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Year 1 and 2 are required to " Recognise and explore digital systems (hardware and software components) for a purpose ( ACTDIK001 ) "  The Australian Computing Academy has unpacked what this means.  They need to " name digital systems (e.g. smart phone or laptop) that they interact with at home and school and recognise that they are digital systems" they also need to "play (with guidance) and use different systems to explore what they do and how they work. They match digital systems to specific purposes (e.g. using a phone to call a family member)." In NSW the above requirement is contained in the content of Outcome 11 in the Stage 1 Science and Technology Syllabus. ST1-11DI-T identifies the components of digital systems and explores how data is represented The purpose of the lessons below are to recognise and explore components of digital systems. Lesson 1 : Introduction Watch and discuss Read and discuss Hello Ruby, Journey inside a compute...

Year 1 students have been learning about weather and how it changes. So we decided to make an animation of  changing weather with Scratch Jr . This style of animation introduces coding concepts to young students and allows conversation about the teaching content in any key learning area. The group had recently had discussed temperature and different types of clouds. Firstly they named the program Changing Weather. Then they added an outside background of their choice. They then added multiple sprites Sun Cloud Storm Cloud A person without a face Adding a face to a sprite Add a sprite with out a face. Tap on the paintbrush. Tap on the camera. Tap on the face. Position the camera to take a photo of your face. Tap the tick. The photo will be inserted as the face of the sprite.  Creating your own sprite Students were required to create their own sprite for the rain. This required them to learn to use drawing tools, line thickness, line colour. Tap ...

STEM, STEAM or STREAM is the latest acronym to hit schools. Schools are spending thousands on resources, rooms and even buildings.  This post will consider what STEM is, what it isn't and propose 5 ideas for teaching STEM. STEM is an acronym that encompasses Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. The acronym was first coined in "2001 by  American biologist Judith Ramaley" ( Britannica ). Prior to this it was referred to as SMET.  STEM is a pedagogy not a subject area. STEM is learning how to teach with a focus on these four areas and this can be done in a low cost way. The best way to spend scarce money is on teacher training and upskilling teachers to improve their pedagogy (ACER, Hattie), rather than expensive rooms staffed by a specialist. If your specialist moves on all the knowledge and skills are lost. The STEM movement began in the early 2000's when it was noticed American students were underperforming in PISA (Program for International Student A...

There is now a range of books both fiction and non fiction that teach about algorithms and coding concepts. These books can be used individually or in series. Picture Books If I were a wizard by Paul Hamilton Paul is an Australian author that has published a sweet story with Australian bush animals. Each page of the story introduces a coding concept. The back of the book has a brief definition of the concept and how it links to the story. This style of book is useful for teachers wanting to learn more about coding concepts and gives key terms that can be researched to find project ideas and further information. The concepts included in the story include: Repeats and Loops Sequence and Order Algorithms Variables Conditionals Functions Debugging and Patterns Paul's website includes additional resources that can be used in conjunction with the book, apps, augmented reality, games, and lessons.  https://www.wizardcodingbook.com/ This book would be suitable as a story ...