This session, facilitated by Rebecca from Code Club is aimed at learners have had some experience with Scratch.
Join Rebecca from Code Club and create a wintery wonderland animation in Scratch. You will learn to use loops, create clones of sprites, use sensing, and operator blocks! This codealong is suitable for learners who have some prior experience with Scratch.
Got what it takes to beat our Very Computational Christmas Quiz?
20 questions, no time limit. Try it on your own, as a group or as class! Let us know how you do @digilearnscot
Too easy? Looking for a different challenge?
Why not try to customise our quiz code with your own questions, colours and images. Interested? Follow out tutorial below…
The quiz was built using HTML, CSS and Javascript – key languages of the web!
You can use our tool to edit your own quiz – follow the instructions below
STEP 1: Edit the name of the quiz and who its by (HTML)
STEP 2: Change the background and the colours (CSS)
STEP 3: Edit and add your own questions (Javascript) and save
Industry Perspective
Slides: NA
Computing Science in Further Education
Slides: Overview of Computing in Further Education 26-11-2024
Computing Science Education – Big Picture
Slides: Computing Science Big Picture Sue Sentance
You can download the quiz yourself if you would like to run this in your class. Just make sure to File / Save a copy! Learners can answer online via this form, or they can answer on paper.
Links to the answer form are on the slideshow along with a QR code. Answers start on slide 58. It is best viewed in presentation mode as there are animations for certain questions and the answers are highlighted on click when it comes to the answer section.
When going over the answers, you can use the presentation or you can share this short video with the class if you prefer.
Enjoy and good luck!
Now in it’s third year, Computing Science Week is bigger than ever before. Now spanning over two weeks between 4th and 15th November 2024, we will be hosting a number of live lessons for teachers and learners to take part in during the day followed by professional learning sessions for educators after school.
These two weeks have been broadly arranged into a ‘No Code / Low Code’ week (4-9 Nov) and a Coding week (11-15 Nov)
During the first week, we will be running sessions around computational thinking, data science and tech for connectivity, with a bit of Scratch Jr and Microbit in there!
The second week will more focussed on code based activities for different ability groups and will feature sessions using Scratch, Web Development, Swift Playgrounds and AI.
Look out for the full programme of events coming soon!
The 2nd annual computing conference, organised by Education Scotland, is open to all early years practitioners, primary school teachers, and secondary school teachers who teach computing.
During this unmissable event, you will have the opportunity to hear from industry experts who will share insights into future career prospects and to attend practical breakout sessions designed to empower you with innovative teaching methods for the classroom,
The conference will be held on Saturday 9th November at 10am simultaneously at the following venues, all with live in person workshops;
When registering, you can choose the nearest venue to you.
The proposed agenda for the day is as follows
When you complete registration, you will be forwarded to a Microsoft Form to allow you to select the three workshops that best suit your needs from a list and to allow you to select your dietary requirements.
In line with this recommendation Education Scotland, along with STACS, are undertaking a pilot curriculum review of Computing Science. Education Scotland invites teachers across all sectors (including PTs/FHs, DHTs and HTs), ELC practitioners, local authorities, colleges, universities and other key stakeholders to apply to be part of this workshop. The workshop will take place on the 26th November 2024 from 10am until 3:30pm in Glasgow.
We anticipate high demand for this event and want to ensure that as many sectors, experience and geographic locations are represented.
It would be useful to seek permission to attend this event prior to completing this form.
Please register your interest here before midnight on Sunday 3rd November 2024. You will be contacted if you have been allocated a place at this workshop by Friday 8th November 2024.
More information about the curriculum improvement cycle can be found here
We are keen to host a similar event for Computing Science teachers towards the end of November / beginning of December that focusses on Planning, Learning, Teaching and Assessment.
We are currently gauging interest in this event via poll in Computing Science Glow Team. All secondary teacher in Scotland who teach Computing can request to join this team. If you are member of this team, please indicate your interest here
Our live lesson programme kicked off again in August this year. We have been delighted to have a huge numbers of schools and learners join us and our very special presenters for live lessons already!
Our programme continues to evolve and grow so do look out for future sessions you and your learners can take part in!
This Month
Next Month
Later This Year
The BBC micro:bit playground survey results are here!
Primary school teachers and pupils across the UK have been taking part in the BBC micro:bit playground survey. An exciting investigation to help children aged 7-11 get to grips with data science and digital skills in a way that relates to their everyday lives.
Students have measured their playground areas, explored temperature differences between natural and synthetic surfaces, tracked how active their break times were, and counted many different types of plants and animals; discovering lots of new things about their playgrounds along the way!
To find out more, visit the BBC micro:bit – the next gen website.
For the full results report click here
We are pleased to give you and your colleagues, an early heads-up on events and resources for high school teachers and students from the 5th Ada Scotland Festival 1-11 October 2024.
The Ada Scotland Festival mission remains to champion gender balance in tech and computing, providing inspiration for our young people and to build a stronger, fairer, more diverse work force now and for the future. However, school resources are not just for computing and IT students – these are designed to support teachers and students across the curriculum to explore journeys in computing and also harness it as a useful tool in the classroom (whatever the subject). Please read on:
For the Teachers:
Both of these events are relevant across the full curriculum and open to all teachers. The Code Division session has been scheduled to overlap with an In-Service Day (Glasgow schools) to support teacher CPD.
