Year 11 have been producing some fantastic work as we prepare for our GCSE Entry Level ICT exams. A large focus for this learning is to understand the hardware as well as software that we use. Plus the students have been looking at the role of health and safety when working in the ICT suite.
Some recent work has looked at interfaces. We used the example of smart phones to see how different types of models might appeal to different groups. Year 11 have identified which type of phone might be suitable for a teenager, a business person or an elderly person.
The pupils have used the Lansdowne School iPads to produce a piece of animation showing how we can stay safe in the ICT suite. Basic concepts such as posture and taking a break from a screen have been highlighted.
The GCSE Entry Level for ICT also has considerable focus on how we can use technology to communicate. Year 11 have been looking recently at the role of email. The pupils have been identifying if a service is web based, or if the email account is linked to a company server.
We have observed the route that data might take when travelling from one server to another. A key part of this learning was the idea of security. Year 11 identified that email isn’t 100% secure. Hackers or even government agencies could possibly access our messages.
This work has taken on a very practical approach. All of the Year 11 students have set up their own web based email account in the school ICT suite. We held a class discussion about what might be an appropriate username, as well as the importance of protecting our passwords.
We encouraged the students to work independently, although adult hep was available to help us remain safe online. The pupils then completed a worksheet explaining the advantages of using email and some of the features that we can use.