CAS Secondary Community

Join me tomorrow at 4pm where I’ll be joined by Tech We Can for careers resources for KS3 Tech She Can - STEM Careers inspiration for children

If you missed the session last night about the DataFace competition which is open to schools nationwide for KS3 students here is all the info you need DataFace - what is it and how can you get involved? Secondary TC meeting

On Tuesday we’ll be discussing the DataFace competition which is aimed at Y8-9 students. Working with four core datasets focused on environmental responsibility, gender equality and the cost-of-living crisis along with a range of short teaching videos, students develop their skills and produce a creative visual outcome. Sign up here: DataFace Competition - Find out more

On Wednesday we’ll be discussing being a Head of Department (and those who are aspiring to be) and the new Secondary Leaders Toolkit resource launching next week. Come and get insights from experienced HoDs. Sign up here: CAS Secondary - Reflections on leadership

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

Ada Computer Science: tips, resources, and questions for the ultimate exam prep

Hi folks. As exam season approaches, we (Ada Computer Science) have put everything you need for GCSE and A level Computer Science revision into one ‘revision special’ blog post.

Whether you’re a student looking for revision topics, or a teacher who wants to save time when setting practice questions, we’ve got free revision materials that are perfect for a stress-free exam prep.

Read the article here: Ada Computer Science

If you missed this week’s session about Mission Encodeable’s fun, free programming platform you can check out the blog post and recording here: Mission Encodeable - Making programming fun - Secondary TC Meeting

Tonight Interactive 3D community had a session around Interactive 3D and some new free resources which are great for the KS3 curriculum: Getting started with Epic's Unreal Editor for Fortnite - Interactive 3D Community Meeting

On Thursday at 4 pm I’ll be joined by Rebecca Franks for an introduction to Unreal Editor for Fortnite.

Explore our new enrichment resources that will support your learners in getting started in Unreal Editor for Fortnite. In the enrichment sessions, learners can design their own 3D world and personalise it with their own objects, they can then make a fun collectable game.
Sign up here: Getting started in Unreal Editor for Fortnite

On Wednesday at 4 pm I’ll be joined by Harry Wake and Anna Wake who will be
-offering some top tips on how you can make your programming lessons more interesting.
-demonstrating how to teach fundamental programming contexts with real-life scenarios, for instance, how programming can be used to tackle climate change.
-showcasing Mission Encodeable, the website they’ve created that takes students from knowing nothing about programming in Python to being able to answer high-demand GCSE programming questions. It’s completely free to access, very popular with students, and includes lots of interesting, real-world projects.
Sign up here Mission Encodeable's free programming resources

Hi everyone,

We’ve recently released video resources to help with online platforms like Google, Teams, and Seesaw:

• Seesaw - Evidencing Using Seesaw - 4 video sessions

• Google Classroom - Getting Started with Google Classroom - 4 video sessions

• MS Teams - Getting started with Microsoft Teams - 3 video sessions

We wanted to draw your attention to the TEALS UK programme, where volunteers from industry such as Microsoft support computing lessons (KS3 or KS4) on a weekly basis. This follows on from a pilot carried out this academic year and applications are now open for the 2024-2035 academic year, To find out how your school can benefit from this increased capacity and contextual knowledge, which may be specifically helpful for lessons led by non-specialists in your department, please see the following application page:

We’ve also recorded a webinar if you wanted the finer details of the programme here: https://youtu.be/aiWD7FAgoLw
Have a wonderful break when it arrives.

The slides from the Pearson session yesterday are here: Demo_p2_27feb24.pdf - Google Drive The recording is here https://youtu.be/TQ3ggO8f6Ao

At KS4 teachers often wonder what the alternative is to Computer Science or IT for those who can’t access the subjects or who are more interested in using technology than programming. coding and theory. On Thursday at 4pm, Jennie Eyres will introduce the Cambridge National in Creative iMedia as a possible alternative course for those students.
https://www.computingatschool.org.uk/communities/cas-vocational-qualifications

The next community meeting is on Tuesday at 4pm. It will be a practical demonstration of the Pearson Edexcel Paper 2 on-screen assessment covering the logistics of running the assessment from a student’s perspective. Additional time for questions about all aspects of the Pearson Edexcel GCSE Computer Science specification and assessments. This session would be excellent for any teachers who would like to know more about this approach so that they can consider the use of this for their students.

https://www.computingatschool.org.uk/events/2024/february/on-screen-assessment-gcse

To celebrate Careers Week (4–9 March), the Ada Computer Science team have invited two speakers from different fields of computing to talk about their careers. The live Q&A webinars are for students aged 14 to 18 and their teachers.

Students can find out how our speakers navigated their way through formal education, what challenges they faced, and what it’s like to work in the exciting fields of AI and machine learning and video game design. Students will also have the opportunity to ask their own questions in our live Q&A at the end of each session.

Find out more and sign up your class for free today: https://adacomputerscience.org/pages/20240206_careers_week?examBoard=cie&stage=all

It’s here, the first episode of “How to Teach Computer Science - The Podcast”, it’s got jokes, silly sound effects and a competition, and I explain why I don’t allow pupils to play games when they are “finished”. Oh and I give some Computer Science teaching advice too. Please subscribe in your favourite podcast app (search “httcs”) or find all episodes here:

I will publish one episode per week, coming up I have Data Representation, Programming, Inclusion and an episode provisionally entitled “Call it ICT again, I dare you!”, with some great guests coming in.
Thanks for your support!

Thanks to everyone who came to the CAS Secondary online community event on Thu 8th Feb 2024. Here’s a recording for anyone who couldn’t make it: https://youtu.be/r2JFV5U7rBA

Thank you to Matt Hewlett from Digit for sharing and the Coding for Climate Action resources: https://www.digitall.charity/codingforclimateaction and the Meet And Code grants: https://www.digitall.charity/meetandcode

Thank you to Laura Cumming and Florian Aucompte from Ocado who talked us through how to make the most of the blockly and python levels on Rapid Router and the collaborative python challenges on Kuromo. Both free and available here: https://www.codeforlife.education

Finally, thank you to Prem Hirani and Helen Clemson from Oxford University Press who shared about their new Revision Guide for OCR GCSE Computer Science: teachers can get a free copy by emailing Helen with your school name and school postcode from your school email address: helen.clemson@oup.com

image934×493 141 KB

The next event is 27th Feb looking at the on screen python assessment in the Pearson / Edexcel GCSE Computer Science qualification. More details here: CAS Secondary Community

Huge thank you to Becci Peters for getting these events set up for the Secondary CAS Community. Have a really good half term.

Dear Secondary Computing teachers.
Wow, the long month of January finally ended and we can see half-term on the horizon!

I am recruiting additional members for the NCCE Network Practitioner Panel on A-level and GCSE Computer Science. The next meeting is this Tuesday, 6th Feb at 4pm, and we meet half-termly online for about 90 minutes.

No experience is necessary, just come along and share your ideas and network with other teachers. The topics for this Tuesday are:
• Preparing for exams – what are your top tips?
• KS4 qualifications – alternatives to GCSE CS
• The Isaac Computer Science offer from the NCCE
If you feel this is something you wish to be part of, and can commit to at least 3 sessions per year, please get in touch asap at alan@httcs.online.
Many thanks
Alan

Alan Harrison, Specialist PDL for the NCCE

If you missed the esports event you can catch up with the recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr59GHNNsrU
The slides are here: British Esports BCS CAS Mtg Dec 2023.pdf - Google Drive