Developing your capability to teach Computing - A Practical Guide to Teaching Computing and ICT in the Secondary School - page 7

beyond what they have already been taught in school. If you are unfamiliar with a
particular piece of software don't be afraid to use such pupils in your lessons,
encouraging them to share what they know with both you and the rest of the class.
This can be a great learning opportunity, providing it is approached suitably. You
will need to structure the learning activities to ensure appropriate issues are
covered. It is helpful if you can talk to the pupil prior to the lesson about this sort
of activity. The issue of finding the time to do this developmental work can be a
difficult one depending on your circumstances. The importance of good time
management cannot be overestimated. There are many tutorials and learning
resources available on the Internet, some of which are excellent. Joining an online
support community for teachers can help point you in the right direction. Accessing
particular pieces of software that are used in school can also be a challenge as they
can be expensive. There is a flourishing open-source community devoted to
developing software for education and a wide range of other purposes; for example,
Open Source Schools offer valuable advice on making the most of what is available
for free. Depending on their software-licensing arrangements, schools may be able
to install certain software on your mobile device for the duration of your placement
with them. Likewise, your training provider may have certain software available
for you to use in schools during your training, again subject to licensing. If this is
not possible, and you decide you need to buy some software, then make sure you
search for discounted promotions aimed at students, as the savings can be
considerable.
EPICT (2010), the European Pedagogical ICT Licence, is a framework and
qualification designed to provide in-service training to a recognised quality
standard for teachers using ICT in education. Their condensed syllabus can be
downloaded from their website ( http://www.epict.org/iles/EPICTsyllabus.pdf) .
Although this tool is not aimed primarily at Computing subject specialists, it covers
a range of pedagogically related ICT/Computing topics that, as a teacher in training,
you might find interesting to consider in terms of your subject knowledge
development. It recognises that teaching and learning in ICT/Computing requires
a range of competences, and uses a number of tools and techniques. It is potentially
useful because by taking a pedagogical approach to the subject it will help you to
consider issues related to the pupils and their learning that you may not yet have
encountered.
In the summer of 2014 the Accredited Skills For Industry (ASFI) examination
board launched the first Ofqual accredited 'Computing for Teachers' qualification
aimed at existing ICT teachers and new student teachers. This qualification is
designed to support colleagues in learning to teach Computing effectively. It has a
strong focus on developing Computing pedagogical content knowledge alongside
Computing subject knowledge. Details of the qualification can be found on their
website ( http://www.asi.org.uk ).
The Computing at School (CAS) organisation offers a national 'master teacher'
training programme to cascade best practice as part of its Network of Teaching
Excellence in Computer Science. This community of practice supports colleagues
in developing their ability to teach Computer Science, with input from universities,
lead schools and the British Computer Society. It's free to join CAS and they also
run a series of local, regional and national conferences. More details can be found
at the Computing at Schools website ( http://www.computingatschool.org.uk/ ).
Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are widely used in schools. Many web-
hosting companies now offer 'one-click installations' of software, such as Moodle,
which removes a number of technical barriers to getting your own VLE installation
up and running, so you can practise using it for developing teaching resources.