Note: Children working significantly above or below age-related expectations will need differentiated support, which may include tracking forward or back in terms of learning objectives. EAL learners should be expected to work within the overall expectations for their year group. For further advice see the progression strands and hyperlinks to useful sources of practical support.

ICT lesson

Teaching content:

Develop, through reading of on-screen instructions and experimentation with a piece of software, self-sufficiency in the acquisition of ICT technical competence.

Introduction

Discuss the ways in which people get assistance with ICT: exploration; face-to-face help reading the help files; calling a helpline; reading the manual.

Development activity

Split the class in two and give each half an unseen ICT application to explore, without providing any briefing about what the software does or how it works. The challenge is for children to work this out for themselves, by navigating through the application and finding solutions to problems. Allow children to use the software's built-in help files but avoid explicitly directing them to do so.

'Hot Potatoes' is suitable for this task. It is free of charge for educational use and available for PC and Macintosh. It comprises a number of components including JCross, a crossword compiler, and JQuiz, a multiple-choice quiz compiler. It can be downloaded from http://hotpot.uvic.ca/.

Plenary

Reflect on the process of learning to use ICT. Compare exploration with using video games. Compare the relative merits of reading the help file and exploration and how individuals' preferences may vary. Comment on the types of talk observed and levels of engagement through the task.