Primary IT and Computing

Using a computer is a way of life for most people these days, with our students being no exception. So much of our world is digital and the students need to learn how to live, work and play safely in it. We, as educators, are here to teach them these skills and our students enjoy weekly computing sessions to allow us to do just that.

The students practise their touch typing skills weekly; a skill that is now a necessity for life and work, in this digital age. We use a programme that is inclusive of all from Year 3 upwards and we can already see improvements in the speed of the typing across our primary section. The students also enjoy using this typing programme; gaining star rewards and progressing through the levels at their own pace.

Since the beginning of the year, we have covered a variety of skills and topics in our Computing lessons, including: Google Docs, Google Sites, Google Slides, Gmail and internet research and Scratch Programming to name but a few. This term we are focusing on improving our skills using Google Sheets. The students in KS2 (Years 3-6) have learned to create tables, use formulae to add, subtract, divide and multiply data in a table, use conditional formatting and draw graphs. They will also learn to sort data in a Google sheet, during the coming weeks. These skills will stand them in good stead for the future and as they move into MYP.

Further down the school, in KS1, the children have continued their introduction to programming, using the ‘Beebots’. They can program them to travel and turn, in order to navigate twists and turns of road systems created by the students themselves. These basic skills will be useful for our students as they continue their journey in programming and coding; using Scratch and other similar software programmes, in KS2, which help them to develop an appreciation for how things work and become better problem solvers. Our younger students are already becoming familiar with Computing vocabulary and most can independently open and load documents or websites for the lesson.

The students work extremely hard in our Computing sessions and we are already seeing lots of improvements, of which we are very proud, as well as the enjoyment that the children get from learning to use their computers safely and efficiently.