Tividale Community Primary School

Tividale Community
Primary School

Aiming for Excellence.  Achieving Together.

Computing Resources

Early Years

Useful Websites

Smartie the Penguin - an online story about staying safe online

Purple Mash - your child will need their school log on to access Purple Mash.  Within this platform there are many activities your child can do that all practice their computing skills.

Apps that you could download for your child

Apps that can be downloaded:

  • Scratch Junior
  • CBeebies Playtime
  • CBeebies Storytime
  • Bee-Bot
  • Doodle Buddy

Physical Devices

 

Remote control devices - at school we use Bee-Bots and Coda-Pillars to help the children understand controlling devices.  At home the children could practice controlling a remote control car (how do I get it to move forward?  Can I direct it to that chair?) or other remotes such as; a television remote (what will happen if I press this?  Which button do I need to press to change the volume?).

Camera - at school the children will have the chance to use child friendly cameras.  At home you could give your child the opportunity to video something that interests them using your camera.  This enables the child to practice holding the camera still, the importance of making sure the object is in the frame and how to record on a device.  Encourage your child to take photographs to - practicing all of the skills needed to take a successful photo (it is interesting to see what children see as photograph worthy.)

 

Key Stage 1

 Useful Websites

Typing Club - practicing on this regularly will improve the speed of your child typing skills.  Your child will need their log in from school to use this.

BBC Bitesize - Computing - a range of information and videos for your child to learn about the various aspects of computing

Purple Mash - your child will need their school log on to access Purple Mash.  Within this platform there are many activities your child can do that all practice their computing skills.

Smartie the Penguin - an online story about staying safe online

UK Safer Internet Centre - a range of activities for children and information for parents about online safety

Net Aware (NSPCC) - a website with clear detailed information about platforms available online and apps your child may ask to use.  This website is really useful for parents and carers.

Apps that you could download for your child

Apps that can be downloaded:

  • Scratch Junior
  • CBeebies Storytime
  • Bee-Bot
  • Doodle Buddy
  • Kodable

Physical devices

At school the children will use a range of physical devices within the computing curriculum including Bee-Bots, Pro-Bots, Coda-pillars, cameras and microphones.

Remote control devices - at school the children will use a range of devices to practice controlling and understanding that their actions control the device.  At home children could practice these skills by using a remote control car through an obstacle course, or a remote control helicopter fly - with supervision.  At school the children will also use OSMO games with our iPads.

Cameras - during key stage 1 the children will create their own stop frame animation.  Practicing taking still photographs at home will help them with this.

Clay modelling - this is a strange one to include in computing but it is used during our stop animation topic.  Any practice the children can have at home creating animals, people and things from playdough or plasticine is great.

Keyboard and mouse practice - Many children use tablets to access apps and the internet however it is really important that children learn how to use a mouse and keyboard at a young age.  If you have the ability then give your child the opportunity to use a mouse and keyboard regularly.  Using the mouse to create a picture in Paint and the keyboard to write a sentence about it.  Typing practice is also important.  Being able to type quickly is a very useful life skill.  

Key Stage 2

 Useful Websites

UK Safer Internet Centre - a range of activities for children and information for parents about online safety

Net Aware (NSPCC) - a website with clear detailed information about platforms available online and apps your child may ask to use.  This website is really useful for parents and carers.

Interland - Google created online safety game

Typing Club - practicing on this regularly will improve the speed of your child typing skills.  Your child will need their log in from school to use this.

Apps that you could download for your child:

  • Swift Playground
  • Stop Motion
  • Garage Band
  • SimpleMind+
  • Google Earth

Physical devices

Control devices - at school the children will use a range of devices to practice controlling and understanding that their actions control the device.  At home children could practice these skills by using a remote control car through an obstacle course, a remote control helicopter fly or toy robot.  At school we will use Sphero Bolt's, Lego We Do and Makey Makeys.  At school the children will also use OSMO games with our iPads.

Cameras - during key stage 2 the children will create their own green screen recordings and create a more detailed stop frame animation.  Practicing taking small videos at home will help with this.  Setting a camera up on a tripod and understanding the need to keep the camera still.  There are many green screen apps that can be used to create videos at home.  Please make sure that anything you use is safe for your child and the videos are not uploaded to an online community platform.

Keyboard practice - Many children use tablets to access apps and the internet however it is really important that children learn how to use a computer keyboard correctly.  If you have the ability then give your child the opportunity to use a keyboard regularly.   Typing practice is also important.  Being able to type quickly is a very useful life skill.