Ideas from the Computing classroom: EYFS

Developing 'Computational Thinking' in EYFS

13:48 JEcomputing 3 Comments Category : Computational Thinking , Computing curriculum , EYFS , Green Screen DoInk , I Can Animate , iPad

Whereas the old ICT curriculum focussed on pupils use of technology, the new Computing curriculum, has a far greater emphasis on developing pupils knowledge and understanding of the key principles of ‘computation’.

‘Computational Thinking’ can be thought of as the art of using computers to solve problems. This doesn't mean getting pupils to think like computers, but rather encouraging them to think in ways that will then enable them to use computers to solve problems.

Computational thinking includes concepts such as;

Decomposition (breaking problems down into smaller sub parts).

Pattern recognition (recognising patterns that help to identify and solve specific problems).

Pattern generalisation and abstraction (putting these patterns in their simplest terms so they can be used whenever needed).

Algorithm design (writing the steps that can be used to solve problems).

Computational Thinking in the new Computing curriculum

image: http://www.switchedoncomputing.co.uk/

The Computer Science aspect of the new curriculum states that pupils in Key Stage 1 should…

Understand what algorithms are; how they are implemented as programs on digital devices; and that programs execute by following precise and unambiguous instructions.

Create and debug simple programs.

Use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programs.

Later on, in Key Stage 2 pupils should…

Design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts.

Use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input and output.

Use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs.

Many schools have a misconception that the new Computing curriculum is all about programming/coding and whilst there is an obvious reference to formal programming within the PoS statements mentioned, pupils also need to have a good grounding of the underlying computational principles that will enable them to be successful programmers/coders later on. Obviously, pupils should experience programming (and ideally have opportunities to code in different programming languages), but they also need to be encouraged to develop their understanding of the key principles behind computation as well.

But how can pupils start to develop their 'computational thinking' skills from an early age? One effective way of doing this is through the use of 'unplugged' activities, whereby key Computer Science elements are taught through the use of games, puzzles and other various non - tech based activities. Phil Bagge has tons of these on his excellent website www.code-it.co.uk

I also believe young pupils need to have plenty of opportunities to actually use and engage with technology as well though. Many schools have invested in iPads and many practitioners such as the excellent Lee Parkinson (ICT MrP) have proven time and again, that if used effectively (i.e. to serve a real educational purpose), then this can really impact significantly on teaching and learning.

I have blogged myself about some of the ways that I have used iPads within my teaching of Computing in EYFS but this has tended to focus more on pupils using the technology rather than to specifically develop 'computational thinking' skills.

Recently, however I stumbled across a way of using the iPad to develop these key computational thinking skills as well. I have always enjoyed using the excellent app Green Screen by Doink and thought I would combine this with the app I Can Animate, in order to enable pupils to create their own realistic stop motion animations. Unwittingly, I soon came to realise that pupils were starting to cover some of these key Computer Science elements as well. The well - developed computational language they were using, for example was particularly evident. As I was teaching the project I realised that;

Pupils were 'writing' their own programmes (i.e. they were working out how to get different characters to certain places within the scene).

Pupils were giving precise and unambiguous instructions (e.g. "move that character 2 steps forward")

Pupils were executing precise and unambiguous instructions (for their animation to be successful they had to move their characters to the correct places within their scene).

Obviously, these outcomes can be achieved using devices such as BeeBots and through the aforementioned unplugged type activities as well. However, by giving pupils learning a real purpose, they were able to keep engaged throughout the duration of the project. Pupils were also covering a range of early learning development outcomes too. They loved the kinaesthetic element and the overall experience of making their own animation - they were truly amazed by the finished result!

Are you a teacher of EYFS? Why not give this unit a go for yourself! Click on the link below and try it out. If you do use this free resource please do let me know what you think.

EYFS Unit 1 : Computational Thinking

This unit will form one of six overall units, that will make up 'EYFS Project Live'. This version of my Computing scheme of work will be available to subscribe to from next year. The Project Live Computing scheme of work (KS1 and KS2) is already proving to be extremely popular with schools.

