Teaching Computing Systems and Networks to 5- to 11-year-olds
CO042 Online course
Improve your subject knowledge and develop your teaching to help young children understand the computing systems and networks around them.
Skip to course bookingHelp young children understand the Computing Systems and Networks around them
Whether stand-alone, connected in a local network or plugged into the internet, computers are central to many everyday tasks and routines. It’s important for young people to develop their knowledge of how these devices work, so that they can appreciate the impacts that computers and networks have on the world around them. On this three-week course you’ll explore how you can build up young learners’ knowledge in an age-appropriate manner. You’ll start by thinking about how you can to help your learners recognise information technology - and how computers process an input to give an output.
Networking
In the second week of the course, you’ll learn about the key pieces of technology that allow us to connect computers into networks, and the advantages that networks can bring. You’ll also consider how you can make the concept of a computer network relatable to young children.
The internet, the web, and networked services
By the end of week two, you’ll be able to explain why the internet and the world wide web are not the same thing - as well as identifying a range of services that run over the internet. This will provide you with a solid basis for the third week, in which you’ll investigate computer systems consisting of multiple devices working together.
Safety and digital citizenship
Young people also need to understand how to act on the internet - both for their own safety and to contribute to a pleasant online environment. You’ll think about the skills and attitudes that young people need, and how you can help them develop these not only while teaching about computer networks, but also more generally across the curriculum.
Outcomes
- Explain the Input-process-output (IPO) model of computing systems
- Evaluate the impacts of computing systems and networks on everyday life
- Model a computer network with your class
- Summarise several ways in which people can communicate and collaborate over the internet
- Lead your pupils through the working of big IT systems that span multiple networks
- Demonstrate the skills and attitude needed to be a good digital citizen
This course is part of the Teach primary computing
Teach primary computing
Our nationally recognised qualification will support you to demonstrate your commitment to developing your own practice and to computing as a school subject.
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