Programme of activities
The DigiSmart programme has been specifically designed to boost children’s ICT and literacy skills over a one year period, as well as building their self-esteem and confidence.
The use of technology excites the children and we take advantage of this to encourage the development of both traditional and new digital literacy.
There are 10 sessions in DigiSmart CORE plus an additional 9 MORE sessions. The full 19 week programme runs across 2 terms.
The key components are fun, motivation and plenty of challenge. Sessions are designed to be pacy, offer high levels of engagement and build momentum.
Through the use of explicit learning targets for each weekly session, children are encouraged to recognise their achievements and reflect on how they can improve.
The majority of the DigiSmart activities and tasks focus on:
- key reading strategies designed to help children find information
- structured recording techniques which develop their research, reporting and analytical skills
- design skills to help them create high quality texts by formatting their research in powerful, effective and clear ways
- presentation skills to enable children confidently to present their findings to others
- sharing and debating opinions, encouraging children to express their thoughts both verbally and in writing
- reviewing and evaluating information and also their own learning gains
- online safety modules are also incorporated into the programme
The DigiSmart activities are password protected and accessed via the Internet, supported by printed Workbooks for each child.