Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions
of students and parents.
- How can I help improve my child's typing skills?
- What can I do to help my child improve their ICT skills?
- How can I ensure my child is using the internet safely?
- How does my child use ICT at school?
- How can I help improve my child's ICT skills at home?
- What are the benefits of using ICT at home?
- We do not have the latest version of MS Office on our computer at home, how can we open files that have been created using Office 2007 or 2010 programs?
How can I help improve my child's typing skills?
Please check out the links page, there is a great link to 'Dance
Mat Typing'. This is a BBC schools activity, good fun and great
for learning about the home row and touch typing.
What can I do to help my child improve their ICT skills?
There are two very important skills you child needs; file
management and saving work.
Help your child in these areas by creating a folder for all your
children's documents. Encourage your child to save their work in
this folder with a sensible name.
How can I ensure my child is using the internet safely?
To keep your child safe they should:
- ask permission before using the Internet
- only use websites you have chosen together or a child
friendly search engine
- only email people they know, (why not consider setting up
an address book?)
- ask permission before opening an email sent by someone
they don't know
- not use Internet chat rooms
- not use their real name when using games on the Internet,
(create a nick name)
- never give out a home address, phone or mobile number
- never tell someone they don't know where they go to
school or how old they are.
- never arrange to meet someone they have 'met' on the
Internet
- only use a webcam with people they know
- tell you immediately if they see anything they are
unhappy with.
How does my child use ICT at school?
ICT in schools is taught as a subject in its own right and also
supports children's learning in other subjects, including English
and mathematics.
Within ICT lessons children learn to use a wide range of ICT
including:
- Word Processing to write stories, poems or letters
- Databases to record information, e.g. minibeasts
- Spreadsheets to create tables, charts and graphs
- Desktop Publishing to design posters, leaflets or cards
- Multimedia Presentation to present text, pictures and
sound
- Drawing Programs to create pictures and designs
- Internet and CD-ROMs to find information
- Email to contact children and teachers in another school
- Digital Cameras to record what they have done in class or
on a visit
- Electronic Sensors to record changes in light, sound and
temperature
- Controllable Robots to give instructions and make something
happen
- Simulations to explore real and imaginary situations
- Website Publishing to present ideas over the Internet.
How can I help improve my child's ICT skills at home?
ICT is not just about using a computer. It also includes the use
of controllable toys, digital cameras and everyday equipment such
as a tape recorder or DVD player. Children can be helped to
develop their ICT skills at home by:
- writing a letter to a relative
- sending an email to a friend
- drawing a picture on screen
- using the Internet to research a class topic
- planning a route with a controllable toy
- using interactive games.
What are the benefits of using ICT at home?
Many studies have looked at the benefits of having access to a
computer and/or the Internet at home. Here are some of the key
findings:
- used effectively, ICT can improve children's achievement
- using ICT at home and at school develops skills for life
- children with supportive and involved parents and carers
do better at school
- children enjoy using ICT
- using ICT provides access to a wider and more flexible
range of learning materials.
We do not have the latest version of MS Office on our computer at home, how can we open files that have been created using Office 2007 or 2010 programs?
Go to the 'Links' page and download the Office Compatibility
Pack. This will allow you to open, edit and save files created
in Office 2007 and Office 2010.