For more information visit:
http://www.jecomputing.co.uk/project-live.html

* Main image taken from http://www.bu.edu/hic/2012/05/24/computational-thinking/

iPads in EYFS

06:11 JEcomputing 3 Comments Category : A.L.E.X , Aurasma , Explain Everything , EYFS , iPad , My Story , Pic Collage , ThingLink , TinyTap , Videolicious

image: www.eyfstracker.com

Since November I have been working 2 days a week teaching Computing from Nursery to Year 6. Within Nursery I have done some basic stuff tied into the the new curriculum, including some simple programming of the Bee-Bots and some work using the app A.L.E.X. Most recently though, I have been planning activities using the few iPads in school. This has enabled me to teach some basic core Digital Literacy and IT skills at an early age (two out of the three main elements of the new curriculum). More importantly though it has really helped with developing pupils' speaking and listening skills, which is probably more important at this young age. I reckon that iPads are a must within any EYFS setting! Here's some of the ways I have used them recently...

ThingLink

Pupils have been doing the topic 'Food' and have been learning about the importance of healthy eating. After a brief discussion, I asked pupils to draw a picture of their favourite healthy food. I then recorded each pupil talking about why they chose that as their favourite healthy food. In small groups and using the pictures they had drawn, we then designed a poster in Pic Collage. Using the app ThingLink, I then made their posters interactive by linking the pupil's videos to their matching pictures. You can view their work here.

Here is another example of a ThingLink poster (made with year 1 pupils this time and linked to their superhero's topic)...

And again, here is a link to our school blog post about it

Tiny Tap

TinyTap is a fantastic app that allows you to create your own interactive games. This tutorial video I made shows you how...

With the children helping me, we created this game so that they could practice their understanding of some of the initial sounds that they had been working on in class.

http://www.tinytap.it/games/gh14/play/

You can read more about how I have used TinyTap and view other games I have made by reading this previous blog post.

Explain Everything

Explain everything is a must have app! It is basically a screen casting app, which means that you can annotate images or draw on the built in whiteboard - whilst recording your voice at the same time! This then saves as a Quicktime video. In the past I have had pupils using it to make teaching videos to explain concepts in maths. Just before Christmas though, we used it in Nursery to re-tell the Christmas story.

Here is the animation we made...

And here is a video showing you how we actually did it...

My Story

This is probably the most reliable and easy to use eBook creator app that I have used for pupils in KS1/EYFS (for KS2 pupils I would recommend using Book Creator). The pupils had been studying the Three Billy Goats Gruff story so we decided to plan an alternative version using different characters and a slightly different ending! After planning a simple story board we then designed the pages together and the children then recorded the narration and dialogue between the characters.

If you have iBooks on your Apple Mac or device you can view it here.

Note: If you haven't got a dropbox account click on 'Download' rather than sign in and then instead of creating an account just select 'No thanks continue to download'.

One thing that was slightly disappointing though, was that saving it as a movie instead of a book didn't work. This was a bit frustrating as I wanted those without an Apple device to be able to view it as well.

Pic Collage

Pic collage is a really simple, easy to use app that can be used right across the curriculum. One of my favourite ways to use it, is having pupils record their work during science investigations. This time though, as part of some simple Data Handling work, pupils in Nursery made their own pictograms to show what they had for their breakfast.

Videolicious

Children in reception class were studying the topic "People who help us." After some initial discussion, I then showed the children how to search for images and save them to the iPad camera roll. In their small groups, they then found images and saved them to a shared Dropbox folder. Children were then asked to plan a sentence or two about that person, focussing on who they are, what they do or how they help them. Using Videolicious, pupils then took it in turns to record their sentence to match up with each picture. Here is an example of the kind of thing you can easily create...

Aurasma

Once we had made the videos, to really bring them to life we then created this interactive display using the app Aurasma. Now when others scan the picture of them dressed as somebody who helps them on the display board, they get to watch the video that they made!

For a step by step guide on how to set up Aurasma, read this previous blog post about using Aurasma to promote the end of year 6 productions.

For further ideas on using iPads within EYFS, I found this blog post really helpful. In fact I would highly recommend reading more of Lee's posts if you are looking to develop the use of iPads within your teaching and learning (particularly if you are interested in using them to enhance writing opportunities). I also find this blog by David Mitchell really useful for ideas and activities using iPads.

If you would like me to work with your school on developing the use of iPads either within EYFS or other phases throughout school, please do get in touch!

Older Posts

Developing 'Computational Thinking' in EYFS

Computational Thinking in the new Computing curriculum

EYFS Unit 1 : Computational Thinking

iPads in EYFS

ThingLink

Tiny Tap

Explain Everything

My Story

Pic Collage

Videolicious

Aurasma

JAMIE EDMONDSON

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