Noadswood Science, 2014

 Information Wednesday, September 09, 2015

Computer Science  Course information: 2 year option course (5x lessons every fortnight)  GCSE in computer science (counts as a stand-alone GCSE and can be included as a science GCSE)  Consists of a final year exam (1.30 hours worth 40%) and 2x coursework components (worth 60% (30% each))  You’ll learn: programming, algorithms, data, hardware and basic concepts of software engineering  Ideal for A-level computing, vocational IT qualifications, industry-standard qualifications and eventually degrees in computing, engineering and science…

Computer Science  There are a wide variety of computing languages available: this course is designed to give you a basic understanding of how computer science (and conceptual thinking) can be utilised…  All the resources (presentation concepts, examples of code, revision materials etc…) are available on the science website: > computer science  This course is a starting block: it is deeply encouraged that you take your interests and passions and experiment in your own time with any computing language you enjoy (start at code academy then look at the developer pages of iOS / android systems and play with C++ / SWIFT / python etc…)

Topics  This course is split into two fundamental sections: computing topics which will be broken down into basic concepts and 2x practical programming tasks (coursework)  Computer science topics include: computer systems; expressions and types; variables and constants; selection; repetition; Boolean operators; arrays; flowcharts; trace tables; errors; functions and procedures; scope; bespoke data structures; software development lifecycles; bits and bytes; number systems; character sets; sound; bitmap images; instructions and the CPU; memory; secondary storage; input and output devices; algorithms; language libraries; external databases (text and SQL); networks; client-server models; client-side programming; server-side programming; external code sources and computer technology in society  There will also be time dedicated to prototyping and testing (practice project lessons)

Projects  You will also pick two project to complete between year 10 and 11 – these must be completed during the computer science lessons and cannot be taken home  Your work is marked on: the design on the solution (9 marks); solution development (9 marks); programming techniques used (36 marks); testing and evaluating (9 marks) and the quality of written communication (QWC marks)  Work will be completed and saved in-house, and folders will be used as you describe what you have done and why…

Projects  You will be given a choice of 4 projects, of which you will complete 2. The scenarios resemble the following: -  Mobile application (a mobile app is made)  Web based application (a website is modified)  Game application (a functional user interface for a graphical / text based game)  Traditional application (a puzzle is produced)

Folder  It is really important you keep yourself organised: with both hard copies and electronic copies of material…  It is your responsibility to back up everything! You’ll be given a USB stick to save material and it is encouraged that you periodically print material and keep it in your folder (in a sensible order)!  Your folder will act as a revision source for the 40% exam content, and as a store of coursework before it is handed it for marking.  Keep your USB stick and the computer network drives clean: make a Computer Science folder and get into the habit of saving documents with their appropriate names!  Save versions of code you write: in case you make a change that leads to a catastrophic error you will want to go back to a working version!