Whilst on BSE 1 I did not see explicit ICT or computing lessons as these were often taught during my PPA time. However, I was able to look through the Autumn term planning for year 2, where my class had been focusing on Logo and Scratch. From this I was able to see that the children were getting lots of information and experience with programming and algorithms. In addition, I was present at a discussion with the ICT co-ordinator about planning and it became apparent that the children were also receiving advice about e-safety at the same time.

Computing also appeared to have a wide role in the school outside of the standalone subject. I was able to gain a lot of experience with IWBs as I was teaching. Various computing programs were incorporated in other lessons such as English and Maths to help support and further learning. In addition, Maths homework was often set and monitored through MyMaths and children in KS2 often used similar programs for mental starters in Maths.

Whilst I did not get to see a lot of or teach computing on BSE 1, it was good to see some of the things that we had discussed in lectures being used in school. Going into BSE 2 I would definitely like to teach computing and look forward to incorporating the skills and knowledge gained from the computing lectures.

In an ever-increasing digital age, how can one monitor children’s online usage and keep them safe?

Online safety was the focus of our third ICT lecture and it was interesting to learn about the various ways in which potential dangers can be overcome or, at least, minimised. As each generation is digitally literate than the previous, it can be a challenge for teachers and schools to stay one step ahead of their pupils and educate them against the ‘darker side’ of technology.

However, there is a suggestion that the fundamental values which we wish children to possess when they leave primary school, such as empathy and common sense, may overflow or translate into managing e-safety. For example, if children are kind and respectful, then this can help to minimise cyber-bullying.

In theory, this should work, but what of the other potential dangers?

It is just as important to remind children to think about their own digital footprint whilst online and to be careful what content they look at online; here the work of Byron (2008) on content, contact and conduct is of particular use. At a school level it is also possible to encourage the use of safer search engines, although there is a question as to how good a filter these actually are. Below is a notebook that our group made on e-safety, with a particular focus on data protection for use with colleagues in a school.

Whilst a challenging subject, there are various avenues to explore this area, and the key appears to be education, both of teacher and pupil.

[embeddoc url=”https://eportfolios.roehampton.ac.uk/owensl/files/2017/01/Data-Protection-Slides_Complete-19bfwnj.notebook” download=”all” viewer=”google”]Data Protection Slides_Complete-19bfwnj