News & Updates
Hello and welcome to week 7 of our home teaching programme! This week is a re-boot of sorts because we run our schemes of work in six week blocks.
08 JUNE 2020
In the next article in our series about gender balance in computing, Katharine Childs explores the use of computing for social good to solve real-world problems.
03 JUNE 2020
Hello! We're back for another action-packed week of home teaching lessons to support you and your students.
01 JUNE 2020
Hello and welcome! We're up early and ready for week 5 of our Home teaching programme.
25 MAY 2020
We are providing specific support for trainee teachers to help you develop your subject knowledge, subject specific pedagogy, general teaching pedagogical skill.
18 MAY 2020
Our latest lessons and activities for students of all ages: dungeon design, cybercriminals, and building blocks!
18 MAY 2020
Tests, hosted by Eedi, make it easy for you to set quizzes for your students to complete at home.
14 MAY 2020
Find out what's new in our latest round of lessons and activities for students of all ages...
11 MAY 2020
This month's episode focuses on Peer Instruction, a classroom practice we recently covered in a Pedagogy Quick Read.
07 MAY 2020
A school where computing is very popular amongst students has quickly adapted to online teaching - and students have shown they know how to use the mute button!
07 MAY 2020
Katharine Childs shares a student-centred approach to using role models to help girls feel that computing is a subject where they belong. Gender Balance in Computing [https://teachcomputing.org/gender-balance] is a four-year programme of research to explore ways to increase girls’ participation in computing. During the period of school closures, we have paused all of our communications and fieldwork with participating schools, and will instead focus on sharing the latest thinking on gender bala
06 MAY 2020
While curricula have shifted in favour of computer science over the last decade, the subject's success lies in the hands of those teaching it. Educators will soon be able to take part in an action research-focused course, aimed at supporting continuous improvement in the classroom.
05 MAY 2020
Hello! We hope you enjoyed your first week on our new Home teaching programme. Lots of parents and teachers have contacted us with pictures of the fantastic projects they’ve been making with their young people. Here's a nice one from Dan Smith and his five year old. > Thanks @WeAreComputing [https://twitter.com/WeAreComputing?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw] for the KS1 Algorithms task. My 5 year old loved it! 🧐 pic.twitter.com/vVKrMpOhnH [https://t.co/vVKrMpOhnH] — Dan Smith (@MrDWSmith) April 2
04 MAY 2020
The National Centre for Computing Education is to welcome many more teachers to its flagship Computer Science Accelerator Programme, increasing the number of teachers able to deliver GCSE computer science. The CPD programme supports teachers to build their subject knowledge.
30 APRIL 2020
Current circumstance has had a profound impact on the way that education is delivered to students around the world. This quick read introduces some terms, frameworks, and barriers related to distance learning, and aims to support educators as they transition to online teaching.
28 APRIL 2020
Craig‘n’ Dave’s videos for students and teachers of computer science have come into their own in this new era of home teaching.
27 APRIL 2020
We are delighted to announce our decision to widen the eligibility for our flagship training programme, increasing the number of teachers able to deliver GCSE computer science.
22 APRIL 2020
The Isaac Computer Science team has been working hard to make sure that you have everything that you need to teach or learn A level Computer Science from home.
21 APRIL 2020
Schools and colleges have been swinging into action to produce face shields and other PPE for the NHS and social care sector using their 3D printers and laser cutters.
15 APRIL 2020
To help support teachers, parents and students we’ve brought together a range of resources and websites that can be used to continue educating and supporting young people whilst they are at home.
09 APRIL 2020
In response to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, we have been working hard to develop and roll out a range of online materials to support teachers, schools and families.
08 APRIL 2020
Given current events we wanted to hear from a group of educators about their experiences of shifting learning online at short notice. The challenges and opportunities they have encountered as well as their recommendations of tools, approaches and content.
02 APRIL 2020
During this time of uncertainty, we are working hard to develop and share a range of online materials to support you. Find out more about what is available.
25 MARCH 2020
Following our recent quick read on the same subject, I spoke to Rebecca Franks from the Raspberry Pi Foundation about the benefits of Live Coding in computing education.
19 MARCH 2020
Concept maps could be presented to learners to convey connections between concepts or created/completed by learners themselves. They can even be used to capture and assess pupil understanding.
17 MARCH 2020
Meet our careers week champion, Sam Parker, a Technology Degree Apprentice at PwC, who studies Computer Science (Digital & Technological Solutions) at the University of Leeds.
