What the lesson is about
“ICT - computing, control and programming” is a collection of creative ideas, including how to make a game in Flash. It is also an excellent introduction to algorithms and programming, plus resources aimed at GCSE computing students.
Getting started
Web X-Ray Goggles by Hackasaurus is an amazing web-based tool that lets you explore and edit live websites in your browser. It’s even simple to use. The goggles provide a simple, easy way for non-technical people to inspect web pages, learn about how they are put together, and remix them. They are part of the Hackasaurus backpack. Another good website is CS4FN, which is brimming with ideas for lessons and challenges based on a variety of computing topics.
Taking it further
A couple of the resources look at how to make your own computer game. One is a game for infants made in Scratch (good for upper primary and lower secondary), while a fish and shark game using Scratch is a classic David Phillips screencast, looking at how to make a game in Flash. It’s an excellent introduction for S1-6. There’s a Flash animation programme - a classic Teach ICT one - to explain the mysteries of a simple control system, and there is a
Logo workbook to provide an excellent introduction to algorithms and programming. This would suit a wide range of ages. It has a complete set of activities to introduce children to Logo programming, including the commands: fd, bk, rt, lt, cs, setpc setpensize, penup, pendown, fill, repeat, random and home, as well as how to create and nest simple procedures.
Where to find it
www.tes.co.ukcomputing-programming.
