If you went to school around the same time as me, you may have been lucky enough to play, I mean learn, with the amazing bigtrak robot. I can clearly remember this trundling across the carpet as we used its control panel to issue instructions. Happy days. It’s fantastic that students nowadays are doing so much coding. Free programs like Scratch make it so easy for children to learn core concepts, such as selection, repetition and the use of variables, but if we don’t also provide opportunities for students to work with external hardware, they’re missing out. Whilst BeeB... (Read More)

It would be fair to say that I have been looking for a really great control technology solution pretty much since I started my teaching career. I’ve tried out lots of devices, each with their own set of pros and cons:   Pros Cons Lego Mindstorms Very capable Includes a range of sensors Latest versions can be controlled by mobile devices Expensive. As a result, students would have limited access. Lego Wedo Simple device that is easy to learn Includes a range of sensors Can be integrated with Scratch Supports a... (Read More)

As a year 6 teacher and ICT Subject Leader, I am all too aware of how the term 'ICT' has become muddled over the years. Some use it to refer to an extension of a lesson: 'Let's type our stories up in ICT'. Others use it to refer to equipment: 'How are you using ICT in your lesson?'. Some use it to refer to an explicit subject: 'This afternoon we're doing ICT'. However, even as an isolated subject, the muddying of the term has resulted in less and less explicit teaching of computing skills. By replacing ICT with Computing, a clear message is be... (Read More)

This week I've been working on resources for www.studyzone.tv for the programming aspect of the new computing curriculum. It's been great fun and has really taken me back to my degree in computing. I've found it especially interesting to see that many of the terms and concepts I will be teaching my class in September are the same terms and concepts I was being taught at university. As part of my work this week, I couldn't resist building a version of Flappy Bird in the excellent Scratch software that many schools up and down the country will be using. The game is fully comm... (Read More)