CAS Primary Community

Thank you to everyone who joined us for CAS Conference on Saturday - it was great to see you all in person! We hope you all enjoyed catching up with each other and listening to some great speakers as well. And don’t forget, the session materials are available to download from

https://www.computingatschool.org.uk/communities-and-events/cas-conference-2024/workshop-programme

New resource! Year 6 - 7 Transition - Code breaking activity

This resource is ideal for a taster session when y6 students are visiting their Secondary schools. This activity can be done with/without computers and involves computational thinking to crack open some cyphers. It promotes teamwork so students can get to know their new classmates whilst having fun.

!! Calling all schools longing for more engaging STEM lessons and lightbulb moments !!

SEND, Primary, Secondary, Specialist, Grammar, Private, Academies, clubs, all welcome!

My multi-awarding winning company CirKits Ltd® is currently selecting 25 schools in 3 regions for the opportunity to road test the teaching resource ComponentBuilder, which:
Encourages more girls to take up STEM subjects
Improves grades (21% average mark improvement in our trial)
Makes computer science more engaging for all students

ComponentBuilder is a tactile learning resource that I have developed to give students the opportunity to interactively experiment with the insides of the computer in a collaborative, innovative way.

If you’re passionate about improving computer science learning experiences and having an impact on STEM results in UK schools, please give me a shout.

Our aim with these 25 schools is to replicate our trial results before bringing ComponentBuilder to the market nationwide.

Here’s how it’ll work:
I’ll come visit your school twice (and bring my 10 years of computer science teaching experience with me) - once to teach a computing/STEM lesson using ComponentBuilder and once to get your feedback.
You will then get to loan a ComponentBuilder kit, free of charge, for 2 weeks to use in lessons, focus groups, extracurricular activities and transition days.
I’ll support and advise you throughout the demo period.

The road test will run in the September-October 2024 term.

If you’re at STEMFest 4-5th of July I’ll be exhibiting the ComponentBuilder and I’d love to see you.

For more information about me and this exciting opportunity, look me up on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hwright3d/ or email me at at info@cirkits.co.uk.

Can’t wait to hear from you

Hannah Wright
Founder and CEO of CirKits Ltd®

CirKits is fuelled by a passion for lightbulb moments, bringing more women into STEM and creating better computer science learning experiences for students.

The institute of imagination are working with BBC micro:bit for an online webinar for teachers and educators as part of the BBC micro:bit Playground Survey. The live webinar will be hosted by Carrie Anne Philbin MBE. It will be on Wednesday 19th June from 3.45pm-4.45pm where we will be exploring in more detail the project and using micro:bits at school. They will provide resources and everything needed ahead of the workshop, as well as the webinar link closer to the time.

Your school must already have micro:bits to participate fully in the webinar and in this activity. Sign up here: Institute of Imagination x BBC micro:bit

The institute of imagination are working with BBC micro:bit for an online webinar for teachers and educators as part of the BBC micro:bit Playground Survey. The live webinar will be hosted by Carrie Anne Philbin MBE. It will be on Wednesday 19th June from 3.45pm-4.45pm where we will be exploring in more detail the project and using micro:bits at school. They will provide resources and everything needed ahead of the workshop, as well as the webinar link closer to the time.

Your school must already have micro:bits to participate fully in the webinar and in this activity. Sign up here: Institute of Imagination x BBC micro:bit

Just a quick reminder that you can still register for today’s community event - Pedagogical approaches for teaching programming.

Matthew Wimpenny-Smith will guide us through various approaches to support KS2 programming with Scratch, based on the latest Ofsted research.

You can register here – Pedagogical approaches for teaching programming

If you missed last night’s session about the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s code editor for ages 9+, you can read a summary and check out the resources here Raspberry Pi Foundation's Code Editor - TC meeting

Hi all,

We’re running a free full day Primary Computing training day on 14th June in London at Adobe’s HQ in Old Street.

Adobe, with Primary Computing specialist & NCCE National Trainer Tom Bolton, invite primary teachers to attend a training session at Adobe HQ on Friday 14th June 2024 from 9.30am to 3pm.

Location - White Collar Factory, 1 Old Street Yard, London EC1Y 8AF

Lunch will be provided and teachers will all receive free swag.

