Simulation - A Practical Guide to Teaching Computing and ICT in the Secondary School - page 112

1 Affords pupils the opportunity to apply the skills, knowledge and
understanding associated with Computational Thinking in familiar and
sometimes not so familiar contexts.
2 Can be highly motivating if presented and packaged appropriately. Since
Control very often involves easily demonstrable results it can facilitate the
transition from the concrete to the abstract more than other activities.
3 Is all-pervasive. In developed nations everyday life is affected to some degree
by computer Control, from the food we eat to our means of transportation.
4 Has a direct connection to other science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) disciplines.

5 Has a direct connection to the world of commerce and manufacturing.

The CAS group (2012b), in their work on a computer science curriculum for
schools, explicitly recommends the study of how digital computers are used to
control other devices.

Task 6.8

Advantages and limitations of Control
Investigate the advantages, limitations and disadvantages of computer Control.
How would you facilitate this discussion with your pupils?

PROGRAMMING
England is one of the few countries in the world to make Programming a compulsory
part of the curriculum. This represents a great opportunity for those teaching
Computing to promote the true integration of all aspects of this subject (as referred
to in the section on Simulation). By the end of Key Stage Two pupils will be expected
to design and write their own programs. In relationship to programming, the Key
Stage Three Programmes of Study (PoS) states that pupils must be taught to:

• Use two or more programming languages, at least one of which is textual, to
solve a variety of computational problems; design and develop modular
programs that use procedures or functions.
• Understand simple Boolean logic and some of its uses in circuits and
programming.

The Key Stage Four PoS are less prescriptive. Making programming available to
all pupils in schools is not a new idea. Seymour Papert, originally a Professor of
Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), developed (with
others) an educational programming language in 1967, called Logo, expressly to
teach programming concepts associated with a higher-level language called Lisp.
His work with Jean Piaget had convinced him that it was possible to create a
programming environment founded on constructivist learning principles. What
emerged was a tool that, with the advent of cheap personal computing, was a
transformative learning technology. Papert's revolutionary use of a turtle avatar,
which pupils could 'control' figuratively, made the principles of programming
more accessible to all. Logo is still used today, but there are many new interactive
and multimedia programs, such as Scratch, which employ a graphical interface
that makes them equally, and perhaps more, accessible.