A Level Computing

 
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This site has been created for the 09/10 A Level Computing Class for Worthing College. Here you will find class notes, examples and some revision help.
 
The pages here will expand over the course of the year as new subjects and concepts are introduced in class.
 
We've reached the end of the year!
 
For those of you who were hoping to carry on with Computing next year, I am sorry to say that we won't be running the course in September 2010.
 
Thank you everyone for making it such an enjoyable year to be teaching. I wish each and every one of you the very best of luck with your exams and wherever you are next academic year.
 
Holly.
 
 
A few helpful hints of some of the subjects we've studied this year with their, sometimes rather random examples!   (end of term photos to follow soon!)
 

 Abstraction - removing all unneccesary detail, but still being able to recognise the object

or.... Pacman:  he's a man, he has an eye - hardly any detail at all

 

  

 Universal Turing Machine - it has the ability to simulate any other physical machine

or.... Optimus Prime - the ultimate transformer (has the ability to simulate, almost, any other machine)

 Also applies to the Principal of Universiality

  

 Cached memory - memory set aside for when it is needed quickly

or.... a toilet cistern (when the toilet is flushed, the reserved water is moved quickly into the toilet)

  

 Simulation - creating a real life scenario using code so all possible scenarios may be tried out safely.

or.... our traffic light simulation where you all wrote a function for cars and crossing the road.

  

 Pointers - a piece of memory that holds the address of another piece of memory

or.... a post it note with the address written down rather than the house with an address.

  

 Data Packets - the transfer carrier of data between one machine and another.

or.... Postman pat - remember the way his letters were addressed?

or.... Warriors of The Net

  

 IP Addresses - the logical address of a node on a network

or... our paper aeroplanes that were delivered to you using your IP (or throwing them at our router who passed them on)

Remember SUBNETTING:

Class A:   0.255.255.255

Class B: 0.0.255.255

Class C: 0.0.0.255

  

 A Stack - a logical list of items (FIFO)

Or.... clothes placed neatly in a stack

  

 A Heap - memory kept, but in no logical order.

Or.... a more recognisable heap of clothes!

  
 
 
Your revison videos are here!
 
Your fully printed and bound projects are due in for marking on the 21st April 2010.  Make sure you include your AQA sheets at the front and you have indicated where you have met each criteria (give the page number on the sheet)
 
Term Three Revision Plan
Remember, for every lesson in the third term, you will be required to have your course book, pen, paper and revision file with you. No excuses gentlemen.
 
While we will be looking at the subjects in the table below in these lessons, we will also continue with the white boards and a selection of revision questions for every lesson. You can look through these questions on the Revision Questions page. To help with revision, each of the subjects below, I have also linked to an external site which explains the concept in another way.
 
 Date Revision Subject  Course Book Pages 
 21st April

Algorithms: correctness, complexity & growth

Big O Notation

Simulation

14-24 

23

123-129

 23rd April

 Finite State Machines

Turing Machines

Regular Expressions

Real Numbers  (mathematical)   (computing)

25-34

35-47

55-68

 130-138

 28th April

 Intractable Problems

Big O Notation

Backus-Naur Form

Server Side Scripting

48-54

23

62-66

199-212 

 30th April

 Programming Paradigms  (imperative vs. functional)  (Event Driven Programming)

Reverse Polish Notation

Server Side Scripting

69-79

67-68

199-212 

 5th May

 Recursion

Lists and Pointers

Binary Search

Server Side Scripting

80-84

85-94

115-119

199-212 

 7th May

 Stacks and Queues

Sorting

BNF & RPN

95-103

118-122

62-68 

 12th May

 Graphs & Trees

Internet Security

Database Concepts

104-114

213-220

150-160 

 
Countdown to  End of Term
 
Your A Level Projects are due in after the Easter Holidays. The project milestones are set out below:
 
            Weds                                            Fri
    10th (build)                                 12th (build)
    17th (build & test plans)        19th (build & test plans)
    24th (testing & reports)        26th (testing & reports)
    31st FINAL PRESENTATION OF YOUR BUILD!!!   
 
Analysis Section      (complete - Jan 2010)
 
Design Section      (complete Feb 2010)
 
Technical Solution   (due in end March 2010)
This is your application. This should be as complete as possible, however do not allow development to detract from time spent on your report. Remember what it is that the examiner will be marking.
  
While you develop your applications it's a good plan to take screen shots so you can include these in your 'technical solution' section to show how you developed each page. This does not have to be a large section, but you will gain extra marks for explaining your development process well.
 
What goes into your report?
  • Write up - screen shots & explanation of how you developed your application (including any issues you encountered, and hopefully how you solved them)
  • Appendix: Your fully annotated code
  • Appendix: A CD with your practical application loaded
Testing   (due in end March 2010)
You will be expected to have a test plan, expected test outcomes (including extreme and erroneous data) and a full set of test data which is not only included as an appendix but collated in graphical format.
 
System Maintenance  (due in end March 2010)
This is where you blow your own trumpet about the fantasticness of the application you have been thinking about night and day (?!) for the past year. Take screen shots of every screen and explain them. Remember algorithms here to support your text.
 
 
User Manual  (due in After Easter Break)
 
Evaluation  (due in After Easter Break)
 
 
This Week's Homework (Due in WEDNESDAY!):
 
  1. READ pages 35 - 47 of your course books about turing machines (the turing game is uploaded on the programming concepts section) and create your revision notes
  2. Continue to update your build screenshots that you handed in this week. REMEMBER! These must be supported by text explaining what you are doing at each point.
 
