Computing · Year 1 · Technology in Our Lives · Summer Term

How Technology Helps Us Learn

Students explore various educational apps and websites, understanding how digital tools can support learning.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS1: Computing - Information Technology
• KS1: Computing - Digital Literacy

About This Topic

In Year 1 Computing, students explore how technology supports learning through educational apps and websites. They try phonics games that sound out letters, maths apps with counting challenges, and story sites with interactive elements. These tools offer immediate feedback, repetition, and visuals that match classroom topics in literacy and numeracy, helping children practise skills in engaging ways.

This unit fits KS1 standards for Information Technology and Digital Literacy. Students compare digital tools to books, noting shared goals like building knowledge alongside unique features such as touch responses or progress trackers. Reflections on favourite apps and ideas for new ones encourage evaluation, creativity, and understanding of technology's educational role.

Active learning works well here because direct use of devices makes benefits real. When children test apps in pairs, discuss differences from books, and sketch their designs, they gain confidence with screens, collaborate on ideas, and remember how technology aids progress through hands-on experience.

Key Questions

1. How does your favourite learning app help you get better at something?
2. What is the same and what is different about learning with a computer and learning with a book?
3. If you could make a new app to help children learn, what would it do?

Learning Objectives

• Compare the interactive features of three different educational apps, identifying how each supports a specific learning goal.
• Explain how digital tools, such as educational websites, offer different learning experiences than traditional books.
• Design a simple concept for a new educational app, outlining its core learning function and target audience.
• Identify at least two ways technology can provide immediate feedback to a learner.

Before You Start

Basic Computer Skills

Why: Students need to be able to use a mouse, keyboard, and touch screen to interact with educational apps and websites.

Introduction to Digital Devices

Why: Familiarity with tablets and computers is necessary for students to engage with the learning tools discussed.

Key Vocabulary

Educational App	A software application designed to help people learn a subject or skill, often interactive and engaging.
Interactive Website	A website that allows users to actively participate, such as by clicking, typing, or playing games, to enhance learning.
Digital Tool	Any electronic device or computer program used to help with tasks, in this case, learning.
Feedback	Information given to a learner about their performance, helping them understand what they did well and what they need to improve.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Apps teach everything automatically without trying.

What to Teach Instead

Digital tools give practice and hints, but children improve by engaging and fixing errors. Pair talks during app trials help students see effort matters, building growth mindset like in non-digital tasks.

Common Misconception

Learning apps are only fun games, not real learning.

What to Teach Instead

Apps blend play with structured skills like reading or counting. Group explorations reveal goals behind games, such as feedback loops, helping students value both enjoyment and purpose.

Common Misconception

Computers always do learning better than books.

What to Teach Instead

Books support imagination and focus, while apps add interaction; both aid learning. Comparison charts in pairs clarify strengths, fostering balanced views through shared evidence.

Active Learning Ideas

Stations Rotation: App Discovery Stations

Prepare four stations with tablets: phonics app, maths game, story reader, drawing tool. Small groups spend 8 minutes at each, recording one learning help like 'sounds letters'. Gather to share notes on charts.

45 min·Small Groups

Pairs Activity: Book and App Match-Up

Pairs select a topic like animals, read from a book, then use a related app. Draw or list three similarities and three differences, such as 'book has pictures, app speaks words'. Present one pair finding to class.

30 min·Pairs

Small Groups: Design Your Learning App

Groups choose a skill like shapes, brainstorm features such as games or rewards, and draw two app screens with labels. Explain designs in a class showcase, answering 'how does it help learning?'

40 min·Small Groups

Whole Class: Favourite App Circle

Each child shares their top app and one way it helps, using a talking stick. Class votes on common benefits and adds to a shared poster. Follow with quick paired try of a new app.

25 min·Whole Class

Real-World Connections

• Children in schools across the UK use platforms like BBC Bitesize to revise topics, access video explanations, and complete quizzes, receiving instant feedback on their understanding.
• Many museums, such as the Science Museum in London, offer interactive websites and apps that allow children to explore exhibits and learn about science concepts from home.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

Ask students: 'Choose one learning app you used today. Tell us how it helped you get better at one thing. What did you like most about using it?' Listen for specific examples of skills practiced and features used.

Quick Check

Provide students with two cards: one with a picture of a book, the other with a tablet. Ask them to draw one way learning with the book is the same as learning with the tablet, and one way it is different. Review drawings for understanding of comparative learning methods.

Exit Ticket

Give each student a small piece of paper. Ask them to draw one idea for a new learning app and write one sentence about what it would help children learn. Collect these to gauge creativity and understanding of app functions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Year 1 apps teach computing skills?

Recommended apps include Phonics Play for letter sounds, Numberblocks for counting, and Purple Mash for simple creation. These provide safe, curriculum-linked practice with teacher controls for progress tracking. Introduce one per week, pair with discussions on features to reinforce digital literacy and subject links.

How to compare app and book learning in Year 1?

Use paired activities with matching content, like a farm book and animal app. Students list pros such as app sounds versus book rereading freedom. Class charts visualise differences, helping children articulate technology's interactive edge while valuing traditional methods.

Ideas for Year 1 students designing learning apps?

Prompt with key skills like colours or sharing. Groups sketch screens showing games, helpers, and rewards. Share via presentations; this sparks creativity, reveals needs like 'repeat buttons', and connects to real apps, deepening appreciation for design thinking.

How can active learning help teach how technology aids learning?

Active methods like station rotations and app prototyping let students experience feedback and fun firsthand, making abstract ideas concrete. Collaborative shares build language for benefits, while designs encourage critical choice of features. This boosts engagement, retention, and safe device confidence over passive demos.