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NappyValleyNet.com
NappyValleyNet.com
also use Bee-Bots, programmable toys which introduce coding. The subject of coding is the cornerstone of this brave new world as it presents one of the growing job opportunities; learning how to programme a computer teaches children how to think and the subject of computer science is now compulsory for all children aged five to 16. Schools are running coding clubs at senior school for the real enthusiasts. At Northcote Lodge children learn coding from Year 4 and build their own games, programme robots and fly drones. “It’s all in curriculum time,” says Joe Knight, Deputy Head. “Older boys use it for the National Lego Robotics Competition; the boys are usually more advanced at it than the teachers so we have to inset train our staff.” Teachers at Sydenham High School - an early adoptor of the Google G Suite for Education - were apprehensive about the new teaching tool but Matthew Llewellin, Digital Strategy Leader & Physics teacher likens it to riding a bike; “Once you’ve done it once or twice you’re away”. He stresses that technology is only used if it’s effective for students and will enhance students’ experience; Sydenham has many classes that don’t involve technology at all. But at the same time he says: “I can’t stress to them enough how important coding and computing will be in all walks of life.”
CRACKING THE CODING Give your children a fun head start with coding and they’ll always enjoy it. Here are five great activities to whet their appetite: Ozobot - Bit and Evo (6+) from £39 ozobot.com Tiny line-following bots that children can program by drawing coloured codes on paper or iPad before moving on to more advanced tasks using Blockly Sphero SPRK+ (8+) £120 sphero.com A waterproof and almost indestructible transparent ball that follows routes drawn on the iPad. Older children can code in Apple’s Swift or JavaScript, with an online community for sharing imaginative projects. The Sphero Mini costs under £50 VEX IQ (8+ with help) £275 - £330 vexrobotics.com A large box of construction possibilities with sensors, switches and motors to build a dream robot. Finished constructions can be programmed and/or remote controlled. Coding through Flowol (flow diagrams) and Modkit (blocks) for younger children, or RobotC (text) for the more advanced Dash (7-11) £150 ukmakewonder.com A very cute robot with personality partnered by five coding apps enabling remote control, line following, flow diagram and block coding. Apple’s Swift Playgrounds offer a text-based approach for older coders Lego Boost (7+) £119 lego.com Lego has a number of codeable packs for different ages ranging from WeDo for 6+ to EV3 for 12+. Lego Boost sits between the two and is the latest addition; it includes instructions for five robots. Eaton Square
Happily, the ‘reading, writing and arithmetic’ rule is still at the heart of a child’s educational journey. “We like to balance tradition with technology,” explains Patricia Watt, Deputy Head of Eaton Square Kensington. “We secure handwriting skills first so we don’t negate books and libraries and then from Year 3 we incorporate iPads.” Eaton Square is planning to become an Apple Distinguished School within three years (see panel on page 84). The use of iPads has brought other benefits, such as teachers no longer being stuck at the front of the class, securing 100% engagement in lessons, ruling out low-level disruption in class, and teachers tweeting what’s going on in class to involve parents too. “Children are so much more engaged now,” says Watt. “If they’re learning about angles they take photos of chair corners, or they’re making Adobe Spark videos. It’s been fantastic.” Simon Severino, Headmaster at Alleyn’s Junior School, points out another benefit: “Not only does using technology develop their IT and computing skills but it also provides a safe way for children to take risks, use trial and error and collaborate with their peers.” At Putney High School, Years 4 and upwards have their own iPads for all subjects
Source: Broomwood Hall School
except for outside in the playing fields, although there are relevant applications even here, such as analysing tennis swing. “It’s changed the way teachers teach,”
says James Mutton, Director of IT & Digital Learning, a newly-created role at the school that reflects the importance that the school places on digital learning. “Pupils can ‘visit’
TECHNOLOGY AS A TEACHING TOOL
Alleyn’s Junior School
“TECHNOLOGY IS ONLY USED IF IT’S EFFECTIVE FOR STUDENTS AND WILL ENHANCE STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCE”
Putney High School
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the field trip site beforehand in geography, or in biology use virtual reality to see how joints in the body move when projected onto a skeleton,” he says. “It makes learning more exciting and adds to the richness of the classroom.” Younger children are also eager to learn this way and have not been left out of the technological revolution. Familiar from a young age with touch screens, smartphones and the like, it is only natural that these digital natives will gravitate towards digital learning. Parkgate Nursery uses walkie-talkies, remote-controlled cars that children steer round a track (the start of coding), digital
cameras and so on, explains Head Malcolm McKinlay. “Technology is going to be their lives so we have to expose children to it, otherwise we’re doing them a disservice. They still have real books, real toys so it’s a balance. By Year 6 they’ll be starting to write their own code. We need to prepare them for the future.” The children also use PowerPoint and iMovie to prepare a presentation at the end of every academic year. A class bank of iPads is utilised at Alleyn’s Junior School and many lessons are delivered using the school’s VLE (Virtual Learning Environment), from which teachers can show interesting video clips or images, which stimulate discussion and inspire work. “Watching a video clip of a caterpillar changing into a butterfly in slow motion on a large screen, is arguably far more engaging than looking at a photocopy of a lifecycle diagram,” explain IT Coordinator, Charlotte Hatton and Director of Studies, Paul Swindell. Younger ones use digital microscopes to look more closely at minibeasts they have found in the school garden at Alleyn’s. They
Technology does not replace good teaching but it can complement it; it can be added to lessons in many ways to develop critical thinking, enhance pupils’ content knowledge and enable pupils to learn in a selfdirected way. Technology can enhance children’s learning through rich multimedia, which can appeal to a variety of learning styles, and can encourage meaningful collaboration. The key to the success of this is to integrate such tools with good pedagogy rather than jumping on the bandwagon of technology as a gimmick; there needs to be real educational value in how it is applied. Outstanding teachers have always used the full range of techniques at their disposal to enthuse their pupils and, when used intelligently and with purpose, technology adds an exciting new dimension to their toolkit. Source: St John’s School