Computer people and their stories

Inspire your KS2 pupils with these short, engaging stories from the world of computing. This fully illustrated, ready-to-use lesson features computer people past and present, carefully chosen to illustrate the diversity of those who work in computing such as Guido van Rossum, Mark E Dean, Tim Berners-Lee, Dorothy Monekosso and Chieko Asakawa. It also describes various jobs carried out by computing professionals today including software engineers, computer scientists, video games makers and cyber security experts.

The lesson includes a fully illustrated, informative PowerPoint consisting of 35 slides. It starts with objectives, has a worksheet to complete as the lesson progresses and includes three activities which can be completed in class or given as homework. Notes and answers to the worksheet and activities are included.

OECD research indicates that children begin to make assumptions about the different careers open to them by the time they are seven years old. This lesson addresses these concerns and encourages pupils to see the possibilities that a career in computing can offer them.

Duration: Approximately one hour plus three activities.

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