ICT (Computing)

The importance of Information and Communication Technology.

The increasing use of technology in all aspects of society makes confident, creative and productive use of ICT as an essential skill for life. ICT capability encompasses not only the mastery of technical skills and techniques, but also the understanding to apply these skills purposefully, safely and responsibly in learning, everyday life and employment. ICT capability is fundamental to participation and engagement in modern society.

ICT can be used to find, develop, analyse and present information, as well as to model situations and solve problems. ICT enables rapid access to ideas and experiences from a wide range of people, communities and cultures, and allows students to collaborate and exchange information on a wide scale. ICT acts as a powerful force for change in society and citizens should have an understanding of the social, ethical, legal and economic implications of its use, including how to use ICT safely and responsibly. Increased capability in the use of ICT supports initiative and independent learning, as students are able to make informed judgements about when and where to use ICT to enhance their learning and the quality of their work. (source naace.org)

ICT Overview

The ICT department at Coppice is staffed by three specialist ICT teachers who are keen and enthusiastic about what they do. The staff keep abreast of developing technologies and ensure that the curriculum helps students to achieve their potential in this ever changing subject area.

ICT Curriculum

Key Stage 3 students receive one ICT lesson per week and also benefit from cross-curricular ICT provision from other subject areas. In Year 7 ICT is taught as part of the Integrated Curriculum.

Key Stage 4 students have the choice to opt to study ICT and increasing numbers of students are choosing to do so. Currently the qualifications delivered include OCR National Award in ICT and OCR National Certificate in ICT. Students have recently also been able to opt for a Level 2 Diploma in ICT which is delivered off-site. Functional skills in ICT is available for Diploma students at Levels 1 and 2.

At post-16 the department has been involoved in the Level 3 ICT Diploma which started in 2008, delivered via a consortium of schools and Wolverhampton City college. We are offering students GCE Applied ICT Single Award, following the Edexcel specification. We have recently also introduced the OCR Nationals in ICT at Level 3, as a more suitable progression route from Key Stage 4 Courses.

As a Performing Arts School we try to incorporate these themes into our teaching and learning in ICT. Each year, Year 9 base an ICT project on the school's musical.

ICT links enormously with both Maths and English. A lot of communication work is done in ICT, both paper based and, more recently, digitally. We help develop maths skills through the use of spreadsheets and through the use of mathematical symbols (=, >, <) when using databases.

Resources

Over the last few years Coppice Performing Arts School has invested heavily in new ICT facilities to enhance teaching and learning. The investment is continuing and we will soon fully upgrade our scholls ICT equipment.

Year 9 to 13 students also have access to my-iPlan which records their experiences, achievements and allows students to create a CV.

The school has a wireless network system with network points allowing access to the network all over the school.

Some of the wide range of ICT resources we currently have are as follows:

217 PCs
7 Laptop trolleys, consisting of 90 laptops in total
22 Interactive Whiteboards
40 Mini laptops
35 Projectors with audio
4 Apple Mac PCs
A range of digital resources such as cameras, graphics tablets, camcorders, microphones, etc.

These resources are regularly maintained and the school has a rolling programme of maintenance to upgrade/replenish resources.

The current ratio of students to computers at Coppice Performing Arts School is 1:2.56. This exceeds the Governments 2004 target of 1:5. Our ultimate aim is to achieve a ratio of 1:1.

Additional Provision

Key Stage 4 students are often offered extra time with their teacher to complete or improve ICT coursework. This takes place once a week after school and refreshments are provided to encourage students to stay behind after school. Generally these sessions are very well attended.

Curriculum Enhancements

As a department we have worked hard to develop "real life" ICT experiences for students. During the 2008/9 academic year the following ICT experiences were organised:

Bowling Project

Year 8 students used ICT to research and plan a trip to the local Bowling Alley. They learnt about electronic scoring systems, customising the bowling interfaces, behind the scenes operations, the use of sensors to detect cheating and much more. Students then actually went to see all of this for themselves. This visit was repeated in February 2010, following its success. A member of staff from the AMF Bowling Alley at Bentley Bridge gave students an informative talk about how ICT is used.

E-Safety Project

Selected Year 8 and 9 students visited Wolverhampton City Learning Centre to take part in a 2 day E-Safety project. Students learnt about the dangers of being on-line and produced their own videos of how to stay safe. All involved benefitted and enjoyed the experience greatly. This visit is being repeated again this academic year on 29-30 April 2010. All students, from years 7-11, will have E-safety training in-school by December 2010.

Visiting Speakers

Year 10 ICT students received talks from visitors to link to their current units of study. Stephen Ibbs of Database Developments spoke to 2 classes about the database system he has created. Mark Yorke of Born Communications spoke about Desktop Publishing and showed off some of his recent creations. Students gave very positive feedback about both of these visits.

University Visit

AS Level ICT students spent the day at the University of Wolverhampton looking around the latest ICT facilities and they also took part in ICT workshops.

Molineux Visit

Year 12 Diploma students spent a day at the Molineux football stadium looking at how ICT is used throughout the facility. They received a very informative talk and this supported their learning on their "ICT in Organisations" unit of study.

ICT Vision

Our vision of ICT at Coppice is for:

Staff, Students and the Wider Community to have appropriate access to suitable technologies in order to enhance Teaching and Learning.
ICT to be used to promote personalisation of the curriculum and provide access to 24-hour learning opportunities.
ICT to be used to record and report student progress and achievement and for this information to be more readily accessible to parents.

This will be achieved by:

having technical support for each curriculum area
using a central system for tracking student progress and achievement which allows personalisation and can be accessed by parents
having highly trained staff with up-to-date ICT knowledge and skills
using the latest technologies to support all areas of the curriculum
having an appropriate curriculum model
having well-resourced learning environments
using staff as "a guide on the side"
enabling students to become independent learners
making greater use of online tutors through a Learning Platform
ensuring all staff and students have their own ICT device
providing training for all including the wider community
embedding ICT as a key part of teaching and learning activities through SOW & POS
having access from home for all
using mobile technology to support learning in and out of school
using ICT to strengthen links between home and school and support learning around the clock

ICT Results - Summer 2010

The department was extremely proud of its achievement, and those of the students, in 2010. At Key Stage 4 all students achieved pass grade with many exceeding their targets. Well done to them.

At AS level 91% of students achieved grade ranging from A-E.

We are also delighted that all Year 13 students studying the Advanced ICT Diploma successfully completed this newly available course.

Congratulations to all our successful students - we have thoroughly enjoyed working with you and supporting your efforts.

Click here for more information on the exams taken at Coppice.