TS-9.3

54WHATWORKS FOR YOU? Sal McKeown takes the temperature of computer science and finds out what technology, ideas and projects are currently getting teachers excited… 56 DRIVE YOUR STUDENTS’ SKILLS FORWARD Paul Thornton sets out the case for why schools can’t afford to leave computing off the KS4 curriculum… 61 HOWWE TACKLED THE COMPUTING GENDER GAP The key to attracting take-up of computer science among girls lies in inspirational industry figures, inter-school collaboration and thinking creatively, says Emma Williams COMPUTING THE TS GUIDE TO… INTHIS SECTION IN FIGURES: CAREERS IN COMPUTER DEVELOPMENT 3 FREE LESSON PLANS FOR YOUR SCHOOL 58.2% ofdevelopers learned to code at school or university,though 34.6%consider themselves to be self-taught 35.97% The proportion of developers stating that Python was their most-loved coding language 7.40 Average score out of 10 by UK developers when asked if they enjoy their current job – the highest national average, followed by Canada Source: Surveyof21,000 international developers byCodinGame 1. CREATE YOUR OWN ANIMATION (KS3 COMPUTING) This lesson provides an opportunity for students to put together their own animated cartoon,using characters they create themselves and simple paint tools. They translate a storyboard idea for their animation into a series of scripted instructions for graphic objects on the computer. DOWNLOAD AT: bit.ly/93special1 2. COMPUTATIONAL THINKING – WITH A TOUCH OF MAGIC (KS3/4 COMPUTING) A series of lessons designed to give pupils an introductory understanding of key computational thinking skills,and help themdiscover how computers don’t solve problems,but are used by us to aid the problemsolving process. DOWNLOAD AT: bit.ly/93special2 3. ADDRESSING ONLINE SAFETY (KS3 COMPUTING) It’s important for students to think carefully about their online activity. This ICT lesson plan will help to improve their critical thinking skills by demonstrating how hard it is to delete something fromthe internet – and how easy it is for personal details to be discovered by others… DOWNLOAD AT: bit.ly/93special3 Nearly six years on from the introduction of a computer science GCSE emphasising the ‘science’ and elevating coding, how has the subject fared since? 53 C OM P U T I N G TEACH SECONDARY SPECIAL COMPUTING