Curriculum for Computing at KS1 and KS2, rightly, has a focus on teaching children to stay safe online.
In our changing technological world, we teachers need to better understand digital education as a pedagogy and I often get asked how I teach and manage eSafety in my classes.
This week sees the launch of 