27 FEBRUARY 2020
We chat to Swetha Sethu-Jones, Senior UX Researcher at Just Eat, about her career path, from choosing her university degree to her current role.
27 FEBRUARY 2020
Risa Ueno, PhD student at British Antarctic Survey, explains how her research has steered her career and understanding of climate change.
27 FEBRUARY 2020
Marcus Tyyger, Radiotherapy Research Physicist, explains how his interest in computing has led him into a healthcare role with a real impact on cancer patients.
27 FEBRUARY 2020
As part of our National Careers Week campaign, we shine the spotlight on Beth Holmes, Knowledge Engineer, Alexa at Amazon.
27 FEBRUARY 2020
We talk to Mark Bardsley, Transformation Programme IT Executive at Manchester Airport Group, about his career path in IT, from academia to a typical day in his current role.
27 FEBRUARY 2020
A progression framework is the backbone of any subject curriculum. From our research, we have found that there are two quite different ways of presenting progression that show what should be taught and when it should be taught, as well as information on how or why concepts should be taught.
25 FEBRUARY 2020
This week saw the launch of two Year 7 programming units for the NCCE Resource Repository. We’re very excited that they will be the first of many programming units to appear on the Resource Repository, and want to explain the thinking behind these units.
25 FEBRUARY 2020
Almost a year ago, we began the task of deciding what the ‘best’ approach would be to covering the entire content of the KS1 and 2 Computing National Curriculum. We had the national curriculum, but what it doesn’t show is how to get learners from their starting point, to the predefined end points.
25 FEBRUARY 2020
Just over 15 months ago, we were in the process of planning for the delivery of the NCCE. We began to think about the significant challenge we’d face in organising and talking about our subject. We reviewed many of these and eventually decided upon three principles for our organisational structure.
25 FEBRUARY 2020
In this month's episode, we hear from members of the Raspberry Pi Foundation Educator Support team about how they are approaching progression throughout the NCCE Resource Repository resources.
18 FEBRUARY 2020
Throughout computing, and in particular programming, there are many technical terms with precise technical meanings. This can frame expert knowledge as inaccessible to novice learners. Using semantic waves is one way to support novice learners in computing.
13 FEBRUARY 2020
The National Centre for Computing Education has announced a further four schools/colleges that have been successful in their application to become Computing Hubs.
13 FEBRUARY 2020
An exciting announcement today: as part of our ongoing work and support for the National Centre for Computing Education, we have launched a new rewards programme that will see us give away 4,000 Raspberry Pi 4 kits over the next three years!
05 FEBRUARY 2020
With technology changing the way we live, learn and work, our chair Simon Peyton Jones spoke at Bett about the need for a different approach to the teaching of computing in the classroom.
29 JANUARY 2020
In this month's Teach Computing Podcast, we explore some practical strategies that not only support SEND students but improve accessibility for all learners.
23 JANUARY 2020
We've released a new way to measure your students' understanding of the A level syllabus on the Isaac Computer Science platform. It's called the Class Progress Tool.
21 JANUARY 2020
Are you attending this year's Bett Show (22-25 January)? Come and find out about the programmes and resources we offer first hand.
17 JANUARY 2020
A learner's first experience of a solution to a programming problem may in fact be the final program, polished, complete and error free. Live Coding is one approach to exposing learners to the full process of programming.
14 JANUARY 2020
We are committed to helping A level teachers and students get the most out of Computer Science. That’s why we have just released 10 new topics — 27 in total — on our platform.
08 JANUARY 2020
Like many other teachers, I regularly used multiple choice questions in quizzes and tests, and viewed them primarily as a means of assessment. Peer Instruction turns this view on its head and instead uses multiple choice questions for teaching.
19 DECEMBER 2019
In this month's Teach Computing podcast we focus on the challenges facing Computing educators and some of the ways in which teachers can get support.
17 DECEMBER 2019
Hello! This is a quick post to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who helped Isaac Computer Science to have such an amazing first year. You are all awesome, and we are excited to be working with you to develop this programme further.
16 DECEMBER 2019
Exploring Computer Science (ECS) has worked across the United States to increase opportunities for pupils from under-represented groups to access a Computer Science (CS) curriculum. How does it compare to the Computing national curriculum in England?
03 DECEMBER 2019
Ben Hall explores a short paper on 'Improving Scratch Programming with CRC-card design' presented at the 14th Workshop in Primary and Secondary Education (WiPSCE).
03 DECEMBER 2019