This unit was written to improve pupils understanding of the hardware and software components which are required to build a computer system. By learning how to understand specifications pupils should be able to make informed choices when they choose components. Geeky but great fun and engaging. The unit covers the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence, Es & Os 3-08c and 4-08d. Have fun Greg P.S. Please leave feedback.

Please note this download is only useable if you already have a copy of Serif WebPlus. The application has been discontinued. In this practical unit pupils create a website on the London 2012 Olympics while learning how to use Serif’s excellent WebPlus X5 software. This is intended as an introductory unit to web design and creation. All the text and graphics are supplied to the pupils. Following this unit, my pupils work in groups of four to design and implement a website for a client. The files are saved in a Dropbox folder. Send me your e-mail if you wish to use the files. Please leave feedback.

This resource was created to accompany my school's Internet Safety Unit. The resource can be used to instigate class discussion regarding the accuracy of Internet information, as an information sheet or maybe as a homework exercise (you'd have to write the questions though). Please leave feedback. Thanks.

This theory unit was written by my colleague Arthur Kerr and edited by myselfIt was written for the Scottish National 4/5 Computing course but could easily be used with other exam systems. It covers: - Networking - Security - Legality - Environment Please leave feedback

This unit covers Data Representation & Computer Architecture for N4 é N5. It covers: Binary Units Bin to Den and Den to Bin conversion ASCII Bit-Map Storage and Calculations of File Size Vector Graphic Storage Machine Code Computer Architecture (memory, processor components, buses, addressibility) é Interfaces Three calculation sheets accompany the unit. For access to all the files send me a message with your e-mail address and I’ll register you for the Dropbox they’re stored in. Please leave feedback. G Reid

This unit was written for the Scottish, Computing - National 4/5 - Information Systems Design &; Development Unit. It covers what info systems are, their purpose, the data types they contain and an examination of user interface design. The unit is mainly theory work but has a variety of tasks built in. Send me a message with your e-mail address if you wish the files that accompany the unit. Please give feedback. G Reid

This booklet was written for the Scottish National 4/5 courses but could be used as part of any programming course for beginners. The booklet covers the following topics - What is a program? - Design Methodologies - Programming Construct Definitions - Program Constucts exemplified in Pseudocode (with several tasks to teach pupils design & pseudocode at the same time) - Readability - Types of Errors - Interpreters vs Compilers Please leave feedback Thanks

In this enterprise task, pupils create a website for a client (another member of staff, local group, charity or company). Pupils are expected to work in groups, identifying their own skills, sharing workload, communicating with their client and meeting deadlines. This is the next step after my Basic Web Design unit where pupils learn how to use web editing software. Greg Reid Please review for future updates.

I created this unit as part of a whole school initiative to improve pupils' awareness of study skills. The three pages discuss different types of learner and encourage pupils to consider how they will prepare for their next class assessment. A link to a BBC / Open University survey test allows pupils to test for their own learning type. Please leave feedback. Thanks

Created as an A5 booklet to sit next to pupils as they code in Python. In my teaching I constantly reinforce the importance of looking at examples of code when learning to program. Although this was created for the new Scottish National 4/5 courses the reference guide could be used by anyone learning to code using Python 3. Please leave feedback G Reid

These were written as part of my new Curriculum for Excellence course for S1 pupils. Pupils are not forced to work through the help sheets but use them when required. All pupils then work through the Comic Life Projects sheets to a level of their own choosing. Each new project is more challenging. If you definitely wish to use this unit, please e-mail me for a copy of the files as there are too many to upload. Thanks Greg Reid

These worksheets were written for my Scottish, Curriculum for Excellence S2 course. The worksheets cover the basics of editing digital photographs (eg. terms like resolution) to complex techniques like cloning and colour selection. The unit is based around Serif's PhotoPlus X4 application which is a superb, easy to use, yet powerful, bit-mapped editing program. The files that go with the unit are too large to upload so please contact me for a copy. G Reid Principal Teacher of Computing

These sheets are part of a Curriculum for Excellence course for S1 pupils. The format of these sheets was an attempt to get away from workbooks where pupils work from step 1 through to step 50 without thinking. Pupil are taught skills and encouraged to try things (in other words problem solve). An assessment at the end requires pupils to demonstrate that they understand where to use each Word facility appropriately. This style of teaching takes a bit of getting used to and is definitely harder work. The benefits outweigh this though. Good luck! Greg

This assessment was written to be used with my tutorial sheets for Serif DrawPlus (also on TES). The assessments is done in three stages to test Basic, Intermediate and Advanced skills as taught in the tutorials. It is expected that most pupils will achieve section 1 and only a few will be capable of all the required skills. Written to take place during 1, 53 minute period. Please leave feedback.

