Computing: Warm Up

Computing on the curriculum has now been around for quite a while, yet we know it still causes schools, primary and secondary schools all over the UK, a real point of pain and stress. We are constantly looking for ways to alleviate the stress and help teachers who ‘didn’t sign up to this’ when they did their PGCE. Well, there are a tonne of brilliant resources out there, tonnes! These include everything from the Computing Textbook to the great work CAS (Computing at School) and Khan Academy do. A little curriculum mapping aside, fabulous resources from code.org in the USA and organisations like Tynker are brilliant too.

What are you going to learn about?

You’ll learn about how to ensure you are compliant in your practices and how these fit into the wider school activities around meeting the new regulations. This Learning Trunk introduces key terms and lays out obligations.

Who is hosting this Learning Trunk?

Sonny is a Founder of Spongy Elephant and also a fully qualified teacher. He is a Computer Scientist by trade and has over 20 years experience in education and is an edtech expert. His training company New Ways to Learn has worked with well over 20000 teachers and school staff over the last 6 years.

How long do I need?

Around 25 minutes.

Anything else I need to know?

We have set this Learning Trunk so that you progress through each video in order. This is important as the content is connected.

mBot – Presets & Apps

mBot by makeblock is an entry-level educational robot kit. The reason we love mbot is because it is easy to build with the included assembly guide and it uses bock-based programming, just like Scratch. mBot is perfect for the maker community and for schools it offers gamified learning and even more fun with expansion packs.

What are you going to learn about?

In this FREE Learning Trunk, you’ll learn how mBot works and how to make the best use of it for lessons. You’ll learn how to do things like make the mBot react to light, or avoid objects and even follow a line, a little like modern cruise control systems in cars.

Who is hosting this Learning Trunk?

This is a CURATED Learning Trunk built for you from content sourced online. We have selected these particular videos after reviewing several available online.

How long do I need?

Less than 15 minutes.

Anything else I need to know?

We have set this Learning Trunk so that you progress through each video in any order.

EdPuzzle

EDpuzzle is a favourite of ours. It is the simplicity that makes this one stand out from the rest. Using video in class, particularly when it is directly on sites like YouTube can be risky and also full of distractions. Also, how do you know how much of what a student is watching is going in? We can all sometime glaze over when watching videos! EDpuzzle fixes all that and is one for the Teacher Toolkit for sure.

What are you going to learn about?

In this FREE Learning Trunk, you’ll learn how EdPuzzle works and how to make the best use of it for lessons. You’ll learn how to trim videos sourced online and also how to create questions throughout the video.

Who is hosting this Learning Trunk?

This is a CURATED Learning Trunk built for you from content sourced online. We have selected these particular videos after reviewing several available online.

How long do I need?

Less than 10 minutes.

Anything else I need to know?

We have set this Learning Trunk so that you progress through each video in any order.

Scratch

So we all know Scratch, the now infamous cat created by the amazing people at MIT to get kids coding with blocks before jumping into textual coding. With Scratch you can program your own interactive stories, games, and animations — and share your creations with others in the online community.

We’ll be building our own content for teachers soon, however, in the meantime, we’ve got the best videos to get you going with some of the tutorials that will build confidence.

What are you going to learn about?

In this FREE Learning Trunk, you’ll learn how Scratch works and how to make the best use of it for lessons. You’ll learn how to make some simple games and understand the importance of debugging and creating basic algorithms before you get coding with pupils.

Who is hosting this Learning Trunk?

This is a CURATED Learning Trunk built for you from content sourced online. We have selected these particular videos after reviewing several available online.

How long do I need?

Less than 15 minutes.

Anything else I need to know?

We have set this Learning Trunk so that you progress through each video in any order.