Monthly Archives: June 2013

The draft computing curriculum at KS2

This session focussed on: “describe how internet search engines find and store data” from the KS2 section of the draft curriculum document (page 154).

The PowerPoint below is what we used. You can click on menu to download it and change for your needs.

We had a quick look at making a web page using notepad. We created a file and saved it with a .html extension.

Kingston Meeting 1 – Thur 6th June 2013

The DRAFT proposals

• One aspect of the school curriculum
• Links to Maths (geometry) and D&T (record, develop, communicate designs)

• Computational Thinking (Problem-Solving)

Aims are very different:

• Focus on Computer Science
• Algorithms
• Repeated practice of writing programs

Subject Content:

• Last two bullet points in KS1 and KS2, encompass ICT

What the terms mean:
Algorithm

• A precise description to solve a problem eg baking a cake, map directions
• Have a go ……..
• Giving precise insturctions is important because computers are literal

Another algorithm:

1. Start with a box called sum and a box called count
2. Go through the following steps until you have no more numbers
3. Add the number to what’s already in sum
4. Add 1 to the number already in count
5. When there are no more numbers, divide the number in sum by the number in count and that is your answer

use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables

• Sequence is following steps in order
• Selection is using IF in programs to only carry out certain steps
• Repetition is using REPEAT to carry out a series of steps more than once
• Variables can be thought of as post-its to hold temporary values

Some resources you may consider:

• Logo – this is a free version but there are many others, with slightly different syntax
• Scratch – A fish tank unit of work, a game unit of work
• Small Basic
• Raspberry Pi
• PowerPoint and using VBA to make a quiz

Understand computer networks including the internet
What happens when you ask for a webpage … (the previous post explains this is more detail)

You can use tracert google.co.uk in cmd.exe to see the different routers that a page gets sent through.

Draw eyePi: Feedback helps improve the commands you issue so environments such as Scratch, Logo, SmallBasic are good for that.