These 7 lessons were written to be delivered as part of a Scottish Qualifications Authority workshop to discuss with Computing Science teachers alternative ways to deliver web coding. They are designed to introduce fun problem solving exercises (some paper-based, some practical) and are intended to be used as lessons starters or simply to break up longer coding exercises. The lessons cover: 1. Basic Tags/Elements (h1, h2, p, title) Pupils are given cut out pieces of web content and code and must arrange the pieces on a blank A3 HTML template printout. 2. Coding Basic Tags (h1, h2, p, title) Pupils are given an HTML file with page content (as a single paragraph of text) but no elements. They must separate the text out and add tags to format the content. They are also asked to research how to create the bullet point list required by the task. 3. Division Tags (div) Similar to lesson 1 but introducing the concept of sectioning off a page using division tags. 4. Adding In-line Styles (text colour, text size, background colour, fonts) Pupils are given an HTML file, printed on A3 paper, with spaces for styles to be added. They must arrange a number of cut-out styles on the HTML file to match a screenshot of a finished page. 5. Adding In-line Styles Pupils are given an screenshot of a finished page with annotations showing colours, fonts and text-sizes used. They must edit the styles in a given file to match the finished page. 6. External Style Sheets Pupils are shown the same site implemented using in-line and then an external stylesheet. This is used to discuss the advantages of external styles. Their task this time is to edit, delete and add to the stylesheet to alter the look of the website to match a fnished example. 7. Cascading Order Pupils are given 5 A3 sheets each which shows an HTML file, a CSS file and a screenshot of the page when shown in a browser. These examples must be examined carefully and used to research the precedence order used when a browser interprets styles (i.e. In-line over-rules external, ID overrules external). This a a difficult task requiring a lot of code reading and problem solving. Level: (Beginner / Intermediate) Duration: (Around 3 to 4 hours in Total) Teaches: (See above)

Computational Thinking (learning to think in a logical/problem solving way) is the buzz word in the teaching of programming. By teaching students to predict the outcome of small pieces of code they naturally become better at building their own programs. Although this homework uses Scratch program code, the code is simply a vehicle to ask the questions and the homework may be used with students who have never seen Scratch. Permission has been granted by the Scratch team to uses images of Scratch code. Have fun. My students loved these! Previously downloaded 30,000 times on a few websites comments have included: "Thanks, these look like really good examples and introduce code in a fun and engaging way." "Very useful. I'll use for a Maths class as well." "Great examples to understand code. Thank you for sharing it."

(Greg Reid has written two Computing text books for the Scottish education system. His resources are used in thousands of schools.) Previously selected by TES to appear on their Twitter feed, this resource was created to help younger students understand the basics of good PowerPoint design. It covers the correct use of colour themes, text content and animation, often indicating that less is more. The resource may also be used as a poster when printed in A3. This resource was previously rated 5 out of 5 and included comments such as: Brilliant well done. Often the children are tempted to add every possible text, colour, image and animation possible. This guide helps to show them how to keep their presentation looking snazzy without looking a mess! Thank you! This is an excellent resource has been selected to feature on the @TESPrimary twitter feed over the next week. Thank you so much for sharing, you are helping to inspire teachers and students all over the world!

These exercises were written to solve that familiar problem of; “what homework do I give during practical lessons like programming?”. In this series of questions students are asked to consider small programming problems and design solutions using pseudocode or a programming language of their choice. Homework 1 of 10 includes questions on: - Input - Output - Calculation - Conditional (If) Statement - Fixed Loop. Two additional theory questions cover Test Data and Input Validation. Two marking schemes give answers in: 1. Pseudocode and Python 2. Pseudocode and Visual Basic My students found this a very helpful aid to their understanding of program structures and problem solving. Questions 1-5 are available to purchase as a bundle. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/practise-programming-questions-1-to-5-bundle-11543151

A 14 mark database homework/revision question covering: Entity Relationship Diagrams Data Dictionaries Compound and Surrogate keys Use of Forms and Reports Note that two versions of the question have been uploaded. One contains a simple ERD (entities and relationship) and the other contains a more complex ERD (also including attributes) Written for the Scottish Higher course but valid for all intermediate level Database units. My students found this very useful. Question 4 of 6.

These exercises were written to solve that familiar problem of; “what homework do I give during practical lessons like programming?”. In this series of questions students are asked to consider small programming problems and design solutions using pseudocode or a programming language of their choice. Homework 2 of 10 includes questions on: - Input - Output - Calculation - Conditional (If) Statement - Conditional Loop. Two additional theory questions cover Test Data and Reasons for using Input Validation. Two marking schemes give answers in: 1. Pseudocode and Python 2. Pseudocode and Visual Basic My students found this a very helpful aid to their understanding of program structures and problem solving. Questions 1-5 are available to purchase as a bundle. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/practise-programming-questions-1-to-5-bundle-11543151