Autumn – Bletchley Park 1 & 2
Bletchley Park is considered the home of modern computing. Children will discover the history of Bletchley and learn about code breaking and password hacking. They will have the opportunity to demonstrate some of their digital literacy skills by creating presentations about historical figures.
In the second part of Bletchley Park topic, the children will write, record and edit radio plays set during WWII, look back in time at how computers have evolved from being larger than a room to fitting into the palm of your hand, and design a computer of the future.
- Secret Codes – Pupils explore a variety of different codes, from simple caesar ciphers to the Enigma code
- Brute Force – How easy is it to steal someone’s password? Children learn what brute force hacking is and the importance of secure passwords
- Bletchley Park – Find out about Bletchley during WWII and how the first computer cracked the Enigma code
- Computing Heroes – Children learn about important historical figures in the field of computing, including Alan Turing, Margaret Hamilton and Steve Jobs
- Computing Heroes Part 2 – Using their digital literacy skills, pupils research and present information about a historical computing figure, explaining the impact of their significance
- Playing with Sound – Children learn the key features of a radio play before then creating and editing a radio play set at Bletchley Park during the war
- Radio Plays – Once children have written their radio play, they record and edit it to include sound effects and music
- First Computers – Learning about how computers have changed since their earliest design, pupils look at the evolution of computers including consoles and mobile phones
- Computers That Changed the World – After learning about the evolution of computers, children select one historical computer to research and present information about
- Future Computer – After looking at how far computers have come, children design a computer for the future
Spring – Big Data 1 & Big Data 2
‘Big Data’ describes the ways that companies and organisations use data in their work. The children will identify how barcodes and QR codes work. They will learn how infrared waves are used for the transmission of data while recognising the uses of RFID as well as gathering, analysing and evaluating data collected from RFID data collection points.
In Big Data 2, the children build upon their knowledge of how networks and the Internet are able to share information. They will learn how big data can be used to design smart buildings to improve efficiency, before designing their own smart schools. They will also explore the potential dangers of big data.
- Barcodes – Children will learn to identify how barcodes and QR codes work
- Transmitting Data – This lesson which is all about data transmission will teach pupils about the different types of infrared devices and how infrared signals are sent. They will compare infrared with QR codes that were covered in the last lesson and discover the pros and cons of both methods of data transmission.
- RFID – This lesson covers the topic of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and offers the children the opportunity to recognise the uses of RFID, in which circumstances it might be used and to discuss how encoding keeps data safe
- Using RFID – Following on from the previous RFID lesson, this lesson will use Disney’s ‘MagicBand’ as a case study for pupils to gain a more in depth understanding of RFID as well as how to gather and analyse RDID data in real time
- Mobile Data – Building on their knowledge of RFID, children analyse data published by Transport for London to solve given commuter scenarios and consider how they could turn the service they have provided into a profitable App
- Transferring Data – Children learn how data can be transferred, taking part in an active simulation to demonstrate how data is sent in ‘packets’
- Data Usage – Children learn about the difference between WiFi and mobile data and investigate how much data different online activities use
- The Internet of Things – Children develop their understanding of how the Internet of Things works and how it has led to Big Data
- Designing a Smart School – Using their knowledge of Big Data and the Internet of Things, children design a system for a smart school
- Smart School Presentation – Children present their ideas for a turning a school into a smart school and consider whether using this data could create any privacy issues
Summer – Introduction to Python
- Tinkering with Logo – Children are introduced to text-based programming, exploring the capabilities and commands of the programme Logo and and creating basic designs
- Nested Loops – Still using Logo, pupils explore how having loops-within-loops changes the look of their designs
- Using Python – Children develop their computational thinking skills of decomposition to help them to recreate a picture using text-based programming language, Pytho
- Using loops in Python – Children use loops in Python to create their own pieces of Islamic art, tinkering with different values to create different shapes
- Coding Mondrian – Pupils learn about the use of random numbers, decompose a program and write an algorithm to create original pieces of artwork
Skills showcase
This cross curricular topic offers pupils the opportunity to consolidate their learning across multiple areas of Computing. Designing a product, pupils: evaluate, adapt and debug code to make it suitable and efficient for their needs; use a software program to design their products and then create their own websites and video adverts to promote their inventions
- Invention Design – Pupils choose an electronic product to design and then use and adapt existing code to achieve a desired result
- Coding and Debugging – Following on from the previous lesson, pupils continue coding their programs, making them more efficient and incorporating structures such as sequencing, selection, repetition, variables, inputs and outputs
- TinkerCAD – Pupils use the software TinkerCAD to design the housing of their product, giving consideration to the inputs and outputs their product requires
- My Product’s Website – Pupils create a website for their product aimed at their target audience, using persuasive language to describe what their product is and does
- Video Advert – Pupils create video adverts for their products which can be linked into their websites