Computing Students Explore Fun, Innovative Activities
Our Year 7 students are discovering Computer Components
Year 7s have started learning all about the different computer components that are needed to run a computer. After an introductory lesson, with the help of the technicians, they got to assemble a computer. Working in groups students managed to install a hard disk drive, SSD, optical drive, RAM and fan unit. They even used screwdrivers to place some of the components. This was such an enjoyable activity for students as they were able to have hands-on experience in Computing. Who knows if one of these students will build the next generation of computers?!
For Year 8 Game Development is fun and inspiring
Every single year Y8 student has been working on a game development project. The idea is that after learning how to use simple commands, selection and loops in Scratch, students should create their own idea for their game using Scratch. Besides the code, students should design their characters and produce their own sound effects. This project is a big success and has inspired many students in Y8 to take Computing further at GCSE level. We just finished the development and will be announcing the winners in the near future!
Minecraft is also Educational for our Year 9 students
Minecraft is mostly known for being a thoroughly enjoyable game, but our Y9 have been using it for educational purposes. Our Y9 students are using Minecraft Education to further develop their Coding skills, as they built by learning block-based programming in Scratch and text-based programming in JavaScript.
Year 10 software development is on point!
Y10 students have been creating their very first Python project, a classic tic-tac-toe game. Within the project they go through the main steps of the software development lifecycle, meaning analysis, design, coding and testing.
Y12 ITGS - students investigating
"Recently students had to explain a system, point out an issue it had, identify the stakeholders and find a solution for the issue found. I made a presentation on Deepfakes and China's Social Credit System. These topics have always interested me so I thought it would be a great opportunity to learn more about them. I had a really fun time not only researching how the systems worked and affected people but also making the slides and presenting my findings to the class. I'm really enjoying the course so far and I can't wait to find out what's to come!"
(Madalena Carneiro Y12)
Y12 Computer Science - creating their sample IA
Our Y2 had a calculator project that served as a practice for the Computer Science Internal Assessment, but it was actually a really enjoyable coding experience. The objective was to make a simple calculator app that performed the main operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
This is a project that provided an opportunity to put into practice some of the coding techniques which Y12 students have learned, such as selection and the use of methods. Firstly we produced a wireframe for the calculator, based on the success criteria. We then used JAVA FX to create the desktop application GUI (graphical user interface).
“ I had never used this, and I really enjoyed using it and learning how to make an actual application. Lastly, we coded different methods so that the calculator could carry out operations. It was very satisfying to use the calculator app after I had spent some lessons coding it and I really enjoyed being able to use what I had learned to actually code a functional application.”
(Vicente Vegar Y12)
Challenges
St. Julian’s had a large number of students participating in different challenges such as Bebras, Oxford University Computing Challenge and the Perse Coding Team Challenge.
The Perse Coding Team Challenge (PCTC) is a competition for UK (+ international) secondary schools which pits teams of students in Years 7 to 11 against each other in a timed automated challenge across two rounds, using languages as. Python, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript and Visual Basic.Net
So far our most successful students are Kristijan Miljak (Y9) and Jinyuan Meng (Y9), who scored in the top 25% and were invited to participate in the last round. Congratulations to them! - And Terrence Ramdin (Y11) will also join them in the final, happening TODAY!
We wish them good luck!
Petra Csobanka
Head of Computing
.png&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "Lawson Plays showcase the Houses creativity")
