Category

ICT

E-Safety Information – Disney+

6th December 2023L Forster

More than 150 million subscribers worldwide Disney+ has enjoyed a steady rise in popularity since launching four years ago: the platform’s deep library of treasured old-school animated favourites, modern classics and original series means that it can offer a rich seam of engrossing content that caters for young and not-so-young users alike

Of course, a consequence of this approach is the presence of the sort of age-inappropriate material one might not expect to find on the platform, given Disney’s fabled status as a purveyor of family entertainment. There’s useful advice in avoiding this pitfall (and more besides) in this week’s #WakeUpWednesday guide, as Disney+ comes under the microscope.

In 2019, media titan Disney launched its own streaming platform, intending to challenge the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime. Giving (often exclusive) access to shows and movies – such as the legendary studio’s animated classics and the revered Star Wars back catalogue – Disney+ has been a colossal success, proving popular with viewers of all ages.

Despite Disney’s reputation for wholesome, child-friendly content, however, there’s far more material available on their platform – some of which is aimed exclusively at adults. This could easily fly under the radar, given the company’s general image. Our #WakeUpWednesday guide has useful tips to help your family sit back, relax and enjoy what Disney+ has to offer.

http://nationalcollege.com/

Ian from Venture Stream

30th November 2023L Forster

To link with our website creation unit, Ian Ferguson, a SEO from Venture Stream, came into to teach the children in year 6 about why and how websites are made in the real world.

He explained the different roles of website creation and how to increase traffic to their websites – including use of social media, paid advertisements and email marketing. He had the children plan different ways in which they could promote their website and get more people to visit it.

To end he demonstrated the use of A.I. (artificial intelligence) to help create content from text to images. The children were taught to use A.I. to inspire writing and not just copy it. They took several ideas from the children to make a brand new image using A.I.

E-Safety Information – Online Safety Act

29th November 2023L Forster

Protecting children Blocking illegal material Removing harmful content on major platforms Those are the three main goals of the Online Safety Act, which entered UK law in October. While demanding more accountability from social media companies in particular, the act revises – rather than replaces – the current digital safeguarding duties placed on schools.

With changes including the creation of new criminal offences and greater options when raising an issue with a platform, there’s plenty for educators to take on board. Our #WakeUpWednesday guide this week provides a bite-size introduction to the Online Safety Act – and highlights some of the key points that schools need to be familiar with in the short term.

After a lengthy gestation period, the UK Government’s wide-ranging changes to the legislation around digital safeguarding have become enshrined in law as the Online Safety Act. The first of its kind in Britain, the act aims to improve protection for children online and clamp down on illegal material. Regulated by Ofcom, it will primarily impact social media platforms and companies which host user-generated content.

The new legislation, however, also carries implications for schools and their staff. Although further developments are expected, our #WakeUpWednesday guide summarises the main points of the act that schools need to be aware of so far – outlining some specific areas that the new laws address and what effect, in practical terms, this will have on education providers.

https://nationalcollege.com/

Electricity in Year 4

17th November 2023Rachel Wright

Our first science topic in year 4 was all about electricity. We found out that electricity is a naturally occurring phenomenon but it can also be generated. It is the flow of tiny particles called electrons. Electricity can only flow when given a push from a power supply like a cell or a battery. We also know how to keep ourselves safe around electricity.

We learned how to draw symbols for the different components such as a cell, a bulb, a motor and a buzzer. We used these symbols to make circuit diagrams. Then we made a circuit with a bulb. We even looked at what would happen if we added more than one bulb to a circuit. We also conducted our own investigation about changing the number or types of components in a circuit.

We also investigated whether different materials were conductors or insulators. We did this by putting different objects into a circuit to see if a bulb would light. We’re going to use our science knowledge to make our own electrical greetings card.

Science & DT Afternoon at Harton Academy

17th November 2023A Dawson

On Wednesday afternoon, Y6D had the opportunity to go to Harton Academy to take part in some STEM activities. In Design & Technology, we used a CAD (computer aided design) program to create Christmas tree ornaments made from acrylic. In science, we looked at electricity and then made Christmas card with a light (LED) and a circuit. The children had a fun afternoon. Many thanks to Ms Parkin and the Harton staff for having us.

Year 2 – Let’s make a wrap!

20th October 2023H Langley

As part of our DT topic, Year 2 were asked to create a healthy option to be added to the lunch menu. We had to make sure we included the different food groups from ‘The Eat Well Plate’ and followed our design to safely and hygienically prepare a simple dish without heat.

Asda community Champions came in to help us make our wraps and make sure we followed our design briefs.

E-Safety Information – Among Us

4th October 2023L Forster

Among Us: fairly safe, or pretty sus? This scenario of spaceship crew members cooperating to complete tasks and uncover murderous alien imposters has garnered a sizeable and committed following with younger gamers

Though Among Us is presented in a (mainly) sanitised visual style, any children’s game which essentially foregrounds the concepts of deceit, betrayal and killing is always likely to cause some concerns. This week’s #WakeUpWednesday guide gets among it with Among Us.

Created in 2018 by a small indie studio that (at the time) had only four employees, Among Us has become one of the gaming world’s biggest breakout hits of recent years. In 2020, for example, it was the world’s most-downloaded mobile game. Its simplicity helped Among Us to resonate with younger players in particular: the game’s second largest audience slice is the 13–18 age bracket.

While the 7+ age rating, emphasis on teamwork and cartoonish, colourful graphics all suit a young fan-base, however, the game does carry more serious risks than betrayal by a team-mate or an untimely on-screen demise – with in-game purchases and possible contact from strangers on our #WakeUpWednesday guide’s list of hazards that trusted adults should bear in mind.

https://nationalcollege.com/

Benefits of IT

2nd October 2023L Forster

The children in Year 2 have been looking at IT (Information Technology – computers or things that work with computers) in our everyday lives.

Scanner finding the items and telling the item finder.
Item finder searching for the prices of each item and adding them together to make the receipt.

This week they were looking at barcode readers in supermarkets. In a role-playing activity, one child took items with barcodes to a table with 2 people on it – who took the role of a scanner and till. The scanner had to find the correct item to the bar code, and then tell the item finder which items there were scanning. The item finder had to then find the price of each item and add them to make a receipt.

At the end of the lesson, the children found that adding up without IT was slower and could make easy mistakes.

Exploring the internet in Year 4

29th September 2023Rachel Wright

Our first computing topic is all about the internet. We explored how a network can share messages with another network to form the internet. We have also explored what can be shared on the World Wide Web, where websites are stored and how the World Wide Web can be accessed on a variety of devices.

Transferring data packets – Year 6 Computing

21st September 2023L Forster

The children learned that information being sent across a network is sent in data packets. This was modelled by having the children write messages using slips of paper. They were then arranged within the classroom as either an IP address or routers. The messages were sent from one IP address to another over a network of routers.