Miles Berry

University of Roehampton

28 June 2013

Primary Computing Workshop

2. Scratch

qbmaze

qbmaze

“Experience of objects plays, naturally, a very important role in the establishment of dynamic structures”

From Piaget (1961) A genetic approach to the psychology of thought

Schema

Constructionism“Constructionism - the N word as opposed to the V word - shares contructivism’s view of learning as “building knowledge structures” through progressive internalization of actions... It then adds the idea that this happens especially felicitously in a context where the learner is consciously engaged in constructing a public entity, whether it’s a sand castle on the beach or a theory of the universe.

Papert 1991

MindstormsIn many schools today, the phrase "computer-aided instruction" means making the computer teach the child. One might say the computer is being used to program the child.

In my vision, the child programs the computer and, in doing so, both acquires a sense of mastery over a piece of the most modern and powerful technology and establishes an intimate contact with some of the deepest ideas from science, from mathematics, and from the art of intellectual model building.

Papert, 1980

Papert on Logo (1983)

KS1understand what algorithms are, how they are implemented as programs on digital devices, and that programs execute by following a sequence of instructions

write and test simple programs

use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programs

organise, store, manipulate and retrieve data in a range of digital formats

communicate safely and respectfully online, keeping personal information private, and recognise common uses of information technology beyond school.

understand what algorithms are, how they are implemented as programs on digital devices, and that programs execute by following a sequence of instructions

write and test simple programs

use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programs

KS2design and write programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts

use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input and output; generate appropriate inputs and predicted outputs to test programs

use logical reasoning to explain how a simple algorithm works and to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs

understand computer networks including the internet; how they can provide multiple services, such as the world-wide web; and the opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration

use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input and output; generate appropriate inputs and predicted outputs to test programs

Papert, 1971

Glasshead Studios for BBC Cracking the Code

use logical reasoning to explain how a simple algorithm works and to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs

The craftsman

“It is by fixing things that we often get to understand how they work.”

“An urban primary school had good provision for developing pupils’ programming skills. Two Year 6 pupils attending provision for gifted and talented pupils at their local secondary school were introduced to a freeware application which enabled them to design and program a two- dimensional computer game. Their enthusiasm prompted their class teacher to download the software and to introduce a new unit of work for the whole class based around it.

Pupils were asked to design the graphics, layout and functionality of their own computer game and to write the program to implement their ideas for its design. Over a series of lessons, pupils used a ‘paint’ application to design their game backgrounds and sprites. Having completed the graphical elements, pupils wrote scripts to control movement and interaction in their games. This required them to learn to use sophisticated programming constructs such as ‘repeat… until’ and ‘if… then’ in capturing keyboard input, managing variables and testing whether particular conditions had been met.

The choice of task and software motivated pupils who were therefore able to make good progress. Most were able to write a series of executable instructions to implement the features of their game design. One autistic pupil excelled at this task and made better progress than his peers. He made outstanding use of loops, conditional jumps and incremental counters in his program. His skills exceeded those of his teacher, to whom he had to explain the principles of what he had done. “

And yet...

�Geometry

� Islamic art

�Arithmetic games

� Spelling games

� Simulating simple physics

�Animating traditional tales, historical situations etc

�Creating games with characters from class readers, history, etc

� Simulating probability

� Food chains

�MFL – program in Spanish.

�Animations of simple conversations in MFL

� Jigsaw puzzles

�Music composition

�Create 'guess the animal' game.

� Interactive image manipulation

�Control tech

Scratch across the curriculum

Snap!

App Inventor

S4A

Kinect2Scratch

Enchanting