Initiatives such as the Safe programme for e-safety and the Digital Leaders movement give young people real world experiences to draw from as they work through the new Computing Curriculum.
These are just two from the ever-growing bank of practical activities in the Makewaves badge library, and a community of over 9,000 teachers is already pooling resources ahead of September’s curriculum changes.
Learning through doing
Whether students want to learn about algorithms, build their own apps, evaluate digital content, or create and debug programs, there are badges for almost everything.
Teachers can share badges made by staff at other schools with their students, or they can create their own, and the rewards that students earn can stay with them throughout their school life and beyond, thanks to the Mozilla Open Badge framework.
Matt Rogers, year five teacher at Snowsfields Primary School in London, reflected on the benefits of having access to learning resources made by other teachers, saying: “Makewaves badge missions have taken the weight off us as teachers.
“The children can now collaborate with other schools by earning badges created by teachers from across the Makewaves community. It allows them to take charge of their learning and choose where they want to go next.”
Computing Curriculum Badges
Matt has been prolific in creating his own badges, many of which map out elements of the new Computing Curriculum and are shared in the Makewaves badge library.
He added: “Now that you can set multiple tasks to achieve a badge, we can track each child's progress and give them the support they need as they pursue their chosen path.
“Their digital badge is theirs to keep. Makewaves doesn't stay at our school - it travels with them, and so does everything they've earned.”
One ready-made resource that has been up and running for a number of years is Safe; the free course that develops confidence and awareness of e-safety issues through practical activities for young people.
The Key Stage 1 guidance in the new curriculum states that pupils should be taught to “use technology safely and respectfully, keeping personal information private; identify where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content”.
The Safe Level 1 Badge requires students to create blogs that evidence their real world experiences on the web, such as creating a personal profile, connecting with others, and writing constructive comments. These tasks can be safely carried out on Makewaves, where teachers control the visibility of students and the content they create.
Let the students lead the way
Teachers looking for assistance in managing the demands of the new curriculum have another invaluable source of help in the form of their students.
The Digital Leaders initiative has gathered a great deal of momentum in the four years since Kristian Still first introduced it at Hamble College in Southampton. Now, teachers all over the UK are supported by roving teams of students who successfully apply for positions as Digital Leaders and then help to nurture the development of their peers in ICT.
The Digital Leaders Network on Makewaves gives teachers the opportunity to share best practice, while student digital leaders can earn digital badges to accredit their achievements.
Be not afraid!
Ofsted won’t be assessing teachers on the new Computing Curriculum for at least the first 18 months. Inspectors will be every bit as new to the challenges of the curriculum as teachers will.
This makes September an exciting opportunity for teachers to try out the wealth of readily available resources that has emerged to ease them into the various elements of the new curriculum.