Welcome to the spring 2017 newsletter

This newsletter contains details of changes that have been made to the Computing Homework site over the past term.

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BBC Micro:bit

We have released a second batch of four exercises for the BBC Micro:bit.

Like the first batch, these exercises for the BBC Micro:bit are set within the context of a children's novel: The BBC Micro:bit and The Moon Dust Aliens. This group of exercises are linked to the first three chapters from this novel.

A revised prologue and these first three chapters are now also available on the site.

The new exercises are designed to show students how the Micro:bit can be used to develop a buggy race for two players. These new exercises are listed below:

BBC Micro:bit exercises

	Exercise Topic	Exercise Title
1	BBC Microbit	Microbit 5 - Buggy Race 1
2	BBC Microbit	Microbit 6 - Buggy Race 2
3	BBC Microbit	Microbit 7 - Buggy Race 3
4	BBC Microbit	Microbit 8 - Buggy Race 4

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Binary Addition

We have added two new exercises to the Bits and Bytes section of the site.

The new exercises cover simple binary addtion and overflow. These new exercises are listed below:

Bits and Bytes exercises

	Exercise Topic	Exercise Title
1	Bits and Bytes	Binary Addition 1
2	Bits and Bytes	Binary Addition 2

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Levels and Grading - Part 1

We have now completed our review of levels, grading and descriptors on the site.

From this exercise, it is clear that schools are using a range of approaches in their use of levels, grades and descriptors. This is, of course, as it should be given that schools have been encouraged to develop their own thinking on levels and assessment.

A number of schools are using the headings from the CAS Computing Progression Pathways document to organise their recording and assessment procedures:

Algorithms, Programming & Development, Data and Data Representation, Hardware & Processing, Communication & Networks and Information Technology.

We have also noted other organisational approaches which include, for example,

Modelling, Analysis, ICT, Computer Science, Digital Literacy, etc.

To help cater for this wide range of organisational labels, we are proposing to use twelve headings to categorise the site's exercises. These headings are closely tied to the key ideas in the nine paragraphs of the National Curriculum. These key ideas are highlighted in the table below:

Key stage 3

	Pupils should be taught to:
1	design, use and evaluate computational abstractions that model the state and behaviour of real-world problems and physical systems
2	understand several key algorithms that reflect computational thinking [for example, ones for sorting and searching]; use logical reasoning to compare the utility of alternative algorithms for the same problem
3	use two or more programming languages, at least one of which is textual, to solve a variety of computational problems; make appropriate use of data structures [for example, lists, tables or arrays]; design and develop modular programs that use procedures or functions
4	understand simple Boolean logic [for example, AND, OR and NOT] and some of its uses in circuits and programming; understand how numbers can be represented in binary, and be able to carry out simple operations on binary numbers [for example, binary addition, and conversion between binary and decimal]
5	understand the hardware and software components that make up computer systems, and how they communicate with one another and with other systems
6	understand how instructions are stored and executed within a computer system; understand how data of various types (including text, sounds and pictures) can be represented and manipulated digitally, in the form of binary digits
7	undertake creative projects that involve selecting, using, and combining multiple applications, preferably across a range of devices, to achieve challenging goals, including collecting and analysing data and meeting the needs of known users
8	create, re-use, revise and re-purpose digital artefacts for a given audience, with attention to trustworthiness, design and usability
9	understand a range of ways to use technology safely, respectfully, responsibly and securely, including protecting their online identity and privacy; recognise inappropriate content, contact and conduct and know how to report concerns.

From the table above, we have derived the following headings to categorise the site's exercises:

Categories for the site's exercises

	Category	Abbreviation
1	Modelling	Modl
2	Evaluation	Eval
3	Algorithms	Algo
4	Programming	Prog
5	Boolean Logic	Bool
6	Data Representation	DataRep
7	Computer Systems	CompSys
8	Fetch/Execute Cycle	FetchX
9	Applications	Apps
10	Digital Artefacts	DigiArt
11	Health and Safety	HelSaf
12	Legal Issues	LegIss

We will also map the Concepts of computational thinking: Algorithmic thinking, Decomposition, Generalisation, Abstraction and Evaluation, against the site's exercises, where appropriate. Clearly, it will not be possible to so map every exercise because these concepts are not a good fit for the whole of the curriculum.

Levels and Grading - Part 2

The table below shows the current mapping between marks and grades for the site's exercises.

Current mapping between marks and grades

	Marks	Grade
1	90-100	A*
2	80-89	A
3	70-79	B
4	60-69	C
5	50-59	D
6	40-49	E
7	1-39	F

This second table shows the proposed mapping between marks for the site's exercises and the new GCSE style grades:

Proposed mapping between marks and GCSE style grades

	Marks	Grade
1	95-100	9
2	90-94	8
3	80-89	7
4	70-79	6
5	60-69	5
6	50-59	4
7	40-49	3
8	20-39	2
9	1-19	1

We are proposing to implement these changes over the February half-term break. This will give schools an opportunity to prepare students for the changes and to respond to this newsletter. We would be happy to receive feedback on any aspect of these proposals.

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New Developments

We are planning to release a further batch of exercises for the BBC Micro:bit in the summer term. These exercises will be linked to new chapters from The BBC Micro:bit and The Moon Dust Aliens.

We would welcome your suggestions on further developments. To do this, you can either use the suggestions page on the site or you can email directly to:

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