Computing
Crew White have recently been using Google Classroom to help them become more organised, responsible and digitally confident. It gives them a simple way to keep track of tasks, access resources and show their growing independence.
This week, they have been researching sustainable materials and presenting the advantages and disadvantages of different materials.
In year 3, 4 and 5/6 this week, we have been grappling with getting ourselves logged on to our Google accounts but then taking it one step further by joining our Google classroom. This is a tool that was used during lockdown so children could access learning online and submit it to their teacher. Being able to access Google classroom will allow children to develop their computing skills and complete some of their learning online. It also encourages children to remember their details especially their passwords. Some children were able to show their resilience and patience while we got everyone to the same point before moving on.
In year 6, we have been getting ourselves logged on to our google account and familarising ourselves with the different apps available. To begin with, children were asked to set themselves a new password but they were asked to ensure it was something that would be memorable. Once everyone was on, Miss Shields demonstrated how to compose an email and send it to someone else before the children had a go at emailing their shoulder partner. Next we looked at how to create a google doc and slides before sharing them.
This week, Year 3 and 4 have started a new unit which will focus on online safety. Both crews focused on how to be able to identify fake information and decide whether information is opinion, beliefs or fact. We used Sky News Kids which has a section on fake news or fact and this really did open the children’s eyes to the fact you can’t believe everything you see online. We discussed the importance of using reliable sources for information or to fact check things when we are unsure.
We have moved on to our next computing unit which is understanding an algorithm. An algorithm is a clear set of instructions that we give to a computer to fulfil a task that we need it to do. Unfortunately, if the instructions aren’t clear then the computer will become confused. To help with their understanding, the children had to help Miss Shields make a jam sandwich but unfortunately this didn’t go to plan. The instructions Miss Shields received resulted in questionable jam sandwiches.
First, she was told to spread the butter on the bread then spread the jam on the bread. So children were quite surprised when this happened.
Another set of instructions was to get out the bread, get out the butter and get out the jam but children weren’t happy when I plopped these on the table and not the actual bread.
After a couple of failed attempts, children refined their instructions, however, they forgot to tell Miss Shields to use a knife so they were quite surprised when she spread the butter and jam with her hand. They then remembered to tell me that I needed to use a knife.
By following the unclear instructions, children were able to start understanding that an algorithm has to be clear instructions so that a computer knows exactly what to do and doesn’t get confused.
In computing, Year 3 have continued to explore scratch by creating an animation. Children used a variety of blocks to make their sprite move, spin or make a noise. Some children even started to add some dialogue to it. This lesson will support children ahead of the next lesson which will be where they start telling a story using code. Before we finished the lesson, some children shared their animation to the board and what their idea was.
Building on from our last computing lesson, Crew Barber created an invention all together. We discussed the type of invention that we’d like and how we could modify it to suit everyone. We worked through and discussed the shapes we could use and how we would like the machine to work.
Our invention was a food and drinks machine at would allow you to order anything you wanted. You would type in what you wanted and the machine would make it automatically. The crew decided that this invention would be best suited in their bedroom so they could have food whenever they wanted. The winning requests were chicken nuggets, cupcakes or chips.
In computing today, children were able to build on their learning from last week by building the code for a timetable game independently. This allowed them to apply their skills from this unit of computing and demonstrate their understanding for coding.
After a quick recap of last weeks lesson, Crew Ramsay have been designing their own inventions. Miss Shields modelled her own invention before children were able to work independently on their own. We had cupcake machines, a machine that built castles, a machine that dropped balloons from the ceiling or made birthday cakes on demand.
Year 6, started the lesson with a game of bingo to help us recap key vocabulary that had been covered in previous lessons. Children then had an opportunity to play a computer game that would have been found in arcades in 1981. As you can imagine, they didn’t give it raving reviews considering it was considerably slower than the games they play. The graphics were quite simple and the music was very basic. This allowed us to start thinking about computers from the past and how they’ve evolved. We briefly discussed some of the first computers and historical figures from the computer world before they started to set up their slides in preparation for creating a presentation of their chosen area. This will continue into next week and then children will present their research to the rest of the crew.
