The graphics course allows the children to be creative using static images. The course goes though the entire photographic process starting with the basics of graphics. Then they will take photos in class and learn to transfer the photographs to their computer. The children will then learn all the different kinds of editing available to them – including photo repair. Finally the children will utilise their skills in their project in which they will create a poster for a film in which they will be the hero or villain.

The desktop publishing course builds on the graphics course but takes the students into a new direction and helps the children communicate their ideas through a published document. The children understand the importance of layouts, templates, colour schemes and are able to create their own publication as their project for the course. The course is important in learning key skills which apply across a range of Microsoft Office applications.

Microsoft PowerPoint forms the basis of the third and final course of the Pro steps. PowerPoint is a powerful tool in sharing and explaining data to audiences of all ages. The children learn to communicate their ideas by importing a range of media into their presentations. Design and images from the two previous courses can be imported into their presentations - again building on their growing skill base. At the end of the course parents are invited to view their child present to their class.

The robotics step of the series teaches children to use logical thinking in order to programme a robot to solve problems. Beginning with basic motor skills the children programme the robots to move using their motors and then learn to use the robots sensors to create more complex programmes. The ideas behind programming are tested using the online Robotics homework challenges and at FunTech the children are allowed to physically see the result of their programming skills using the LEGO NXT robots.

Step 5 on our stepped approach course focuses on media and communications in all its forms. The course is structured on the idea that nowadays the world is based on interactive media and communicating through the internet. FunTech provides the key skills to create flash sequences which can be exported as movies or animation. Finally as part of their project the students must create a brand and distribute information on a range of platforms and will even be able to design their own online movie player.
The media and communications step introduces key skills and web components which can be added to the 6th step of the Stepped Approach academy.

The final step of year 2 on the Stepped Approach Series is the website design course. Using their skills from previous steps the children learn to build an interactive website using the latest software from adobe. Starting from the basics using base code html right the way to adding flash components the children learn to create publish and modify their very own web site. The course explains several forms of scripting, hyperlinks image hotspots and targeting frames. In addition they will be able to include images and media created from previous steps in the Academy. The project phase of the course consists of creating a website designed on a theme which illustrates all the keys skills they have learnt.

One of the most important courses on the Stepped Approach, Word Processing provides a comprehensive guide to all the aspects inside Microsoft Word. The course rapidly covers the general uses of Word and opens whole new aspects many students haven’t heard of but are very important in business such as mail merges, headers, footers and tables. Pictures are increasingly playing a larger role in documents and accompanying them with captions is now vital. The documents created as part of the course are both professional and contain excellent features which are often over looked - such as automatic table of contents and indexes.

Spreadsheets is the second of the ultimate steps on the Stepped Approach and aims to teach students how to use spreadsheets effectively in order to process numerical data efficiently. This course combines the IT skills with the mathematical and business acumens required in further education. Spreadsheets teaches students to calculate percentages, use If statements and explains conditional formatting. There is an element of business in the step and this is reflected in the project phase of Spreadsheets. The students create their own businesses and bid for contracts and using real life situations such as rent and VAT students must manage their businesses accurately to win.

The final step in the ultimate year is Databases. Database explores the many ways of data manipulation, entry and deletion with Microsoft Access. The students learn to design and input data into tables. Find information from that table by running a query, then produce forms with action buttons and finally reports. The course defines data relationships and explains complex queries. As part of the databases students will be given a set of situations must design their own databases and manage the inputs and outputs. The databases