In the final weeks of this term, our Computer Science and English Departments have undertaken a collaborative project with Year 7 students, to interlace the skills needed for creative writing and the development of coding skills. The results so far have been very impressive! Students have demonstrated how effective this approach can be both in terms of academic progress and in encouraging students to contextualize their learning and make better sense of why they learn what they learn.
The initial phase of this project has seen students re-imagining everyday objects as if they were computerized. This has produced a plethora of artefacts from the mad-cap to entrepreneurial, as students express their creativity.
I have seen a digital hairbrush which can straighten hair and remove static, computerized gloves which can act as a jetpack, a book which can turn to the page you request (by voice) and a TV remote which can read your mind and turn over (or off!) for you! For a taste, see the selection of pictures, below.
As an additional benefit, the students are submitting their ideas to Nord Anglia’s Global Campus to help them earn “creativity badges”. Most importantly however, they are opening their minds to the relevance of coding and the endless possibilities presented by Computer Science, whilst considering what makes a good story and expressing these ideas with the power of English Language.
In the next phase, Year 7 students will use and develop their English Language skills further by writing a short educational story to teach their peers how to learn a skill or develop knowledge, with support from our wonderful English teachers and Computer Science. I can’t wait to see the results!!
Parents can look at thier children's work HERE
Robert Shepley
Teacher of Computer Science