Back to school teach PPA cover this week after a nice Christmas break. Just before breaking up for Christmas I was teaching iProgram which involves learning and creating using algorithms. We were creating special Christmas backgrounds and digital snow globes. For this to work we had to program a character to move to a random location on the iPad screen then leave a snowflake or a white dot (on a black background) and repeat this for 50 times. This code would only work if the iPad was shaken, the iPad could be shaken more times for another 50 snowflakes.
This half-term however we are moving onwards and upwards in iDesign PPA cover which is very creative and in Level 1 we learn about E-Safety. This refers to being safe while on the internet, gaming whether online or offline, general use of devices, cyber bullying, age restricts and much more. This topic can have quite a lot of information and therefore the activity that the students do on the iPads are more creative to keep the interest. They make things like posters and logos. The children are aiming them towards the other children in the school telling informing them to be safe on the internet.
If Level 1 of iDesign is something that that class did the previous year then they move onto Level 2 which is all about photography. The activities include students finding particular objects around the classroom or going outside and taking photos of scenery. They then edit the photos and use them for posters, logos, comics and more. The higher Levels involve creating magazines, designing for websites and games.
The first week of this new PPA cover has been a successful start. The difference between iProgram & iDesign can a big change since one is more about focusing on writing algorithms and solving problems, and this one is more creative allowing the children to be a more free with what they create within the guidelines set by me. We’ve had some creative photos and designs being created by children of all ages.
-Luke Harrison