Category: Main News

Any posts with this will be shown on the home page (latest) and new page

Ada Computer Science: Time-saving Resources for Teachers in Scotland

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!

Browse SQA resources

post by andy mclaugjlin, what is digital literacy

What is Digital Literacy? A guest blog from Andy McLaughlin, University of Aberdeen

The presentation in this post was created and shared by Andy McLaughlin; a lecturer at the School of Education at the University of Aberdeen. He is a former teacher and leader in schools where he had a particular interest in digital pedagogies. Andy has been exploring the misalignment between national policy and classroom practice when it comes to developing digital skills in schools, and casting a critical eye over the influence of ‘Big Tech’ on education.

The following presentation was recently delivered to Education Scotland’s Digital Literacy exploration group as a provocation for discussion around Digital Literacies. In it, Andy shared some interesting research that has been carried out recently around the world.

If you would like to know more, or get in touch with Andy, you can find him on LinkedIn with this link.

 

Microsoft Testfest Resources and Exams Available

We are delighted to announce that in partnership with Prodigy Learning, the licences for Microsoft learning resources (LearnKey) and the Microsoft Practice tests (GMetrix) have been renewed until June 2025!

 

Moreover, we are excited to offer you a valuable opportunity for professional development – FREE Microsoft Certification exams throughout June 2024. 

 

This is a fantastic opportunity for educators across Scotland to develop and enhance their digital skills with Office applications, such as Word and PowerPoint, and discover how to use your digital skills to deliver classroom experiences that will develop students’ 21st Century Skills.

 

Ensure you take the time to review the Channels in the MOS Training and Certification Scotland Team and the MCE Training and Certification Scotland | General | Microsoft Team to make the most of this opportunity!

family learning cyber aberdeen

Supporting Children in the Digital World: a user story from Aberdeen City Council Family Learning

This guest blog post was provided by the Community Learning and Development team at Aberdeen City Council.

Supporting Children in the Digital World is a four week course developed by CLD Family Learning Aberdeen to help parents keep their children safe online and develop strategies to manage device usage.

 

The course was created in response to a need identified by parents/carers who wanted to understand the technology their children using.

Over the course of four weeks we cover:

  • The technology children and young people are using
  • Digital footprints and being a good digital role model
  • Understand the risk and reward of devices
  • Know how to respond to negative online experiences
  • Discover age appropriate online safety resources
  • Learn about online safety strategies

The aim of the course is to ensure parents feel more empowered to manage device usage in their homes and give their children the skills to self-regulate and make good decisions while online.

We deliver this course to parents/carers in Aberdeen out in the community as well as online, to ensure we can reach as many parents/carers as possible.

 

One parent who attended the course said:

“I feel a lot happier that I now have the skills and information to tackle internet safety with my child, and will be a lot more relaxed having conversations which will in turn will benefit my child and make them more likely to approach me when they need support.”

 

We are further developing the course to create two one off information sessions, for those who cannot commit to the full four weeks. One of these one off sessions will focus on pre-school children and device usage and the other will be a more general information session condensing the content of the original course.

If you would like to know more, get in touch with the team by email: familylearning@aberdeencity.gov.uk

boy girl jump device

#SDLW24 Video Recap series

Below is a playlist that shows the Curriculum Live Lessons, Professional Learning, and sharing practice sessions that were delivered as part of Scottish Digital Literacy week 2024.

Continue to share the amazing work that is taking place in your settings and be sure to mention us @digilearnscot using #SDLW24

DSAS ELC 2024 logo

Introducing The Digital Learning Through Play Award in ELC – CLPL Sessions

Accompanying CLPL supporting the new Digital Learning Through Play Award in ELC.

Join us in a 30-minute information giving session, introducing the brand new Digital Learning Through Play Award in ELC and to find out about the new accompanying CLPL professional learning network. 

22/08/24 11 am

22/08/24 4pm

19/09/24 10am

19/09/24 4pm

The Digital ELC Award for Scotland (DSAS) Introduction Session. Tickets, Multiple Dates | Eventbrite

Male learner sitting holding iPad

Learner Digital Skills Toolkit: where to start when planning digital literacy in Curriculum for Excellence

The support document aims to make clear the digital knowledge and skills that learners require to be digitally competent. Being digitally competent means being able to use the most common devices and apps. It is an essential step to becoming digitally literate.

Being digitally literate means being able to independently use and critically engage with digital technology and society, such as data literacy and information literacy. We are developing guidance to support educators deliver this.

Ideas and resources for teaching digital literacy can also be found here: Digital Literacy for Learners.

This document is part of a series, view the other documents here: Digital Literacy Series

Please use this form to provide feedback on the document with this link:

Learner Digital Skills Toolkit feedback form (MS Forms)

 

  back to Learner Digital Literacy

YouTube player

View document

 

cyber week 26th february, ai week 25th march, digital literacy week 13th may

Digital Weeks 2023/24

We’ve got some exciting dates for your calendar this school session. 

Join us for:

Each week will have teacher training and professional learning opportunities and live lessons for teachers and learners to join in with.

Keep an eye on this page and our comms for more info and updates closer to the dates.

Digital Literacy Series 2024

Digital Literacy Series

DigiLearnScot home

This section contains a series of three documents designed to support educators in delivering the Scottish Government Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy (2016). The three documents detail:

  • the digital skills and knowledge that teachers require for their workplace
  • the skills and knowledge that learners require, with contexts and examples for teaching them
  • guidance on how teachers might apply their digital skills to enhance aspects of learning and teaching, such as delivery and assessment

digital learning teaching strategy Scottish Government

YouTube player

Male learner sitting holding iPad - The support document aims to make clear the digital knowledge and skills that learners require to be digitally competent. Being digitally competent means being able to use the most common devices and apps. It is… …
Male and female teachers holding devices - The toolkit document outlines the skills and knowledge that comprise digital literacy in the General Teaching Council Scotland (GTCS)'s standards. The skills are organised into three levels: Essential skills that are required by every teacher… …
male and female teacher holding devices - This document aims to support educators in evaluating their use of digital to enhance learning and teaching. It takes features of How Good is Our School and exemplifies how digital can be used to enhance… …