ICT and Digital Media
In the ICT & Digital Media department, our curriculum is built on 3 pillars:
1. That knowledge is important to all thinking in ICT & Digital Media.
2. That we understand new things in relation to what we already know.
3. That retrieving knowledge helps us to remember it for longer.
Aims
At Ash Hill Academy we believe that our students should have the opportunity to follow an IT and Computing curriculum that prepares them for life.
Good quality IT skills enable student to engage positively within the modern work place, while Computer Science skills enables students to take an active part in the design, development and creation of new technologies to be used in the world in which they live.
The core to the subject is the understanding of how technology works, can be developed and utilised, and we draw and extend understanding from a range of other subjects outside of IT and Computing including DT, Graphics, Maths, Science and PHSE and embed clear and high quality literacy and numeracy skills through software development, problem solving and evaluation skills.
We provide a broad range of skills and experiences at KS3 which are then further developed as students enter KS4.
At KS4 students all students are given the opportunity to study Creative I media giving them a wide range of IT skills that are used in the modern world including creating interactive multimedia products, creating a digital sound sequence and creating digital graphics.
Computer Science and IT will give our students the opportunity to:
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding and application of the key concepts and principles of Computer ScienceUnderstand and fundamental principles and concepts of Computer Science
- Be able to apply key algorithms and data representation and mathematical skills through practical and theoretical work.
- Understand the key components that make up digital systems and how they communicate
- Understand the impacts of digital technology to the individual, wider society, the ethical change s and cultural impacts as well as the positive and negative impacts digital technology has had on the environment
- To equip learners with a range of creative media skills and provide opportunities to develop, in context, desirable, transferable skills in areas such as research, planning and evaluation
- Analyse problems in computational terms
- To make reasoned judgements
- To design, program, evaluate and refine solutions.
- Plan and develop software using the software design life cycle
- Use a range of software design techniques such as flowcharts, pseudocode and visualisation diagrams
- Develop key problem solving skills of Abstraction, Decomposition and Algorithmic thinking
- Develop key skills and practical experience in script-based programming languages and be able to design, write and debug programs to solve non simplistic problems
- To be able to think creatively, innovatively, analytically, logically and critically when solving problems
- Be able to make informed decisions on appropriate and efficient coding techniques such as sequence, selection, iteration and the use of functions
- To be able to design, program, evaluate and refine solutions to problems
Key Staff
- Teacher of ICT & Digital Media – Mr V Marklew (Associate Assistant Principal)
- ICT Technician - Mr G Waddington
Benefits
Within ICT lessons students learn to use a wide range of ICT including:
- Word Processing
- Databases
- Spread sheets
- Desktop Publishing
- Multimedia Presentation
- Use of Digital equipment to manipulate imagery and recordings.
- Control software for instruction and purpose
- Simulations to explore real and imaginary situations
- Website publishing software
ICT forms an integral part of our daily lives, in the same way that radio and television started to in the 20th Century. This is amply illustrated by the use of mobile communications, games consoles, digital cameras and other technologies in the home, school, workplace and community.
