Key Stage 1 computing · Information technology

KS1 computing: everyday uses of technology outside school

Information technology means using computers and digital devices to store, send and use information. In Key Stage 1, children learn to recognise it in the world outside school: in shops, at home, on the roads and in jobs. They discover that many everyday things have a small computer inside, that people use technology for a purpose, and that not every device is connected to the internet.

Technology beyond school, explained

The programme of study asks children to recognise common uses of information technology beyond school. The wording is broad and does not list particular examples, so schools choose their own. Children typically start with the places they know best: the supermarket, a library, the doctor’s surgery, the bus stop and home. The point is to help them see that technology is not just the computer in the classroom, but a part of how many ordinary jobs get done.

A big step is realising that many things which don’t look like computers contain one. A shop till and a barcode scanner, a card reader, a self-checkout, a ticket machine, a traffic light, a washing machine with settings, a doorbell with a camera and a smart speaker are all examples. Most modern versions have a small computer chip inside that follows a program. This links straight back to the earlier computing topics: someone wrote the instructions that these machines follow.

Children also learn that information technology is used for a purpose. A nurse uses it to look up a patient’s record, a lorry driver follows a map on a screen, a farmer might use sensors to check on animals or crops, a librarian scans books in and out, and a teacher shares work on a screen. Asking “What is this technology helping the person to do?” is a good habit. It moves the thinking from the gadget to the job it does.

Another idea is that technology doesn’t all work the same way. Some devices are connected to the internet and some work on their own: a calculator, a simple kitchen timer or a digital clock does not need to be online. Some need a person to press buttons, and some respond automatically, such as a door that opens when its sensor notices someone walking up to it. Schools usually keep this simple, using sorting activities, role play with a pretend till and walks around the school grounds or nearby streets to spot technology.

The statutory aims also ask children to use technology responsibly. At this age that means talking about when technology is helpful and when it is better to switch it off, and knowing to tell a trusted adult if anything online makes them feel worried or uncomfortable.

Words your child will hear

Information technology: Using computers and digital devices to store, send, find and use information. Teachers often say “IT”.
Digital device: A machine that follows programs, such as a phone, a computer, a till or a smart speaker.
Internet: The huge network that connects computers all over the world so they can share information.
Online: Connected to the internet. A device that is offline works without that connection.
Sensor: A part that notices something, such as movement, light or temperature. Many automatic doors use one.
Scanner: A device that reads something, like the barcode on a product, and turns it into information.
Automatic: Working by itself once it has been set up, without a person pressing a button each time.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 1 says:

Pupils should be taught to recognise common uses of information technology beyond school
Aim: pupils can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: a technology hunt at home

Look around your home and find five things that use information technology. For each one, say what it does and whether it needs the internet.

Walk around slowly and look for screens, buttons, lights and displays. Don’t only look for things that look like computers.
Choose five items. For example: the microwave, the oven clock, the washing machine, a phone or tablet and the television. Homes differ, so use whatever you have.
Ask what each one does. The microwave counts down and beeps when time is up. The oven clock shows the time. The washing machine runs the wash that someone has chosen. The phone or tablet can take photos, make video calls and much more.
Ask what information goes in and what comes out. For the microwave, the input is the buttons your child presses and the output is the countdown and the beep. For the washing machine, the input is the setting chosen and the start button, and the output is the drum turning and a beep or light when the wash has finished.
Sort the items into two groups: ones that work without the internet (the microwave, the oven clock and most washing machines) and ones that use it for some jobs (a video call on the phone or tablet, or watching programmes online on many televisions). Notice that the tablet can still take a photo with the internet switched off. Finish by asking, “Who decided what each of these does?”

Five items found and described, sorted into “works on its own” and “uses the internet for some jobs”. The microwave, oven clock and washing machine work offline. The phone or tablet and many televisions use the internet for some things but not all of them. A person wrote the program for every one of them.

Common mistakes and how to help

Thinking only things with a screen count as computers or technology

At home, children mostly see tablets and televisions, so they link technology with screens.

What helps: Go on a hunt for things without a screen that still follow instructions, such as automatic doors, traffic lights or a barcode scanner. Ask, “What is telling this what to do?”

Believing all technology uses the internet

Children see so many devices connected online that they assume it is always needed.

What helps: Compare a calculator or a clock with a video call. Ask your child which one stops working if the internet goes down.

Thinking machines decide things for themselves

Smart speakers and robots seem to understand and respond, so it can look like they think like us.

What helps: Remind them of the programs they have written. Machines follow instructions that people wrote, so someone decided what they would do.

Thinking technology is mainly for games and entertainment

Children see most of the technology around them at home, where it is used for play and television.

What helps: Talk about work: the nurse, the delivery driver, the librarian, the farmer. Ask what each would find hard to do without technology.

How to help at home

Technology spotting. On a shopping trip or a walk with you, look for card readers, barcode scanners, ticket machines, traffic lights and automatic doors. Ask what each one does and how it knows what to do. Keep to pavements and shops with you, and hold hands near roads.
Sort the household. Make three lists: things that use the internet, things that follow a program but work without the internet, and things that are simply switched on and off, such as a plain torch. Some will surprise your child. It builds the idea that technology comes in many forms.
Jobs and technology. Choose a job, such as a postal worker, a pilot or a doctor, and ask what technology they might use. Then ask what it would be like to do that job without it.
Pretend shop. Make a till and a scanner from boxes and card. One of you scans toys and says the price, and the other pays. Ask where the shop gets its prices from and how the till knows what to charge.
Switch-off time. Talk about when technology helps and when it is good to put it down, such as mealtimes or bedtime. Make sure your child knows they can tell you about anything online that worries them.

Leads on to

Key Stage 2: Search engines and ranked results
Key Stage 2: Checking what we find online
Key Stage 2: Combining software to create content
Key Stage 2: Collecting and presenting data