Teaching Computing Systems and Networks to 5- to 11-year-olds

Whether stand-alone, connected in a local network or plugged into the internet, computers are central to many everyday tasks and routines. It’s important for young people to develop their knowledge of how these devices work, so that they can appreciate the impacts that computers and networks have on the world around them.

On this three-week course you’ll explore how you can build up young learners’ knowledge in an age-appropriate manner. You’ll start by thinking about how you can to help your learners recognise information technology - and how computers process an input to give an output.

In the second week of the course, you’ll learn about the key pieces of technology that allow us to connect computers into networks, and the advantages that networks can bring. You’ll also consider how you can make the concept of a computer network relatable to young children.

By the end of week two, you’ll be able to explain why the internet and the world wide web are not the same thing - as well as identifying a range of services that run over the internet. This will provide you with a solid basis for the third week, in which you’ll investigate computer systems consisting of multiple devices working together.

Young people also need to understand how to act on the internet - both for their own safety and to contribute to a pleasant online environment. You’ll think about the skills and attitudes that young people need, and how you can help them develop these not only while teaching about computer networks, but also more generally across the curriculum.