http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-08/sor0424-02.htm#Col7863

Did anyone else read the speech by Fiona Hyslop to parliament regarding the new Qualifications that will come in with CfE?

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/news/this-week/speeches/smarter/natqual

Certainly, there is not a huge amount of detail in Fiona Hyslop’s speech but what is there I think is quite reassuring. I certainly agree in principle to the introduction of standard literacy and numeracy tests, though I wait to see how they will be implemented. Again, her words on the qualifications at SCQF levels 4 and 5 are well chosen, and I would welcome a new, simplified course structure that will hopefully take the best bits of Standard Grade and Intermediate qualifications. Again, her reiteration of Higher remaining the “gold standard” and also the importance she places on Advanced Highers is welcome. Lots of people may question the removal of examined courses equivalent to Foundation, but is there really any point to testing pupils of this ability anyway?

Interesting also her comments about allowing pupils to bypass lower-level qualifications where it is clear they could do highers say, at the end of S3. The idea of a winter diet of exams also appeals to me in principle, though it probably has anyone involved in timetabling clutching their chest right now. 18 month higher - great idea, but again what about those who are perfectly capable of sitting it in 12 months? Can you run both options in one school

Anyway, that’s my $0.02 worth for the moment!

Hi Mark,

I saw your letter in The Herald last week and thought I would write a short note of encouragement/support.

I left Dunbar Grammar School in 2001 to study Computer Science at Edinburgh University. My formal Computing education up to that point consisted of studying at Standard Grade for about two weeks, before deciding it was far too dull and defecting to Technological Studies. (A friend of mine from the same year also went on to study CS at Edinburgh. He didn’t even bother trying Standard Grade.)

So I am very familiar with every point you made about the computing curriculum and how badly it represents computer science. I don’t know about the current curriculum but when I took the subject there was no programming and no mathematics in the subject. In maths I had to know how to derive the quadratic formula from first principles; in physics it was velocity, acceleration, current and voltage; and technological studies added the properties of materials, stresses and strain. But in computing? As ever, word processing, databases, and more databases. It was treated as an “easy pass” subject at the time, totally at odds with its higher-education cousin.

I’m glad that you and others are making noise about this. I flirted with the idea of teaching maths when I left university but didn’t even consider teaching computing. How much has the curriculum changed since my day?

If there’s anything you think that a recent graduate with an interest in promoting their chosen subject can do, please let me know! I was fairly keen on the computing aspect of things at school (I designed and administered the school’s first website back then, as well as running a Silver Surfers club in S6) and I’d be happy to get back into the advocacy role! :-)

On a lighter note, I found your blog and noticed you posted about getting an Eee PC. I got one last week and they’re awesome…

Cheers,

D

Thanks D, the encouragement and support is much appreciated.

There’s no word yet on when exactly it’ll be available in the UK, but industry sites and magazines seem to suggest around June - perfect for the summer hols.

Prices are expected to be around the £300 mark, making it around £80-£100 more expensive than present models. However, as well as the larger screen you are also likely to get a larger 12GB SSD and 1GB RAM for your money. Now for the bad (?) bit - Microsoft helped launch the new EeePC as it will come with Windows XP preinstalled, as well as Microsoft Works for office tasks, and Microsoft Live services for the web-end of things. No word on whether you will be able to buy a linux version only (thus saving some money). I suspect not.

I suspect I will be ordering one of these as soon as they come out - unless something even better comes along in this fast-moving area. Better start saving!

 http://eeepc.asus.com/global/news03042008.htm 

If anyone gets a chance to try it out before I do, drop me a line and let me know how it goes.

The PCW article is available here, and google sites is available here.

• Buy a new PC Laptop.
  Pros: I know my way around them, wide variety of choice, will run all the apps I use.
  Cons: Windows Vistargh (does anyone actually like this horrible OS?), cheaper portables seem to break easily.
• Buy an Ibook.
  Pros: It’s an apple. It just works, and doesn’t mean enduring Vistargh. Reliable. Dual boots if I really want it to
  Cons: Spec could be better for price, not as familiar with OSX .
• Buy an Asus EeePC.
  The ‘dark horse’ of my options. I really like the concept of the EeePC. It’s lightweight (tick), runs XP or linux (tick), reasonable specs for mobile computing (tick), costs hee-haw (tick). However, I’ve always been very concerned about the screen size. Storage isn’t a worry - USB pen drives cost so little, and even portable hard drives are a good option now.
  As a result, I’m nipping over to MGS to see Robin Strain today, who’s the proud owner of one of these devices, to have a closer look and work out just how usable it is. I do fear though that Asus have made the perfect mobile computer but just skimped on the screen. If only the rumours about a forthcoming 10″ version were to be confirmed, I think we would have a winner.