ONLINE – 16:00 to 17:00 Tuesday 8 October 2024: Apps for Good Classroom Resources covering “Social Action”, “Climate” and “AI” themes – more info
ONLINE WORKSHOP – 09:00 to 12:30 Friday 11 October 2024: Data Dive with CodeDivision “harness the power of data in their classrooms” – more info
RECOGNITION – Ada Scotland Inspiring Teacher of the Year 2024: launching soon. View past winners here.
For the Students:
IN-PERSON – 10:00 to 14:00 Tuesday 1 October 2024: Ada Scotland Launch Event. A day of interactive workshops and tours at Barclays Campus Glasgow – more info join wait list
ONLINE – 09:00 to 10:00 Wednesday 2 October 2024: Tech for Gen AI Lesson with Tech She Can – more info
IN-PERSON – 10:00 to 14:00 Thursday 3 October 2024: A day of interactive workshops at the WASPs Creative Studios in Inverness – more info places available!
ONLINE – 09:30 to 10:30 Wednesday 9 October 2024: Cracking Cryptography with My World of Work Live – more info
IN-PERSON – 10:00 to 17:00 Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 October 2024: Games Design Jam and Play Party at Cake & Dice Dundee – more info drop in
For Senior Years and Teachers:
ONLINE – 15:30 to 16:30 Thursday 3 October: Design Sprint with Firefly and Dundee University “Building Habits of Self Compassion” Workshop – more info
You can view all events (updated daily) here
More schools events across Scotland are in the planning. To register interest please email hello@ada.scot
Ada Computer Science: Time-saving Resources for Teachers in Scotland
Ada Computer Science is a collaboration between the Raspberry Pi Foundation and the University of Cambridge. Their aim is to provide high-quality, free, resources for Computing Science teachers and students.
To kick off the school year, they have mapped their content to the SQA’s National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher qualifications, giving teachers and students access to free resources that meet the specific requirements of their qualification.
Ada Computer Science have also introduced two new table database scenarios for the Database Design and Development area of study. The scenarios provide practical, hands-on experience and deepen students’ understanding of database concepts and applications.
This release follows the launch of Ada’s Database Design and Development project, and the roll out of material to support the Computer Systems area of study.
Ada now covers more than half of the theory content for Scotland’s National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher specifications. Stay tuned for more updates throughout the school year!
Microcontrollers:
Robotics Kits:
Accessories:
Having access to this additional hardware allowed teachers to prepare for delivering new / updated learning experiences in their schools for this academic year. Teachers have reported mostly positive impacts from the new resources including:
Increased Engagement and Enjoyment
Students enjoyed the hands-on learning experiences with robots, microcontrollers, and physical computing kits.
The resources made lessons more interactive and engaging compared to traditional screen-based coding.
Students were motivated by the ability to see their code come to life in physical results.
Improved Learning
The resources helped students develop practical coding skills and understand the connection between code and hardware.
Teachers observed a deeper grasp of programming concepts and problem-solving skills.
Some teachers noted an improvement in teamwork and communication skills through collaborative projects with robots.
Broader Range of Learning:
The variety of resources allowed teachers to introduce new topics like robotics, game development, and animation.
Students were exposed to different devices and operating systems, expanding their computing knowledge.
A few teachers mentioned using the resources for real-world applications, like simulating the spread of a virus.
Challenges and Considerations:
Some teachers highlighted challenges integrating new resources due to workload constraints or lack of training.
Managing physical resources like robots could be time-consuming, especially with limited time for setup and storage.
A few teachers were unable to purchase their preferred resources due to restrictions or availability issues.
Overall, the new resources provided valuable tools for teachers to create a more engaging contexts for learning
In May 2022, every school in Scotland received 20 V.2 micro:bits, thanks to a partnership between The Micro:Bit Education Foundation, Nominet and The Scottish Government. Additionally, primary schools received 20 additional micro:bits as part funding secured by Education Scotland and Scottish Government. Alongside this roll out, a programme of free comprehensive teaching resources and professional learning for all educators was delivered.
This year, we were also delighted to work with the BBC micro:bit – the next gen project. This partnership between BBC Education, The Micro:bit Educational Foundation and Nominet allowed every primary school to sign up and receive set of 30 micro:bits .
The BBC micro:bit is a pocket-sized computer that introduces you to how software and hardware work together. It has an LED light display, buttons, sensors, built-in microphone and speaker, and many input/output features that, when programmed, let it interact with you and your world.
To support the use and delivery of micro:bit in schools, we have worked in partnership to deliver a range of CLPL activities and pupil engagement sessions. These have included
We have also been hugely fortunate to have Dr Lorna Gibson deliver a variety of micro:bit code alongs over the past few years. These codealong sessions have been very popular and well received by learners and teachers. Since October 2022, over 12,000 learners have joined one or our micro:bit codealongsI
This is Micro:Bit Workshop 1
This is Micro:bit Workshop 2
This is Micro:bit Workshop 3
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