Year 8 Learning

In Year 8, students are re-introduced to the school systems alongside a comprehensive module on E-Safety, with a particular emphasis on digital literacy tools. We then transition onto the cybersecurity unit, this allows students understand the threats and danger that oppose our computer systems every day. The spring term curriculum commences with an exploration of Data Representation, where students investigate the utilization of binary code for communication with computers, focusing on the storage mediums for images and sound. In Spring 2, attention is directed towards the Computational Thinking unit, in this unit, students engage with the software application 'Flowol' to conceive and refine computer programs tailored for real-world systems. During Summer 1, students embark of exploring Operating Systems, Application Software, and Hardware, culminating in a comprehensive understanding of these foundational components. The term concludes with a focus on Python Programming, wherein students are introduced to fundamental programming constructs such as Sequence, Selection, and Iteration.

Term Topic Key Content
Autumn E-Safety, Using Computers & AI
  • What to trust online
  • Search Engines
  • Copyright
  • Online dangers
  • Cyber abuse
  • Artificial Intelligence
Cybersecurity
  • What is a Computer Network
  • Social Engineering
  • Malicious Software
  • Hacking & Other Types of Attack
  • Preventing Network Threats
  • Cryptography
Spring Data Representation
  • Binary what is it – conversion
  • Adding binary numbers
  • ASCII Characters and Code
  • How images are stored
  • How is sound played on a computer.
Flowol
  • Algorithms & Flowchart Symbols
  • Real World Systems
  • Selection
  • Iteration
  • Subroutines
Summer Hardware and Software
  • System Software - Operating system
  • Application Software
  • Hardware
  • Digital Footprint
  • The Impact of Technology
Python PRIMM
  • Input, Output Sequencing & Variables
  • Data Types & Operators
  • IF, ELIF & ELSE - Selection
  • WHILE loops - Iteration
  • FOR loops - Iteration

Autumn Knowledge

Lesson 1 

LO: Understand how to evaluate a websites content to know if it is trustworthy or not 

  • How do I trust information on the internet? 
  • What is Fake News? 
  • Why is Fake News created? 
  • How do I sport Fake News? 
  • What is disinformation? 
  • What is a URL? 
  • How do I assess a website 
  • What are the 6 rules to assessing a website 
Lesson 2 
  • What is a search engine? 
  • How does a search engine work? 
  • What is a Boolean Operator? 
  • How can a Boolean Operator help me search the internet? 
  • What is a Google Whack? 
Lesson 3 
  • What is copyright? 
  • How can I break copyright laws? 
  • What is Plagiarism? 
  • How can I avoid Plagiarism? 
Lesson 4 
  • What are the different types of online dangers? 
  • How can you avoid online dangers? 
  • What is e-safety? 
  • What is Hacking? 
  • What do we mean by an internet Troll? 
  • What is a Pseudonym? 
Lesson 5 
  • What is Cyber Abuse? 
  • How can you combat Cyber abuse? 
  • What should I do if abused online? 
  • What are the 7 ways to combat Cyber-Abuse?
Lesson 1 
  • What is a computer network? 
  • What are the several types of network? 
  • What is a LAN (Local Area Network) 
  • What is a WAN (Wide Area Network) 
  • How do Networks Work? 
  • What are the advantages of using a network? 
  • What are the drawbacks of using a network? 
  • What is a packet in networking terms? 
  • What is deadlock? 
  • What is a Topology? 
  • What are wireless networks? 
  • What is the difference between a Star, BUS, Ring Network? 
Lesson 2 
  • What is the WWW (World Wide Web)? 
  • What is the internet? 
  • How do you access the internet? 
  • What is an IP (Internet Protocol) address? 
  • What is an DNS (Domain Name Server)? 
  • What is a Domain Name? 
  • What is a Hyperlink? 
  • What is HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)? 
  • How do you use HTML to create a webpage? 
Lesson 3 
  • What is a URL (Uniform Resource Locator)? 
  • What is a Top-Level Domain? 
  • How does an IP address work? 
  • How does an DNS work? 
Lesson 4 
  • What are the different types of Internets Communicatons? 
  • What is VoIP (Voice over IP)? 
  • What hardware is used to connect to the internet? 
  • What is a switch? 
  • What is a router? 
  • What is Fiber optic cable and copper cable? 
  • What is a server? 
Lesson 5 
  • What is layering in the respect of networking? 
  • What is a Data Packet? 
  • What is a Protocol? 
  • What is TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol)? 
  • What is a Packet Sequence? 
Lesson 6 
  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of Cloud Computing? 
  • What is a Cyber Attack? 
  • What is Hacking?
  • How can we avoid an Attack on a computer? 

