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ICT & Computing in Education

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They're not that shocking, surely?

They're not that shocking, surely?

5 Outlandish things to do in your Computing lesson

June 9, 2016

I think it's useful, now and again, to try something different. I don't know if the following ideas are really outlandish or not, but I thought I'd present them as a starting point.

Create a rota for your pupils to be responsible for one Computing lesson per term

I worked in a school once where the pupils had to take an assembly in their Year group once a term, and they all rose to the challenge. So why shouldn't it work for Computing lessons?

Decide to not use any computers at all next week

I was once timetabled to teach Computing in a room with no computers for half my timetable. There were no tablets or laptops available either. It's amazing what you can do when you have to, and with some imagination.

Abandon your scheme of work for one lesson

Have a discussion about a news item instead. (See the Discussion Topics, for example. More will be featured in the next Digital Education newsletter.)

Ask your pupils or colleagues to come up with a list of outlandish ideas

Then choose one at random each half-term.

Devise a lesson to take place outdoors

I once worked out a scheme of work based solely on taking pupils to the local park each week. Highly impracticable of course, to do so that frequently, but a good exercise. You'd be surprised how many computing or ICT concepts you can infer in a park, even for just one visit.

Over to you. Can you think of "outlandish" things to try that might fire your pupils' imaginations and enthusiasm?

In Using and Teaching Computing & ICT Tags ideas, outlandish ideas
← The Digital Skills Crisis4 things I've learnt about assessing Computing and ICT →
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