Posted on: September 28th 2018
Unsurprisingly, the top five fastest-growing industries in the world are all within the technology sector and helping children adapt to the rapidly changing digital age in which we live is a key focus for schools. As Mrs Charman mentions in her article about this week’s parent workshops, education has changed dramatically since we were at school and particularly with regards to computing and technology. With new technology becoming increasingly intuitive, the focus has shifted away from learning how to use programmes, such as Microsoft Office, into creation and application.
At Norfolk House children as young as Reception begin developing a basic level of coding through programming 'probots' to follow sets of instructions. As they move up the school they use iPads for ‘drag and drop’ coding to control technical Lego models and in the upper years they move away from the physical and create platform games and websites using programming languages such as Javascript and Scratch.
The other strand to computing at Norfolk House is the application of technology throughout the curriculum. We are acutely aware of the impact of excessive screen time on children, so when we use technology in other subject areas we aim to ensure we are not simply reproducing what can be done with pen and paper but developing higher order thinking skills and challenge. As Miss Camlin mentioned in her article, the use of Google applications and Google Classroom are something that enhance the educational experience and allow children to collaborate in a way that would not otherwise be possible.
Innovation is central to the development and delivery of a robust and adaptive IT curriculum and at Norfolk House we are continuously working to ensure the children can benefit from the opportunities available to them and know how to stay safe in our digital age.
