GCSE Ethical Legal and Environmental Issues
Knowledge of the wider implications of computer use helps students to make informed decisions about their actions. There are many ethical questions and ideas which underpin computer science. It is both necessary and desirable for users to engage with these to avoid actions detrimental to their own social well-being and that of the people around them.
Pros and Cons of the Algorithm Age
This resource consists of a single 87 page long article describing a survey and set of interviews some researchers completed with key thinkers and researchers in the field of Computer Science. They asked the respondents for their opinions about the ethical challenges they expect programmers and researchers to face over the next decades, with respect to algorithms. Whilst the article itself is beyond the scope of GCSE Computer Science, the ideas and arguments could form the basis for a number of potential class discussions and essays, which would be both informative and illuminating for students to research.
Simulation versus real-world sports
This resource from the IET looks at the social and health related issues, by asking students to consider whether playing video games can equate to doing sport. The resource contains a detailed lesson plan, which includes suggestions for differentiated activity along with extension tasks. There is also a writing frame and a handout for students to glean information from, in addition to their use of the internet. The presentation which accompanies the activity is more general and talks about products and their benefits, as a starting point for similar activities involving other areas of discussion.
Protecting the Da Vinci code
This article from the CS4FN Magazine, looks into the ideas surrounding Intellectual Property, copyright, copyleft and patents and how these all apply (or don't) in the realm of computer programming and software. These ideas can be used as the basis of various class discussions, research tasks and essay topics to help prepare students for their GCSE Computer Science papers.
How will parcels be delivered in the future?
This research task asks students to consider the possibility of using drones and autonomous vehicles to deliver parcels. Students need to list the advantages and disadvantages and consider the ethical implications of introducing this techology.