ICT/ Computers
Programme of study
Year 7 | HT1 | HT2 | HT3 | HT4 | HT5 | HT6 |
E-Safety | Integrated project | Computing | Computing | Introduction Programming | Introduction Programming | |
Knowledge | e-Safety ICT Project - Word processing, spreadsheets, presentations | ICT Project - Word processing, spreadsheets, presentations Computational Thinking | Computational Thinking History of Computing | Computing Number Systems Micro:bit - text based programming | Micro:bit - text based programming Small Basic - text based programming | Small Basic - text based programming |
Year 8 | HT1 | HT2 | HT3 | HT4 | HT5 | HT6 |
e-Safety | Programming | Computing theory | Computing theory | Computing theory | Web design | |
Knowledge | Programming - either Python or Visual Basic | Python or Visual Basic | Hardware, number systems | Binary logic, types of software, storage devices | Networks | HTML/CSS |
Year 9 | HT1 | HT2 | HT3 | HT4 | HT5 | HT6 |
Programming Concepts | Programming Concepts | Programming Concepts | Programming Concepts | Programming Concepts | Programming Project | |
Knowledge | Algorithms Programming Techniques | Algorithms Translators & Facilities of Languages. Computational Logic, Data Representation. | Data Representation
| Producing Robust Programs & Algorithms | Algorithms & Programming Techniques | Systems Architecture Memory Storage |
Skills/ Assessment Framework | ||||
Descriptors | ||||
Excel | Exceed | Achieve | Develop | Emerge |
· Create a program that uses sequencing, selection and iteration · Design an algorithm to solve a problem that makes use of Subroutines · Create modular programs that use procedures or function | Iteration Identify errors in a program that uses iteration
· Read an algorithm and identify the output of an algorithm that uses iteration. · Create a program that uses sequencing and iteration. · Create a program that uses sequencing, selection and iteration. · Identify patterns in a problem and improve efficiency by using iteration · Design an accurate and detailed pseudocode for a given problem. · Perform denary to hex conversion for numbers up to 255. · Combining computational thinking techniques of decomposition, pattern recognition and abstraction to solve a task. | Selection Identify errors in a program that uses selection
· Read an algorithm and identify the output of an algorithm that uses selection. · Create a program that uses sequencing and selection. · Set appropriate data types within a program. · Design a basic pseudocode for a given problem (sequence of steps). · Perform binary to hex conversions for numbers up to 255. · Perform binary addition for 8 bit binary numbers. · Abstract key components to solve a problem. | Sequence Identify errors in a program that uses sequencing
· Read an algorithm and identify the output of an algorithm that uses sequencing. · Create a program that uses sequencing. · Create a program that makes use of variables. · Justify why a certain data type should be used. · Design a basic flowchart for a given problem. · Identify patterns in a problem. · Perform binary to denary conversion for numbers between 0-255. · Identify patterns in data. | · Sequence · Identify errors in a program that uses sequencing. · Read an algorithm and identify the output of an algorithm that uses sequencing. · Create a program that uses sequencing. · Create a program that makes use of variables. · Justify why a certain data type should be used. · Design a basic flowchart for a given problem. · Identify patterns in a problem. · Perform binary to denary conversion for numbers between 0-255. · Identify patterns in data. |
Exam Boards & Qualification
OCR - OCR Level 1/2 Cambridge National Certificate in I Media
OCR – Computer Science GCSE
(https://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/gcse/computer-science-j276-from-2016/)
The Cambridge National in Creative I Media qualification equips students with the wide range of knowledge and skills needed to work in the creative digital media sector. Students will start at pre-production and develop their skills through practical assignments as they create their final multimedia products.
This qualification will assess student’s creative media skills through practical use. It will provide students with essential knowledge, transferable skills and tools to improve learning in other subjects with the aims of enhancing your employability when you leave education, contributing to your personal development and future economic well-being. This qualification will encourage independence, creativity and awareness of the digital media sector.
Course Content:
The units that students will cover in the OCR I Media course are:
R081
Students are introduced to a range of essential pre-production techniques used in the creative and digital media, including client brief, time frames, deadlines and preparation techniques
R082
Building on the skills and understanding that they have developed in the previous unit, students explore where and why digital graphics are used and the techniques that are involved in their creation. They apply their skills and knowledge in creating digital graphics against a specific brief.
R087
Students develop their knowledge and understanding of about where and why different interactive multimedia products are used and what features are needed for a given purpose. They learn how to interpret a client brief, and how to use time frames, deadlines and preparation techniques as part of the planning and creation process.
R088
Students discover where digital sound sequences are used in the media industry and how these technologies are developed to reach an identified target audience as they plan, create and edit a digital sound sequence and review it against a specific brief.
Websites:
OCR I Media Syllabus
https://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/cambridge-nationals/creative-imedia-level-1-2-award-certificate-j807-j817/