Key Stage 3 computing · Creative and applied IT

KS3 computing projects: combining applications for real users

In Key Stage 3 computing, children do not only learn about software: they use it to make something. A project asks them to choose and combine several applications, ideally on more than one kind of device, collect and analyse some data, and produce something that meets the needs of a real person. The goal is to learn how to pick the right tool for a job and to check, with the person it is for, whether the result actually works.

Projects using several applications, explained

The programme of study asks pupils to undertake creative projects that involve selecting, using and combining multiple applications to achieve challenging goals. In practice, a project starts with a problem and a person. It might be a leaflet for the school’s open evening, a booking system for a club, or a report that helps the head of year decide what to buy. The pupil’s first job is to find out what that person needs, which is different from making what the pupil would like.

Next comes choosing the tools. Typical choices in school include a spreadsheet for data and charts, a document or presentation program for writing and layout, an image or video editor, a form or survey tool for collecting responses, and sometimes a database or simple website builder. Schools decide which products they use, so the names will differ, but the skill is the same: asking which tool suits which part of the job. Where possible, pupils use more than one type of device, for example taking photos or measurements on a tablet or phone, then building the final product on a computer.

Combining applications is where much of the real learning happens. Data collected in one place has to be moved to another, which raises practical questions about file formats, and about whether a chart pasted into a report will update if the numbers change or is just a picture. Pupils learn to name and organise files sensibly, to keep copies safe and to check that everything still works when it moves between programs and devices.

Collecting and analysing data is named in the programme of study. Pupils might run a survey, log temperatures or count how often something happens, and then use sorting, filtering, formulas and charts to find patterns. The important skill is turning data into an answer to a question the user cares about, and being honest about what the data cannot tell you, for example if only a few people responded.

Finally, pupils test and evaluate. The person the project is for tries it, and the pupil listens to what went wrong rather than defending the work. The aim is that children become able to evaluate and apply technology analytically, including technology they have never met before. A pupil who has learned how to work out what a tool is for, learn it quickly and judge whether it did the job is better prepared than one who has memorised which button does what.

Words your child will hear

User: The person the project is made for. Knowing them is the starting point for every decision.
Requirements: A list of what the finished project must do to meet the user’s needs.
Application: A program designed for a particular job, such as a spreadsheet or an image editor.
File format: The way a file is stored, which decides which programs can open it and what is kept when it is saved.
Import and export: Bringing data into a program from a file, or saving it out in a form another program can use.
Prototype: A rough early version made to test an idea before the final work is done.
Evaluation: Judging how well the finished project meets the requirements, using evidence from testing.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 3 says:

Pupils should be taught to undertake creative projects that involve selecting, using, and combining multiple applications, preferably across a range of devices, to achieve challenging goals, including collecting and analysing data and meeting the needs of known users
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: planning a multi-application project

The leader of the school gardening club wants to show the head teacher which vegetables grew best this term, and to recruit new members. Plan a project that uses several applications.

Find out the needs. Ask the club leader what she wants to decide and who will see the result. She says: a one-page summary for the head teacher with a clear chart, and an eye-catching poster for pupils. Agree what “grew best” means, here the tallest average height, and write these as requirements.
Decide what data to collect and how. Each week pupils measure the height of three plants of each vegetable, using a tablet to log the numbers and take photos. Agree the units and the days beforehand so the data can be compared.
Choose a tool for each job. Put the measurements in a spreadsheet, calculate the mean height for each vegetable and make a bar chart. Use a document for the one-page summary. Use an image editor or poster tool for the recruitment poster, with the best photos.
Combine the pieces carefully. Insert the chart into the summary and check that the labels and axes can still be read. Save the spreadsheet separately so the numbers can be changed, and check that the summary opens and prints clearly on the head teacher’s computer.
Test with the user. Ask the club leader to find the answer to ‘which vegetable grew best?’ without help. Note where she hesitates, fix those places and then write a short evaluation of what worked and what you would change.

A good plan names the user and what she needs, uses a spreadsheet for data and charts, a document for the summary and an image tool for the poster, checks the pieces still work together, and includes a test with the user and an evaluation.

Common mistakes and how to help

Designing for yourself rather than for the user

It is natural to make something you would like, and the user is often not in the room while the project is built.

What helps: Ask your child to name the user at the start and to check each decision against what that person said. Ask what the user would say if they saw it today.

Using as many applications and features as possible

More tools and effects look impressive, and the project seems more ‘advanced’.

What helps: The best answer is the simplest set of tools that does the job. Ask what each application is for and what would be lost if it was removed.

Pasting things together without checking they still work

Something that looks right in one program can break when moved, such as a chart that no longer updates or a font that is missing on another device.

What helps: Make checking part of the routine: open the final file on a different device, change a number and see whether the chart follows, and save the original files separately.

Treating the evaluation as a list of what went well

Children worry that pointing out problems looks like failure.

What helps: Explain that useful evaluation uses evidence from the user and names at least one thing to improve. ‘The club leader needed three tries to find the best vegetable, so I would make the chart title clearer’ is stronger than ‘it was good’.

How to help at home

Find a real user. A grandparent, a neighbour, a club or a family event can all be the ‘user’. Ask your child to interview them and write down two or three things the finished product must do.
Collect a small piece of data. Count family votes on a film, record the daily temperature outside the window or chart how a plant grows. Ask your child to decide which tool will turn the numbers into a clear answer.
Use more than one device. Take photos or notes on a phone or tablet and assemble the finished piece on another device. Ask what had to be done to move the files and whether anything was lost on the way.
Be the tester. When your child finishes, try to use it without help and say out loud what you are thinking. Resist fixing it for them: where you got stuck is exactly what they need to learn.
Keep it private and safe. Agree what personal information or photos of other people can be included, and where files are saved, before anything is shared with someone outside the family.