Year 6

CONTROL work using the program FLOWOL has been the main focus for Year 6.

Depending on the time available, students have been introduced to the symbols used for flowchart programming, and have then used FLOWOL itself to program a series of on-screen ‘mimics’, ranging from the simple zebra crossing to the more complicated semiautomatic light house, and the demanding three-aspect traffic light exercise based around a narrow bridge. Some students have also moved on to include ‘subroutines’ into their work, with the elaborate ‘level crossing’ exercise.

Only by using the Computer Bus has it been able to introduce this control work so quickly to the Island’s primary schools. Secondary IT coordinators have been told to expect their incoming Year 7 to have already done the basic FLOWOL control exercises, and are therefore available to tackle more demanding tasks, more appropriate to their level.

In some cases, the computer bus has been able to revisit the same pupils to continue the FLOWOL work, often after several weeks. The extent to which the pupils have been able to pick up from where they left off has been impressive, indicating the lasting value of this work.

ONE of the great advantages of FLOWOL as a control program is its use of on-screen ‘mimics’. These allow children to see their programs in action on the screen, and eliminates the need for messy wires and fragile models plugged into the back of the computer - though these can be controlled using the program by the use of an interface box.

One of the beauties of FLOWOL is that it can be used and understood by a Year 4 pupil, but at the same time can offer the facilities and power required by even a demanding sixth former, wishing to control a complex situation as part of an A level project.

Year 6

12/12/2001

St.Johns School Year 6 taken November 2nd 1998. Note the ‘old’ school through the bus windows. Centre towards the rear is class Teacher Miss Jones...

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ABOVE: Foxdale Year 6 during a visit to the school on January 22nd 1999.

BELOW: FLOWOL.

MANY Year 6 students have used their time on the computer bus to complete various ‘Claris Works’ tasks. These have included history topics, such as the Tudor sheets shown here.

The diagrams show interior and exterior views of a Tudor house, sheets depicting Tudor kings and queens, along with a timeline to put the Tudor period in context (BELOW LEFT).

Completion of these exercises involved either simply labelling the diagram, or for the most able, using the full array of Claris Works draw tools to ‘trace’ the Tudor House exterior as shown in the top diagram.

One advantage of using the Claris Works is that students practice skills required to produce their own sheets as they get older.

An ability to produce diagrams, to incorporate together text and graphics effectively to communicate meaning, are essential ICT skills.

ARBORY school made good use of the Computer Bus in connection with its 1999 expedition to Ard Whallin. Three sessions were scheduled and special worksheets commissioned such as the ‘Speed of a River’ spreadsheet (left) and the Ard Whallin maps, one of which is shown below. The latter featured in an article about computers in education, in the July issue of MacFormat magazine, Britain’s biggest selling Mac magazine.

ABOVE: Ard Whallan Outdoor Centre.

LEFT: Year 6 children from Kewaigue School pictured during a visit on 14th October 1998.