Year 6 Technologies

Students learn the basic structure of 'if-then' statements and apply them to simple programming scenarios.

Understanding how 'if-then-else' statements allow programs to make choices based on conditions, providing alternative paths.

Students explore how to combine multiple conditional statements to handle more complex decision-making scenarios.

Students learn the concept of iteration and how 'for' or 'repeat' loops can automate repetitive tasks.

Using 'while' loops, students create programs that repeat actions as long as a specific condition remains true.

Students practice identifying and fixing common errors in programs involving loops and conditional statements.

Students learn the basics of designing intuitive and visually appealing interfaces for digital products.

Focusing on how users interact with and feel about a digital product, emphasizing usability and accessibility.

Students create low-fidelity prototypes to test user interactions and gather early feedback on their designs.

Students learn about different types of data (e.g., numbers, text, boolean) and how they are used in digital systems.

Exploring methods for gathering accurate data, including surveys, observations, and automated sensors.

Understanding the importance of checking for errors and biases in collected data to ensure reliability.

Students learn the basics of representing data visually using simple charts and graphs.

Students practice extracting insights and drawing conclusions from various types of data visualizations.

Students learn to choose appropriate visual representations (like bar graphs or pictograms) to clearly communicate data findings to an audience.

Students explore the fundamental concept that computers represent all information using only two states, like 'on' or 'off', or 'light' and 'dark'.

Students learn that digital images are made of tiny coloured squares (pixels) and text is represented by codes, allowing computers to store and display them.

Students understand that sound can be recorded and stored digitally, and that making files smaller (like for sharing online) can sometimes change their quality.

Students learn the basic components of a network and how devices connect to share resources.

Students explore the idea that information sent online is broken into small pieces and sent along different paths, eventually rejoining at its destination.

Students learn that computers follow common rules (like a shared language) to understand each other when communicating across networks, ensuring smooth information exchange.

Differentiating between the physical infrastructure of the internet and the information system of the World Wide Web.

Identifying common threats to digital information, such as viruses, malware, and phishing.

Implementing strategies to protect personal data, including strong passwords and privacy settings.

Understanding the concept of a digital footprint and its implications for online reputation and privacy.

Students learn about how some devices connect to the internet using physical cables, like the ones that plug into a computer or modem, and why these are sometimes used.

Students explore how devices connect to the internet and each other using wireless signals, like Wi-Fi, and understand factors that affect these connections.

Analyzing the environmental impact of digital devices from raw material extraction to manufacturing.

Understanding the problem of electronic waste and exploring solutions for responsible disposal and recycling.

Students explore simple ways to make their own technology last longer, such as caring for devices, repairing them, and choosing products that are built to be durable.

Students learn about basic automation and the role of robots in various industries and daily life.

Exploring common applications of AI, such as virtual assistants, recommendation systems, and facial recognition.

Discussing how robotics and AI are changing jobs, creating new roles, and requiring new skills.

Understanding the concept of the digital divide and its impact on access to technology and opportunities.

Students discuss how Artificial Intelligence makes decisions and consider if these decisions are always fair, especially when AI is used in everyday tools.

Ensuring technology is designed to be accessible and usable for people with diverse abilities.

Students learn to break down large challenges into smaller, manageable parts that can be solved individually.

Focusing on identifying the most critical parts of a problem and understanding how they relate to each other.

Students learn to remove unnecessary details to focus on the core mechanics of a system or problem.

Identifying recurring patterns and trends in data to make predictions or simplify solutions.

Developing step-by-step instructions (algorithms) to solve problems and perform tasks efficiently.

Students learn how to build simple models to test hypotheses and observe system behavior.

Understanding how changing variables in a simulation affects the final outcome and system behavior.

Students create simple models or simulations to represent real-world ideas, like how a queue works or how a simple game progresses, to understand how things change over time.

Students learn to plan their digital projects by setting clear goals, breaking tasks into smaller steps, and thinking about what they need to do first, next, and last.

Students identify and understand the basic physical components of a computer system (e.g., CPU, memory, storage).

Students learn that software is a set of instructions that tells the hardware what to do, distinguishing between operating systems and applications.

Students explore various input devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, microphone) and output devices (e.g., screen, printer, speakers) and their roles.