SHREWSBURY’S DIGITAL FUTURE

Over the last year the computing curriculum at Shrewsbury has been changing. Driven by a desire to bring technology directly to class teachers and their students the department has identified three pillars in which they will anchor their objectives.

The first is Computer Science, which is not necessarily revoulutionary but still serves as the basis of of Computing and is an important cornerstone of learning about the digital world.

The second is a the integration of technology into other subject usually not related to computing. An example of this is the SHRed Tech workshops in the Junior School headed by Digital Strategy Lead, James Knight. Every Tuesday and Thursday he introduces different applications to teachers to make them aware of what digital tools are available to enhance the delivery of their lessons.

In one particular example, year one and two teachers had the opportunity to try out ‘Sphero’, an incredible object that can be used in many educational applications – all controlled by an iPad. Sphero can be placed in water, paint, used to measure distances, speeds and much more. This gives it boundless scope in subjects such as maths, art and science as well as free time!

Mr Knight is effusive in his praise for the opportunities provided by Shrewsbury in the realm of computing.

“Students at Shrewsbury can explore, create and are not bound by educational norms. Here we take risks, try new things and extend the possibilities of what it means to learn. Sphero is just one example of the new ways teachers can present knowledge to students”.

The third and final pillar is ‘Digital Literacy and Digital Citizenship’. Basically, this translates to creating an environment where student users are responsible, caring individuals.

“This is no difference to how we are taught to interact with each other away from a computer or tablet screen. Take responsibility for your actions and be safe in the way you communicate with each other. The digital landscape has changed the way we form relationships and communicate so we must evolve too. Being a good digital citizen, is being a good citizen”, Mr Knight explained.

Expect to see many more changes in computing and its wider affect on other school departments.

Did you know? Building on the principles established throughout the curriculum to Key Stage 3, Shrewsbury offers Computer Science as a subject option at both GCSE and A level, where Shrewsbury students have won 4 Top In Thailand awards in the last three years.