Get with the programme!

Simon Humphreys

National Coordinator

Computing At School

Computing At School

http://www.computingatschool.org.uk

Ian LivingstoneGames Workshop

The old ICT curriculum was about digital use, in terms of the games industry, it's like someone being able to play the video game Angry Birds, but having no idea how to make Angry Birds. So the old ICT [curriculum] was, effectively, teaching kids how to read, but not how to write.

Prof Paul CurzonQMUL, cs4fn

It's like a toddler being able to jump and land. He can do it without knowing any physics. But actually understanding why when you jump, you land – that's learning the physics. And computing is the equivalent.

Dr Andy SievewrightActon High School

We are really pushing the idea that our students, if they take on computing and they do it well, will be better learners. They will be more resilient, they will develop their computational thinking and deconstruction and reconstruction skills, which will help them in lots of different subject areas.

Prof Alan MycroftCambridge University

The language of the new draft computing curriculum for key stage 1, which includes phrases like "understand what algorithms are, how they are implemented as programs on digital devices" and "use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programs" could be intimidating for primary school teachers.

Locked-in Syndrome

A person with locked-in syndrome is totally paralyzed except perhaps being able to move an eyelid

They can see, hear and think but they cannot communicate back

Their intelligent mind is trapped inside a useless body

http://www.cs4fn.org

Could you write a book if you had locked-in syndrome?

Jean-Dominique Bauby did…

Describing what his life was like with locked-in syndrome

It is described as

“one of the greatest books of the century”

How did he do it?

The helper reads the alphabet a letter at a timeIs it A?

Is it B?

Is it C? etc

Blinking means yes, not blinking means no

The helper writes the letter down.

Then starts again with the next letter

A better way?

What are the problems?

How fast is that?

How fast is it?

It is very slow

It takes on average 13 questions for every letter

At worst it takes 26 questions

Winning at 20-Questions

Do you ask questions likeIs it Lady Gaga?

Is it Will Smith?

Is it Lara Croft?

Is it Gandhi?

Is it Gromit?

Is it Beyonce?

That would on average take billions of questions you have only 20!

Search Algorithms

We have looked at two different ways of searching for information

Two different algorithmsLinear search

One by one

Binary searchDivide and conquer

Halving search

Computers and People

Before you come up with solutions …you must make sure you understand the problem.That usually means understanding people as well as

computers.

Only then can you work on ways to improve things.

That is what computer science is about …thinking out of the box…doing things better… that couldn’t be done before… improving life for all … changing the future.

Any Questions

Computing at School

Simply a group of individuals, concerned about the state of computing education in our schools

Including: Teachers Industry (eg. Google, Microsoft) University academics (incl. CPHC, UKCRC) Members of exam board (eg. AQA) Members of professional societies (eg. BCS) Parents Local educational advisers Teacher trainers

Varied backgrounds, with common concerns

The Discussion Forum

CAS Membership

Joining Rate

CAS Regional Hubs

CAS Events

CAS newsletter

A national programme of professional development for teachers of Computer Science