Year 8

Year 8 Computer Science Curriculum

Cycle 1 – Computer Crime & Cyber Security: (SMSC / Careers Link)

This unit covers some of the legal safeguards regarding computer use, including overviews of the Computer Misuse Act, Data Protection Act and Copyright Law and their implications for computer use. Phishing scams and other email frauds, hacking, “data harvesting” identity theft and safe use of social media are discussed together with ways of protecting online identity and privacy. Health and Safety Law and environmental issues such as the safe disposal of old computers are also discussed.

**Cycle 2 – First Steps in Small Basic: (Careers Link)

In this unit you will begin to look at Turtle Graphics Programming to come up with solutions to computational problems. You will create a portfolio of evidence for work completed.

Cycle 3 – HTML & Web Development (Careers Link)

In this unit pupils will learn the basics of HTML and CSS. They will learn how to create text styles and add content, including text and graphics, in a specified position on a page, as well as navigation links to other pages on their website and to external websites. Pupils can view the data collected by the web form into a simulated database. This also helps to stimulate discussion on the privacy of data.

Review Week - Making Learning Memorable

As part of marking learning memorable, student will spend review week undertaking a project based on Cycle 1, 2 and 3.

Cycle 4 – Database Development (Careers Link)

It is a practical unit covering the basic theory, creation and use of a single-table database and a simple relational database involving two tables in a one-to-many relationship. Pupils will start by looking at an existing single-table database, learning how to add records and make queries. In subsequent lessons they will create:
• a flat-file or two-table relational database of their own, using suitable field types and adding in appropriate validations, an input form with help text, combo boxes and list boxes, queries and a report using data from one or both tables & a front end menu for their application linking to the database input form and report using MS Access.

Cycle 5 – Data Representation

In this unit you will explore how computers use binary to represent binary. You will perform some conversions from Denary to Binary & Hexadecimal and look at how images & sound are represented in binary. You will create a python solution that will assist in converting denary into binary & Hex and vice-versa.

**Cycle 6 – Introduction to Python: (Careers Link)

The unit is an introduction to Python, a powerful but easy-to-use high-level programming language. Although Python is an object-oriented language, at this level the object-oriented features of the language are barely in evidence and do not need to be discussed. The focus is on getting pupils to understand the process of developing programs, the importance of writing correct syntax, being able to formulate algorithms for simple programs and debugging their programs.