Teach kids computing: Computing Systems and Networks (edX)

Increase your knowledge of computing systems and networks, and plan how you will teach young children about this topic, in this course from the Raspberry Pi Foundation. Whether standalone, 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 impact of computers and networks on the world around them.

Enroll in course

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In this three-week course, you'll explore how to build young learners' knowledge in an age-appropriate manner. You'll start by thinking about how you can 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 to your learners why the internet and the World Wide Web are not the same thing — as well as help them identify a range of services that run over the internet.

In the third week, you'll investigate other computer systems that consist 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.

What you'll learn

Over the following three weeks, you will learn the basics of computing systems and networks, and how to teach the concepts and skills involved to young children.

- In week one, you will explore how you can help your young learners to identify information technology and how to introduce them to the input, process, output model of computer

- In week two, you will investigate how computers can be connected into networks, including the internet and why the internet and the web are two different things. You'll also think about how you can relate networks to your learners' everyday

- In week three, you will analyse computer systems that consist of multiple devices working together. You'll also discover how you can help your learners to use the internet safely as responsible digital citizens.

Syllabus

This course will cover:

- Why we teach computing systems and networks

- Information technology and its impact

- The input, process, output (IPO) model of computer systems

- How computer networks function

- Communication and collaboration on the internet

- Big IT systems

- Digital citizenship