Developing Digital Natives at BISS - part 1

One aspect of BISS that excites is its blend of tradition and innovation. Our values of curiosity, respect and resilience are timeless, whilst our curriculum and pedagogy are constantly under review, ensuring we are preparing our students for the future. Nowhere is this more evident than in our teaching of computing to all students, from age 3 to 14 on a weekly basis. 

Computing at BISS consists of 3 strands:

• Information and communication technology

• Computer science

• Digital literacy and citizenship.

Information and communication technology is the strand most of us are familiar with. Here we focus on the many uses of computing technology to publish, create and communicate. Building their skills year on year, children learn to create electronic books, videos, photoshop images, blogs, 3D design artefacts and even VR environments. Through this process we interweave digital literacy and citizenship by highlighting the ways in which computer networks and the Internet support collaboration, and our responsibilities as creators to publish respectfully, safely and responsibly. This might be in relation to the use of copyrighted materials, or through considering our digital footprint. 

Computer science introduces students to the main principles of computer programming. They learn that computers cannot think independently, and that they will blindly follow the instructions provided.  They begin by learning about sequencing the instructions, then making them repeat. As they mature, powerful concepts such as variables and conditional statements are introduced. These complicated concepts are taught in two ways. Websites such as Scratch allow the children to program their own games, whilst simple robots allow them experience of physical computing, introducing control of motors and sensors. In older years, students translate their knowledge of computer programming into action by coding websites using HTML and CSS, and solving computational problems with Python.

The third strand of the computing curriculum is digital literacy and citizenship. Digital literacy gives our young people an understanding of how technology works, and its implications for society and individuals. Topics in this area include “How Technology Helps Us” in Year 1, “How Computers Work” in Year 5, and “Navigating different operating systems” in Year 7. Mindful of the fact that technology often outpaces education, we strive to keep up with the latest developments, as evidenced by our Year 6 topic exploring artificial intelligence and machine learning. 

Finally, our digital citizenship lessons equip students to become safe, respectful and responsible users of this powerful technology, and to contribute to a better digital world. During the year regular lessons cover such important topics as media balance and appropriate use, keeping our private information safe, recognising and reporting risks and evaluating online content for bias and accuracy. 

After 6 years of continuous curriculum development, investment and innovation, we at BISS feel confident that our computing curriculum delivers our students an engaging, broad and rigorous experience in a challenging and vital subject, though we recognise that there is no room for complacency and we must continue to innovate to ensure our young people are equipped with knowledge, skills and understanding needed to thrive as technology continues to develop.