Computer Science Education Week

A smiling black boy wearing glasses is sitting down at his laptop. He is wearing a green t shirt, blue tros and black shoes.

Computer Science Education Week is celebrated each year in December for the week which includes the 9th December. This is to honour famous computer scientist Grace Hopper who was born on 9th December 1906.

The aim is to encourage children of all ages to celebrate and learn about computer science. Computer science plays an important role in lots of aspects of every day life.

As you go through the article, you will learn:

How computers know what to do
What the world's first computers looked like
How to make art on a computer

Computing

What is a computer program?

Cartoon image of a child sitting at a laptop with his mum standing next to him.

We can use computers and other digital devices to do lots of different things. We can send messages, go shopping, watch a video or play a game.

Many of the machines and devices we use every day have a computer inside them.

Although a computer can do lots of clever things, it can't think for itself like we can. We have to give it a list of rules and instructions so that it knows what to do. This is called an algorithm.

How are computers used?

Computers and computer programs are used in our everyday lives. Take a look at the slideshow below for the some of the ways computers are used.

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Washing machines
Household appliances such as washing machines have computer programs in them in order to know how long it should wash clothes for.
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Automatic doors
Automatic doors use a computer program. When they sense someone is near, they open. They only close if there is nobody nearby.
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Cash machine
A cash machine runs a computer program that lets people make choices about their money.
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Traffic lights
A computer program tells the traffic lights when to change from red to green. When you push the button at a crossing, it tells the computer you want to cross.
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Smartphones
Smartphones use computer programs to make them work. The computer programs let you choose between a variety of apps, including a camera or music app.
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Libraries
Librarians use a computer to know exactly where the books are. When you borrow a library book, a computer scans the book and your library card. The computer re who has the book and when it will be returned.
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Hospitals
Hospital staff use machines with computers inside to check patients' health. They also use computers to store information about their treatment, see when the patient might have been ill before or find out what medicines the patient might be taking.
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Shops
Shops use computers at their checkouts. The tills use computers to scan the things you want to buy. They add it all up and work out how much change to give you.

Quiz: Tap and Find

What is the internet?

Using computers and the internet can be very exciting. There can be lots of fascinating things to read and watch!

But it is important to make sure you keep yourself safe. If something on your device or the internet worries you, speak to a trusted adult.

Look at some of the articles below to learn about the internet.

How to keep safe online

History

History of computers

Cartoon image of mathematician Alan Turing standing next to a machine he used during World War Two.

We use computers every day. They help us to do lots of different things.

We use lots of different types of computers such as laptops, tablets, desktop computers, games consoles and calculators.

But the first computers were very different to the ones we have now. Explore who created the first computers, how they launched people into space and how they helped to win the Second World War.

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Computers like this were common in the 1980s and 1990s.
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Laptops are now much more common and are more easily transported than desktop computers. Smartwatches are now very common too.
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Tablets are now very common and can do many things that a computer or laptop does.

Famous Computing pioneers

Cartoon image of Charles Babbage wearing a purple suit with brown shoes. He is smiling.

Charles Babbage was a British mathematician and inventor.

In 1833, he designed the Analytical Engine. If it had been built, it would have been the very first computer!

Fascinating Fact: The Analytical Engine was designed to do calculations with different sets of numbers and was powered by steam!

Cartoon image of Ada Lovelace wearing a purple dress. She is holding a pen and a piece of paper. She is smiling.

Ada Lovelace was another British mathematician, who loved solving puzzles.

She studied the plans Charles Babbage had made for the Analytical Engine and made notes on how it could be used.

These notes were the first computer program.

Fascinating Fact: A programming language was invented in the 1990s called Ada, after Ada Lovelace.

Cartoon image of Alan Turing wearing a grey suit and black tie. He is wearing black shoes. He is smiling.

Alan Turing was a British mathematician who worked with a team of people during World War Two.

He created a machine that could read secret coded messages and helped save many lives!

Fascinating fact: Alan Turing's face is on the English £50 note.

Art and Design

Digital art

A girl with a blue hijab is drawing on her phone.

You can create art using a digital art program on a computer, tablet or smartphone.

There are different tools to help you create digital art such as:

Pencils which make a thin line
Paint brushes which make a thick line
Flood/bucket fill which fills an area with colour
Airbrushes which spray lots of small dots
Erasers to clear mistakes.

Use BBC Bitesize's Creative Lab game below to create some digital artwork.

Computer Science Education Week - KS1