Information & Communication Technology

Christy Dinakaran
Secondary ICT

I’m here to get a picture of the LIS IT curriculum. What does the school offer and how are students being equipped for a world that relies so much on technology? Christy Dinakaran has kindly made the time to give me some insight.

It’s the end of sixth period at LIS. The hallways are full of kids rushing to lunch, going to meet friends or finish homework. Christy and I are standing outside the IT lab. As a class finishes, the door bursts open and students breeze past us as we walk in. At the white board a student is discussing a formula with a teacher, the remaining class is packing things away, a few boys come in to use the computers during break.

Christy is new to the LIS community and like most educators she has a colourful career path. Originally from Tamil Nadu, India, she studied a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, a Masters in Information Technology and also holds a PGCE from Nottingham University. Christy has taught at International Schools in India, Oman, Norway and Luxembourg. Here at LIS she is tasked with standardising the middle school ICT (Information and Communication Technology) curriculum and teaching computer science.

Until the end of last year, the middle school (Gr. 6 – Gr. 8) ICT course was designed to expose students to applications they can use in other subjects and in their day-to-day learning. Things like word processing, building tables, searching for information in the internet. This year the focus has changed. To try and prepare students for the high school programme, things like coding and computer science concepts are introduced and instead of once a week, ICT is now given twice weekly.

Christy explains how she breaks down the material into three categories: Coding, Data Handling and Digital Citizenship. “The benefit of these categories,” she says, “is that in such a rapidly changing field, any new teacher, with new ideas or access to new technologies, can slot their material into this rubric without disrupting the curriculum as a whole.”

I ask her to expand on a few of these concepts. Digital Citizenship: Part of engaging in information technology is also understanding how to be a responsible user. Topics like cyber bullying, plagiarism and online safety are taught to try and raise student’s awareness about the realms they are engaging in, not just from school but also in their private lives, in gaming or interactions in social networks.

In the LIS building itself the school’s network blocks the use of certain websites, including social networks and commercial sites, so students can focus on their school work. But of course they can access what they like in their private time. Part of the LIS approach is not just to equip students for their academic needs but to equip the whole person for mindful interactions with their digital spaces. (Cont. Pg 22)

Data Handling: So much of computer science is the handling and presentation of data. What this facet of the curriculum teaches students to do, is compile and present information effectively. How do I compile a list of data, what information can I glean from this list, what is interesting about this information and how best can my findings be shown?

Coding: Students will learn the basics of Python, one of many programming languages that can be used to develop simple (and complex) programmes, write code that determines the design and functionality of a website and much more.

“What I want to teach kids”, says Christy, “is that there is a language that you need to understand to communicate with a computer.”

She wants to teach her classes that coding is problem solving. This is also where her passion lies. She loves how students all work in different ways to solve different problems. Christy tries to give them real life applications in her classroom, like fictitious client briefs to follow and then help them tackle a problem from a design perspective too. In short, it’s analytical thinking on many different levels.

“Students (to their credit) get very excited and usually want to jump right in,” says Christy, “part of what I want to teach them is to work efficiently too. Break down what exactly is wanted. How you approach a problem influences how you solve it.”

Most often, schools teach computer literacy; how to use a word processor or make a spreadsheet and anything beyond that is only taught in specialised classes chosen in a higher grade on the university track. What LIS wants to ensure is that all students become familiar with what lies beyond just the interface, the screen and mouse-click interaction, and understand the building blocks of information technology.

They need to be equipped for a future that is going to be increasingly dominated by automation and digitalisation.

Finding schools that offer this subject is not easy, partly due to the fact that finding teachers to teach programming is not easy, Christy explains. “Programming jobs in industry pay vastly more.”

Christy herself has taught IT, like so many LIS educators, in a variety of settings. She taught Advanced Placement computer science at an International School in India and also taught in Luxembourg where students have their own device from Gr ade 6 onwards and learn by doing with no dedicated computer science lesson. Christy feels this is a good way to learn the basics but if students want to go into any depth then a proper class needs to be offered.

Pupils need to be prepared for Grade 9, when they bring their own device to school and need to use it responsibly and effectively. For Grades 9 and 10 the ICGSE Computer Studies Curriculum is taught and for Grades 11 cand 12 the IB Computer Science programme is offered.

Christy sees a benefit in teaching small classes. “I can adapt my lesson to what the class is interested in at the moment and to what their strengths are.” This kind of flexibility makes for more motivated students and more engaging work for pupils and teacher.

“It’s fascinating watching students come at a problem from different angles and then come together and compare their results. We can then look at which solution works best and why?”

Sitting in the middle school computer labs, (which students have access to in their break) I couldn’t help noticing that there were only boys at the computers. I asked Christy if she found that to be the case in her computer science classes. “Yes,” she agreed, “boys do tend to be more interested in the subject. Very few girls were interested in programming at her previous school. “But,” she says, “once I started there and girls saw that a woman was teaching the subject, we saw an increase in girls signing up for the class.”

This strengthens the diversity of approaches to problem solving too and diverse results create more learning opportunities. “Some students get the best marks when I give assessments,” Christy explains, “they want to do everything right, make no mistakes. Others seem less afraid of making mistakes and are more willing to take risks in their problem solving.”

Christy tries to encourage all her students to make more mistakes, “It’s the best way to learn” she says.

At the end of the day though, Christy says, access is key! Like in every other subject, without the resources students can’t learn.

At LIS we have the privilege of a dedicated IT Support Team and Staff giving students access to not just high quality equipment but a depth of knowledge, creativity and innovative spirit to go with it.

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