Spring Knowledge

Lesson 1 
  • What is the difference between the base 10 and the base 2 number system? 
  • Why do computers use Binary? 
  • What is Binary? 
  • How do you convert a binary number into denary? 
  • How do you convert a denary number into binary? 
Lesson 2 
  • What is the process to add two binary numbers? 
  • What are the 5 rules to adding binary numbers? 
  • What is an overflow error? 
Lesson 3 
  • What is ASCII? 
  • How to you represent characters with Binary? 
  • What is a Character Set? 
  • What is Unicode? 
  • What is the relationship between the number of bits and the character set? 
Lesson 4 
  • What is a Bitmap? 
  • What is a Pixel? 
  • What is a Bit, what is a Byte? 
  • What 3 colours make up any colour in a computer? 
  • What is resolution? 
  • What is Colour Depth? 
Lesson 5 
  • How is sound represented in binary? 
  • What is analogue sound? 
  • What is digital sound? 
  • What is sampling? 
  • What is a sample rate?
Lesson 1 
  • How do you review a website? 
  • What is the difference between a webpage and a website? 
  • What makes a good website? 
  • What makes a bad website design? 
  • How do measure “quality of information” 
  • What things should you be aware of when searching for information? 
Lesson 2 
  • What is HTML? 
  • How is HTML used to create a webpage? 
  • What is the correct HTML syntax? 
  • What is the World Wide Web 
  • What is the basic layout of a webpage? 
  • What is a Tag? 
  • What is the difference between H1 to H6 tags? 
  • What are the basic different formatting tags used in a webpage? 
Lesson 3 
  • What is a story board? 
  • What is the purpose of storyboards? 
  • What information needs to be added into a storyboard? 
  • Why use labels? 
  • What is the purpose of annotation? 
Lesson 4 
  • What is HTML? 
  • How can I add text to a webpage? 
  • How can I adjust the size of added content? 
  • How do I add an image to a wepage? 
  • What is a hyperlink? 
Lesson 5 
  • What is the difference between a webpage and a website? 
  • What is an internal hyperlink? 
  • What is an external hyperlink? 
  • How do you create a button on a webpage? 
Lesson 6 
  • What properties are needed to create a webpage? 
  • What are the key components to build a webpage? 
  • Create a webpage to a given theme 

Summer Knowledge

Hardware/Software 

Lesson 1 
  • What is an Operating system? 
  • What is the purpose of an Operating System? 
  • What does the Operating system control? 
  • Name 2 different types of Operating system 
  • Evaluate 2 different types of Operating system 
Lesson 2 
  • What is Operating system software? 
  • What is Application software? 
  • What is Utility Software? 
  • Be able to identify the type of computer system required for a given scenario? 
Lesson 3 
  • What is a Digital Footprint? 
  • What are the 4 types of digital footprint? 
Lesson 4 
  • What is the Social, Moral, economic impact of technology? 
  • What impact does technology have on society? 
Lesson 5 
  • Is Artificial intelligence developed a threat to humanity? 
Lesson 6 
  • What is applications software? 
  • How best do you collect information? 
  • What is a survey form? 
  • How do you analyse data? 
Lesson 7 
  • What is the Computer Misuse Act? 
  • Assess you work to a given criteria? 

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