We need a plan for Primary Computing right now!

After the summer, every school in the UK should be teaching Computing and this is a great challenge for many primary teachers who had enough difficulty with the requirements of older curriculum to do sequencing.   If you are a teacher with enthusiasm for Computing then you will enjoy finding the apps and playing with Scratch and even Shaun The Sheep to deliver a truly engaging curriculum. However this is a blog entry for head teachers who need a plan and they need a plan now!

These are the options that can be bought right now, both have free samples so you can give them a try and see if they are worth ordering.  If money is an issue, I would priorities Upper Key Stage 2, because this is where it gets most complicated and much of lower curriculum can be covered with a few apps, turtles and Maths that is familiar.

iCompute

http://www.icompute-uk.com/Sample.html 

Written by Liane O'Kane who is a primary computer science master teacher teach computer science to primary pupils of all ages and train teachers in how to teach computing.  The total cost for all of the packs is £600, which is substantial but includes all the planning needed.

Switched on Computing

http://www.switchedoncomputing.co.uk/

This is written by Miles Berry, who has had many years of experience in NAACE and with Computing at School. The full pack costs £965.  There are discounts available if you bought Switched on ICT. 

Teaching Hardware

I have found some rather useful resources to help students and teachers get a better understanding of hardware. It is not completely jargon free, but I love the idea of ripping apart a PC and always used to ask parents to bring in old PCs they wanted to get rid of. It was a real treat for the students to pull it apart. (Bear in mind large amounts of sharp objects inside.)

There is also a great website with animations too. It is called PCItYourself. Somebody did a great job on the Flash animation and its much clearer than most of the Spec guides. If you want an idea of how much you can store on a PC. See the Seagate Guide.

Glossary of Terms

Component	Explanation
CPU (Processor)	The part of the PC that does the thinking. The faster the better, but make sure you have enough memory for best performance.
Memory (RAM)	Think of this like your working memory. The computer needs this for what it needs to hand. If you do not have enough then the PC will slow down a lot. (It can use the harddisk, but this is a lot slower. 100,000 times slower than a normal HDD in fact.)
Hard Disk (HDD)	These come in two varieties, normal HDD and Solid State Drive (SSD). SSD is much more expensive, because it is a lot faster. They are measured in size by GB or TB (1TB equals 1024GB)
Operating System (OS)	Most consumers use either Microsoft Windows or Mac OS (Used only on Apple machines) There are other operating systems and Chrome OS is becoming popular. This operating system is designed to just be a Web-browser. However it is very simple to use and popular with education, because the laptops are very easy to maintain. More sophisticaed users may decide to use Linux, which is very flexible and allows you to change nearly any aspect of the opertaing system.
Graphics Card	If you want to play more graphically demanding games then you will need a seprate graphics card.

Code Kingdoms - Flashy salesroom for Javascript!

Code Kingdoms is a Website and App that enables you to learn the Syntax of Javascript. What I like about it, is it's focus on playing games and debugging.

It has the feel of an RPG and cute graphics that children enjoy. It also shows real Javascript in a gamified environment.

My concern is that children see this great environment, but I am not sure they will connect it to the real life purpose of Javascript, which is essentially to make Web-pages interactive.  It feels like a showroom for something that isn't that attractive. For example the more mundane W3Schools does what it says on the tin, but gives the children the real language.

Give Code Kingdoms a try and let me know what you think in the comments.

Hierarchy of Visual Programming

Many people enjoy the creativity of making games, the graphics and the coding but how do you as a teacher know where to start? And where to go to bring your children up to a professional level! The answers are all in this video that I made. I hope you enjoy it! 

Light Bot 2.0 Great for developing logical thinking

It is great when something is fun, free and really educational. Light Bot 2.0 is all of those things and really gets you thinking about the best way to solve some quite fiendish problems. You can play the game at: http://armorgames.com/play/6061/light-bot-20  Please note the site is supported by advertising, some of which may not be suitable for younger children.

There is also an hour of code edition, which is advert free, here: http://light-bot.com/hocflash.html

There are also apps to buy too: http://light-bot.com/

Great job at teaching children Computational Thinking!

Pi Fun for All

Sway Grantham is running a great series of articles on using the Raspberry Pi. I love the fact that she is doing it with year 5's and as her introduction explains:
A few people have asked me about getting started with Raspberry Pis so I decided to blog about how I introduced them into my classroom. This was with a class of year 5s (9-10 year olds) but I intend to do this lesson in lower key stage one (7-9 year olds) as part of a ‘What is a Computer?’ unit of work, looking at a variety of devices including a focus explaining inputs and outputs.

Read the complete series as she takes on the Raspberry Pi in a cool, children friendly way!

Article 1
http://swaygrantham.co.uk/raspberry-pi-step-1-pi-havent-plugged-im-sure-start/

Article 2
http://swaygrantham.co.uk/raspberry-pi-classroom-step-2/

Article 3
http://swaygrantham.co.uk/raspberry-pi-classroom-step-3/

Using Scratch to Teach Key Stage 2 Computing

KS2 Curriculum

The new UK Key Stage 2 Curriculum Provides a wealth of opportunities for a large number of pieces of software, but Scratch is in an excellent place to meet many of the programming based learning Outcomes. This page may look incredibly simple, but I've tested every resource here and know that it can add real value to your teaching. If you are looking for more general resources, then don't forget the Websites With Scratch Resources.   Pupils should be taught to:  Scratch Resources design and write programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts Computer Control Resources 5 Simple Tutorials Super Soundboard Kinect2Scratch (Windows only) Think Like a Computer Scientist (CAS) Alternatives to BeeBots & Probots (Mark Dorling) use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input and output Beginners Plaything  Intermediate Level Loops and Event Recognition Use a listbox to enhance input methods Scratch Inputs and Outputs with Arduino Karen's Scratch Cards (American English) Scratch: Making a simple number calculator (Mark Dorling)  Scratch: Teaching dance (Mark Dorling) use logical reasoning to explain how a simple algorithm works and to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs Computing Through Dance (CAS) Week 1 DebugIt  Week 2 DebugIt Week 3 DebugIt Debug Me Studio An Introduction to Computer Science understand computer networks including the internet; how they can provide multiple services, such as the world-wide web; and the opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration  The Scratch Community use search technologies effectively, appreciate how results are selected and ranked, and be discerning in evaluating digital content Alphebetizing Machine Sorting Algorithms Tutorial (Mark Dorling) use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; know a range of ways to report concerns and inappropriate behaviour  ThinkUknow (Important, before students go online and use Scratch Website) select, use and combine a variety of software (including internet services) on a range of digital devices to accomplish given goals, including collecting, analysing, evaluating and presenting data and information.  Data Logging CAS & TES Resource links generally need a free user account.

Putting the words of the Curriculum into the Language of Scratch

The jargon seems to me, to look a lot easier when it is put into context via Scratch. I hope this is useful! 

Top 5 Scratch Games

Let's start as we mean to go on, by showing the fun side of Computing!  Here are the top 5 games, I've created to show children what can be done on Scratch!

5. Space Rescue 2
http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1582489/ 
Tough, but cool game.
Proved to year 10's Scratch can make real games!

4. Witches Test
http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/17387624/
Cute game with inventory! Bit slow on older PCs.

3. Space Defender
A classic arcade brought back to life
http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/2686879 

2.  2 Player Driving Flag Game
http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/14093641/
Just cool to play with a friend!


1. Platformer using VERY simple code

http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/2336283/ 
Great, because every child can have a go at remixing the game.