Any teachers around? KS2 Computing - what are you teaching?

[WheelParrot]

I have a child in Yr6, obv with the NC changes of late, there are changes to the ICT lessons of the past.

What I'm wondering is - what are you teaching? What should I be expecting from Yr6 lessons? What should KS2 children be learning in Yr6 (bearing in mind they haven't had 3 previous KS2 years of this new curriculum)?

Am I totally incorrect in thinking that an hour a week "checking Gmail" isn't really cutting it? Am I overreaching in thinking they should be learning how to debug and learn basic code? I know the realities of life in the classroom are different from an ideal world, I don't want to expect too much!

I'd second both of Irvine's suggestions for code academy and khan academy.

I don't think there's much java script on code academy but it's good for HTML and CSS.

Thanks, guys - am definitely going to get him started on coding at home. He's not keen on Scratch anyway. Of course, now DC is in year 6, I can prob guide more at home than what he can learn an hour a week at school, especially now he's able to help himself. My biggest worry is smaller DC who is in infants - if things are lacking at school further up, they may be lower down as well.

This has turned into a useful thread!

My DS started doing Khan in YR2. They have talkthrough videos explaining coding from really easy stuff, like shapes and writing.
They are very slow paced and fun to do. He learned most basic stuff in about 2weeks.
You can always start with younger DC with bit of your help too.
When they learn new method, they have little challenge, and end of section they have the project.
It was quite a achievement for my DS, to see what he has created.
Also, you can browse other people's creations, which are unbelievably good, my DS is really motivated by imagining what he can do in future.

www.computinginprimaryschools.com/teaching-resources

Thanks, irvine. Am def going to get started with DC2.

I have limited time to be teaching DC1 extra programming languages! I have always bulked out what they do at school with work at home. However, I've had to spend so much time helping DC1 with stuff like fractions (because the school refuses to teach anything but one method, which DC1 couldn't understand), then the same with decimals. It's one of those situations where I go in, talk to them, get placated, full of confidence that something will be done, then nothing happens. Then, I just think "fuck it, I'll do it at home."

The school is full of BIG ideas. They talk the talk. But it never materialises. It's disappointing. But I digress. My main concern is DC1 being behind when starting secondary in September. I tried some of the CodeAcademy courses with him over the weekend, and he'd never seen anything like it before - showed him JS and HTML, and he was like a deer in the headlights.

I think it's better to start coding on khan. Codeacadmy maybe better later on.

Khan start off from very simple stuff, but once you finished basics, you can move onto advanced level. And projects are really fun to do.(Drawing a plate of food for JS, and making your travel web page for HTML is first project.)

I think it's kind of overwhelming at first, but children learn so quickly.
I started to code with my ds, and I was completely new to this, but over time, I really started to enjoy it.
Good thing about online learning is you can do it with your own pace. If you don't get it first time, rewatch the talkthrough . You can stop the talkthrough in the middle of it and mess with the code. Also they allow you to spin off(copy) other peoples code and play with it. And once you get over initial shock, it gets easier!

Following this thread with interest as I work in IT, and DS about to start school next year so not sure what to ask schools on ICT.provision.

The key thing with computer science is understanding underlying concepts. The key thing with programming is retaining the confidence that it'll come clear eventually, and that tinkering, failing to get it working, tinkering again, failing to get it working, tinkering again, hooray, finally it works! is exactly the cycle that professional programmers go through - lots of failures, rethinking your approach, & trying again. So continuing to enjoy it is the main thing.

I think the video tutorials on Khan academy are probably easier to get to grips with than the step by step written instructions from code academy.

Or that's my experience anyway.

Another good point about khan is that it's not only computing.
They have tutorial videos for each maths skills starting from early maths(eg. 1+1) to trigonometry, calculus and more.(It's American so different grade system, but basic is the same.)
Partner content is great as well.

This is the best website I ever seen. I will strongly recommend it to anybody.

They seem to have revamped their early maths content since the last time I used it. It's much better now I wouldn't necessarily have recommended it a year ago.

It is a great site for parents like me, Rafa.
I'm not so great at teaching my DS, but with Khan, he doesn't need me!

Not criticising it at all. I've been using it for years. It's a great site. It's early maths section was one of its few weaknesses. Possibly because it wasn't initially aimed at that age range.

I really like the newer videos they've added.

Thanks, am going to try him (and me!) on Khan, rather than CA - he was rather swamped by the written instructions and tended to just say "don't get it"

Hey, just to update if anyone is interested. I spoke to the class teacher today (who is also teacher in charge of ICT). There are to be new computers set up from after half term so they won't have to share any more.

They are working through Yr 5 curriculum this year as (and this was reading between the lines, understandably), the head won't pay for someone qualified to come in, so they are managing as they can. They hope to have them understanding a little more about the components of a computer etc by the end of Yr 6, and probably able to be able to make a basic game (not in written code though). Teacher admitted that this is not what they would like them to be able to do by the end of the year.

They said they started the new curriculum half way through Yr 5, say they are behind and also span me a line about a server crash at the end of Summer term that they have only just fixed which has limited them.

Teacher has agreed to talk to the secondary and find out what they recommend in terms of what they will be teaching, so will pass that info on to me so I can bulk up what DC1 is doing at home. Overall, I am disappointed but will sort it at home as always. Will get DC1 started on the Khan stuff asap, I think.