Computer Science at Britannica, Shanghai, is formally introduced in Year 1 and taught up to and including Year 9.
Students will learn to use equipment and develop knowledge of ICT as well as communicate and handle information. The brands of software are not at issue here as many companies are producing similar packages. Most students will be familiar with Microsoft Office, but there are a lot of good applications that can be used for free.
In the early years we teach the basics of computers and use of tools and techniques – operating a computer, storing, retrieving and managing data, using a computer to achieve Text and Data processing tasks; to connect, disconnect and troubleshoot, also to understand about storage, input and output devices. Students understand about connecting to the internet, using email and web surfing, using search engines and how to use these tools in a safe and ethical way. They will also learn how to operate and manage content from external devices (sound recorders, digital cameras, scanners etc.); connect, disconnect, operate and troubleshoot digital devices and be able to edit with the appropriate software.
Students are taught to create good quality presentations and publications (print and web) for particular audiences, integrating information from several sources. Students are systematic in their use of appropriate search methods to obtain accurate and relevant information from a range of sources. They need to collect and amend quantitative and qualitative information for a particular purpose, and enter into a data-handling package for processing and analysis. They will interpret, analyse and display information, checking its accuracy and questioning its plausibility.
The over-aching emphasis is on the need for students to become critical and autonomous users of ICT. We design the curriculum to respond to market demands for the development of essential skills from future graduates. It is our goal that the graduating student should be able to problem solve, innovate and produce new knowledge, based on their overall awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the technology available, to be able to address the issues facing them at any given time.
This digital fluency approach increases the technological uptake of the student by incorporating technology skills into the school curriculum. It allows for the development of ICT competences across an existing curriculum or as a separate course of study (embedded or discreet). It enhances learning by encouraging collaboration across all the subject areas.
From Year 6 onward, students are introduced to web design and interact with a variety of 2.0 Tools. They need to demonstrate the ability to select, interact with and display content within a content management system. To use the blog as a form of electronic interactive communication system embedded within a pedagogical project.
Students learn to develop knowledge of ICT as well as communicate and handle information. We teach students to use a range of ICT equipment and software efficiently to create good quality presentations for particular audiences, integrating information from several sources. Students should be systematic in their use of appropriate and relevant in their methodology.
In Secondary school students strat to programming or code. This is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create an application that performs specific operations or exhibits a certain desired behaviour. Students understand how simple sets of instructions can be combined to produce outcomes. They have the experience of ‘teaching’ the computer new words (i.e. the procedures) defined by the students themselves.
Our intention is to build on skills developed in previous years, this is particularly so with programs such as word processors, spreadsheets and database editors as well as presentation tools, so that students can create documents for many purposes.Not only do we immerse the students into the world of publishing, we also develop their creative multimodal skills with intense courses in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator for graphics and photo manipulation, Adobe Animator, Adobe Premier for video editing and Adobe Dreamweaver for static web development. EdTech relevant pedagogical practices are used so that softwares are embedded in projects across all subject areas.