The aim of the day is to inspire primary teachers & Computing leads to deliver engaging curriculum experiences following the NCCE Primary Computing framework using Adobe Express.

Attendees will work with images, video, text, AI & animation so they can teach these skills in the classroom.

Please fill out this form to book your free place.

www.bit.ly/ncceadobe

It will be a really fun, hands-on day designed to increase teacher confidence and give them skills and resources they can take back to their school.

Feel free to come along if you like!

Join me on Thursday at 4pm to get a demo of Raspberry Pi’s code editor suitable for ages 9+
https://www.computingatschool.org.uk/events/2024/june/raspberry-pi-foundations-code-editor-for-python-and-html-1

Are you in need of some AI training? Why not ask your senior leaders for this to be on your September INSET agenda:
https://www.computingatschool.org.uk/events/2024/september/an-introduction-to-ai-in-primary-education
Mon 2nd Sept 2-4pm online. Please share the link with colleagues

If you missed the session earlier this week about free careers resources suitable for primary students, check out the summary including links here: FREE Careers resources from BCS & Tech She Can - Primary & Secondary TC meeting

Join Jo Hodge and I on Thursday at 4pm to get ideas on how to use your Crumbles, Spheros and Micro:bits in your classroom
https://www.computingatschool.org.uk/events/2024/may/cas-physical-computing-lets-get-physical

Join me on Wednesday at 4pm for a hands on AI masterclass from James Kuht (former CTO). With free pro tools now available from ChatGPT this is going to be a very interesting session!
https://www.computingatschool.org.uk/events/2024/may/cas-ai-hands-on-ai-masterclass-from-a-former-cto

Hi. We’ve just released further details about the development of a new set of Code Editor features to help school teachers run text-based coding lessons.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation Code Editor is tailored for young people who are new to text-based programming. And it’s free forever.

Educators will be able to create coding activities in the Editor, share them with their students, and leave feedback directly on each student’s work. More information here: Introducing classroom management to the Code Editor - Raspberry Pi Foundation

We’re also taking part in a CAS online event on 6th June if you would like to hear more: Raspberry Pi Foundation's Code Editor for Python & HTML

Introducing…
AI Explorers – the latest resource from Barefoot, created in partnership with Ocado Group, and Code for Life!

It has been designed to introduce pupils aged between 9-11 to the world of Artificial Intelligence and to explore how it is used all around us. It contains three fun unplugged activities based around real life uses of Artificial Intelligence, and has been created in partnership with Ocado. Pupils consider how we can use Artificial Intelligence to solve problems, detect patterns and create new content.

To download ‘AI Explorers’ for your classroom today, head to the Barefoot site.

Join me on Monday where I’ll be joined by 2 teachers discussing AI for assessment AI to enhance assessment and integrity

Hi everyone!

You can now access the final set of resources to help you navigate online platforms!
“Getting Started with Microsoft Teams - a 3-part video series” is now available.

Hey everyone Exciting news! Our new resource, ‘Getting Started with Google Classroom,’ is now available.

On Tuesday the 26th March, we’ll be looking at some free resources for physical computing and asking you what resources you’d like to see CAS produce. We’ll also be explaining our revised digital badging system which is exclusive to the Physical Computing community and telling you how to claim your badge! There’ll also be some news about how to get an Amazon voucher for submitting a new Physical Computing resource.

https://www.computingatschool.org.uk/events/2024/march/support-for-physical-computing-and-resources

Want to find out how to make the most out of AI tools when using them for productivity? Join Tig Williams on Monday at 4 pm. Sign up here Using AI tools for productivity and join the AI community here CAS AI Community

Great Science Share for Schools

‘Sustainable Science’ is the theme for this year’s Great Science Share for Schools, the annual award-winning campaign which inspires 5-14 year-olds to ask questions that matter to them, investigate and share their science with new audiences.

New Great Guided Enquiries, consisting of teacher notes and pupil activities, enable you to participate with ease. Consider the impact of technology on the environment in the Great Computing Share.

The computing resources can be found here - Great Computing Share — The Great Science Share for Schools

You will need to sign up to the GSSfS website to access the Toolkit.