This is a theoretical unit covering the basic principles of computer architecture and use of binary. Pupils will revise some of the theory on input and output covered in previous learning and continue to look at the Input-Process-Output sequence and the Fetch-Decode-Execute cycle through practical activities. Pupils will then look at some simple binary to decimal conversion and vice versa, and learn how text characters are represented using the ASCII code. This will be followed by some simple binary addition. Pupils will look more in depth at how storage devices store or represent data using binary patterns. A final lesson covers the history and development of communication and technology, and some of its applications.
What's included in the toolkit?
The currently available units have been written to satisfy the new National Curriculum for Computing, they are designed for teaching at KS3 but individual lessons in some units may also be appropriate for teaching Key Stages 2 or 4, particularly where Year 10 students may not previously have been exposed to certain topics.
End-of-unit Assessment material including Moodle XML question file
Other material and links to online resources
What people say...
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We're currently working through them looking at what we can use off the shelf and what we might want to tweak and add to in order to meet the needs of our students.
Nick Blackburn. Penistone Grammar School
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Very useful resources and assessment material, particularly for Python (beginners and advanced).
Ndiaye Salif. Curriculum Leader for Computer Science., UCL Academy
