Previous courses

Course One
10 weeks over Spring term
http://computingcpdspring13-eorg.eventbrite.co.uk/
8 May - 17 July 2013, Wednesdays, 16:40 - 19:00

Course Two
Intensive one-week course over Summer holidays
http://computingcpdsummer13-eorg.eventbrite.co.uk/
19 - 23 August 2013, Monday - Friday, 10:00 - 16:00

More details about Course One
This course is for teachers preparing to teach Computing at GCSE or beyond. The course focuses on programming using a textual language and on understanding the essential concepts of the workings of a computer.
 

The course will run for ten weeks, excluding half term. Each session will last for 2.5 hours, from 4.30pm to 7pm. It will take place in the ITL Building at Queen Mary, University of London, E1 4NS.

The main course language is Python, a popular language in schools. Programming will be taught from scratch but we recommend that you should have tried at least a little programming beforehand (for example, using Scratch, Kodu, Alice or a similar tool). The ideas you will learn using Python will be applicable to other languages; we will make some comparisons.

Highlights include:

• The course fee includes a Raspberry Pi for each teacher to keep, used for practical programming both during the course and in your own time.
• The course is supported by practising school teachers who will be available to answer questions about classroom practice.
• The course leaders are from Computer Science at Queen Mary University of London, the home of cs4fn, a respected resource for teachers and students about computing. As well as teaching undergraduate computer science, they have experience of talking in schools and producing fun computing activities for students.
• Material will be available on QMUL’s VLE, which is accessible from anywhere.

Topic outline

Week	Programming	How Computers Work
1	Introduction to the course Using Python interactively: integers, string and expressions.	Component of the Raspberry Pi
2	Writing scripts; simple input and output. Variables; distinguishing string and numbers	Computer logic and truth tables
3	Conditional statement; boolean expressions; dry running programs	Binary numbers
4	While loops; testing programs	Binary arithmetic
5	Simple functions; finding faults	Computer memory
6	While loops; programming style	The CPU; smaller, faster, hotter
7	Lists and for loops	Storage; performance
8	Functions with parameters	Operating systems: processes
9	Using files	Operating system: files
10	Comparison with other languages	Networks

More details about Course Two


This course is for teachers preparing to teach Computing at GCSE or beyond. The course focuses on programming using a textual language and on understanding the essential concepts of the workings of a computer.

The course will run for five straight days over one week, from 19–23 August 2013. Each day will incorporate 5 hours of instruction, starting at 10am and ending at 4pm. It will take place in the ITL Building at Queen Mary, University of London, E1 4FZ.

The main course language is Python, a popular language in schools. Programming will be taught from scratch but we recommend that you should have tried at least a little programming beforehand (for example, using Scratch, Kodu, Alice or a similar tool). The ideas you will learn using Python will be applicable to other languages; we will make some comparisons.

Highlights include:

• The course fee includes a Raspberry Pi for each teacher to keep, used for practical programming both during the course and in your own time.
• The course leaders are from Computer Science at Queen Mary University of London, the home of cs4fn, a respected resource for teachers and students about computing. As well as teaching undergraduate computer science, they have experience of talking in schools and producing fun computing activities for students.
• Material will be available on QMUL’s VLE, which is accessible from anywhere.

Topic outline

Day	Programming	How Computers Work
1 - morning	Introduction to the course Using Python interactively: integers, string and expressions.	Component of the Raspberry Pi
1 - afternoon	Writing scripts; simple input and output. Variables; distinguishing string and numbers	Computer logic and truth tables
2 - morning	Conditional statement; boolean expressions; dry running programs	Binary numbers
2 - afternoon	While loops; testing programs	Binary arithmetic
3 - morning	Simple functions; finding faults	Computer memory
3 - afternoon	While loops; programming style	The CPU; smaller, faster, hotter
4 - morning	Lists and for loops	Storage; performance
4 - afternoon	Functions with parameters	Operating systems: processes
5 - morning	Using files	Operating system: files
5 - afternoon	Comparison with other languages	Networks