Comments and thoughts very welcome! (anyone know a good mobile laptop!)

Happy selling :-)

• compspotting.pdf (with apologies to geography, ollie!)
  
• compspottinga4.pdf
• ipod.pdf
• telephone.pdf
• wii.pdf

“I was very pleased to read your article about “Computing Science Inside” in last week’s TESS.  I am a self-confessed convert of Dr Cutts’ refreshing work.

I did feel however that the article only touched on what is perhaps a real problem facing Computing in Scotland: a lack of understanding of what the subject is actually about.  It’s not just the fact that “…we are becoming a nation of tool users, not tool builders…” but also the case that the two areas – ICT skills and Computer Science – are seen as one and the same by those who are responsible for the curriculum.

For several years now, there has been a great focus on developing ICT use amongst staff and pupils; the so-called “digital literacy” that enables people to communicate and make use of the technology.  Unfortunately, what this has not addressed is a real need to foster “digital creativity,” i.e. the ability to understand and further develop the technology.  This is what really matters to businesses, giving them the ability to develop new IT products and maintain a technological advantage.

This confusion of ‘true’ Computing with ICT skills has led to the typical situation in many schools around the country where Computing is taught in the first and second years as part of a general ICT course. The normal topics are based around application use and the time is shared between two or even more departments.  Some pupils don’t even see a Computing department until Standard Grade!  Ultimately, Computing has lost it’s identity as a distinct – and scientific – subject. 

On this problem though the ball is firmly in our court: Computing teachers must reassert this lost identity, and CPD such as that offered by the “Computing Science Inside” project is a step in the right direction.  What would also be a positive step would be for national subject promotion and development opportunities: several subjects already have this to varying degrees.

If Computing is to develop in schools and the decline in students applying to study at universities is to be reversed, it is vital we promote the difference between IT and Computing.  Senior Management and Local Authorities can help us too: they must take on board this crucial difference and give Computing its’ rightful place in the curriculum.”

It was great to see the Computing Science inside… project get some much deserved publicity in TES this week.  I think the article conveyed the real usefulness of these sessions well.  I’m going to be working on a letter to the TES regarding the situation in Computing (as I see it anyway!)  which I’ll share on here when it’s finished.  Who knows, they might even publish it :-)

Quick reminder too - the next CSI session that Edinburgh Uni are holding is on the 11th December.  Full details are available from me, or by contacting Raymond Simpson (Edinburgh Lead Teacher).  Hope to see some more of you there! Further details are in my previous post if you need them.

As per previous years, the Marking Instructions are also available in the subject areas. This is certainly a development I firmly approve of! (For computing teachers, I’ve put copies of them into the shared drive.)

Enjoy, and happy revising!

I was one of two teachers from East Lothian (the other being Emma Webster from PL) who attended the CS Inside workshop at Edinburgh Uni’s School of Informatics last night.

I’d first learned about CS Inside at the Future of Computing conference in May, and have been keen ever since to try out some of the ideas. Broadly speaking, the CS Inside project is an attempt to convey important Computing Science concepts in fun ways in the classroom. Computers are not required, and pupils learn about the concepts through role-plays and games that link back to the core concept you are teaching.

Our first challenge of the evening was to design and implement a simple communications protocol, Under the auspices of governers in an ancient city sending massages to each other on stone tablets. Of course, only a certain number of words can be etched on a tablet, and the slaves who deliver them can be notoriously unreliable!

In a room of 13 computing teachers no one actually managed to get a message transmitted, which is of course quite concerning! However, good fun and an excellent example of how something relatively dull like communications protocols can be made more interesting with some imagination. What’s more, all of the resources needed, lesson plans, and powerpoints are downloadable from the CS Inside Website. Great for busy teachers!

The second workshop was aiming to demonstrate what algorithms were using the idea of trying to write down instructions for drawing a mystery shape and getting another person to follow them. Unfortunately I was unable to complete this workshop as I had to leave for the long drive home, but again this idea showed great promise and interest.

In short, I’d thoroughly encourage all Computing Teachers to try and get to some of these sessions. The next ones are on the 11th December, 16th January and 21st February at 4:30pm Appleton Tower. Raymond Simpson, Lead Teacher at Edinburgh City Council is co-ordinating them, so you should contact him to ‘book’ your place (free!)