 
Previous Lessons:
  1. Read page 25 > in your coursebooks looking at Finite State machines.
  2. Make yourself a 'Revision File' into which you should put your own notes on what we covered in class and the chapter in the book. What else can you find in your own research.
  • How are you going to set out your revision notes to best help you remember?
  1. Print Out a copy of your development screenshots showing your application develoipment so far. This should be supported by text explaining how you have developed your application to date, any issues you have encountered and whether you believe at this stage if you are on target to meet your original project objectives.

 

  1. Read your feedback on your design section. I have made notes on areas that could be improved or adjusted. 
  2. Now you have begun to build your applications you should begin to consider your test plans - what do you need to include in these? Refer back to your AQA sheets.
  3. We will be looking at decision trees next week. Before the lesson, you will be expected to have read the brief chapter on these in your text books. 
 
Following on from the research on cables you brought in this week, we are going to begin to look at the internals of a pc and how this is linked to Data Transmission.
 
For Next Wednesday:  Design your ultimate gaming system:
 
  • What graphics?
  • Cooling?
  • Overclocking?
  • Hardware?
  • Cables (use today's lesson)
  • Peripherals?
You have no budget - this is a money no object project....
 
 
For Wednesday - You will all be expected to present to the class the research you have completed on the following data transmission media (what it is, how it works, form of data transmission, maximum data speeds):
 
IDE - James
SATA - George B
HDMI - Stuart
USB a-b - Louis
Cat5e - George K
Coaxial - Mark
Fibre Optic - Ben
 
 
Happy New Year!
 
This term will be focused on completing your A Level project and a further minor project to cover the Communications unit and revise Databases - make sure you have a soft copy of everything you have done this term on a memory stick or on huddle
 

 
If you are not sure what we have covered in the course units so far (or want to know what's coming up) - the course plan page has a full listing of the units and topics we have covered and a timetable for next term.
 
Your presentation photos are now up on the site in the Practical Project area.  Code help can now be found on the Code Snippets Page.
 
For those of you who know you should be revising your SQL syntax (and you all know you should) - this may provide a little geeky relief... :  http://www.aaronbassett.com/2009/i-can-haz-lolsql/ 
 
 
 
Last Term:
 
After Christmas, there will be a mock exam covering all subjects studied so far. Everything that you need to revise is on this site, either as part of the pages or in the uploaded presentations. Your mock results will be part of your first major assessment this year. Make sure you revise!!
 
On the last week before the Christmas break, you will be presenting your A Level Project so far. In the same way as your first presentation was shown, you will be required to present your project using powerpoint slides covering the following:
 
  • Overview of the project concept (just a reminder)
  • Your original wirefram designs
  • How you designed your project (designs, data dictionaries, etc)
  • Areas that you have been developing (screen shots!)
  • Take one piece of code you have developed so far and explain it's function and how you designed it
  • Any issues you have encountered (and how, if you have solved them)
  • What your plan is for next term in terms of development & report
  • Remember your feedback from last time as guidance
 
 
 
 
You will be spending until Christmas writing up your C# project in the same format as yourA Level Project (a mini version in this case - minimum of 20 pages not including apendicies)
 
To help you, your report headings should include:
 
Analysis & Specification (incl. Goals & Objectives)
Design
Implementation
Testing
Evaluation
Apendix (must include your test sheets & a print out of your fully annoted code)
 
Remember: YOU MUST QUOTE YOUR SOURCES!!!
On the last Wednesday of term, you will be required to hand this report in by no later than 10.30am printed and bound.
 
Last Week's Homework (Due in Wednesday 25th Nov) :
 
  • Use the Code Snippets online to bring your C# game to a playable level. We will be testing our prototypes Next Wednesday!
  • Write up the development of your C# game.
    • This should include how you designed your game (you created wireframes - include them!), how you developed your game, any issues you have encountered so far and how you have solved them.
    • Write out a list f the features of your game, how the game is played (this will form te basis of your testing document) 
     Previous Homework  (this should be in your folders now!):
     
  • Begin to write up the last fornight that you have spent building your project software.
    • What differences are there in your prototype compared to your original designs?
    • What have you found easy? What have you found difficult?
    • Have you encountered any problems? How did you overcome them?
    • Where did your knowledge to build the software come from?
    • How have your college lessons impacted on your ability to build the software?
    • What personal research have you undertaken? (QUOTE SOURCES!!!!)  
  • ESSAY:  What is The Purpose Of Subnetting?
    • Discuss your findings in a short essay (more than a page, less than five)
    • Essay Format: Intro, discussion, conclusion, SOURCES!
    • Revision of Stacks, Heaps & Queues (we went through that last friday) - section 2.4 in the textbook (pg 95 - 103) and the class notes
    • Revision of Programming Paradigms - textbook section 2.1 (pgs 69 - 79) and class notes
    • Finish your screen designs & data dictionaries - you all completed one of these, for your project folder you should now have one for each screen of your software
    • Create a decision table for your own projects using one of the functions you have designed.
    • Using the decision table shown below, create an algorithmic flowchart as you did last week for your game character levelling up.
     
     
    • Show your wireframe designs to your client:  Record their feedback and any changes they may suggest. 
    • Write down a concept for your C# game.
      • Remember Human Computer Interaction:
        • It will be played on the screen using a Wii remote
        • There must be a form of collision detection (objects? / mouse click?)Your game must be intuative - you shouldn't need any instructions to play
    • Produce the 'wireframe' designs for your A Level Project
    • Remember the concept of Human Computer Interaction - How will this help?
    • Make sure your wireframe makes use of the 'rule of thirds'
    • Your wireframe does not need to be built in your development tool, you can use a graphics program to create a visual representation
    • Your wireframes MUST include a table of objects
    • For those of you who do not have an introduction to your project and client  in your folder, this must be in this week!
    • DFD & ERD diagrams
    • Feasibility sudy (remember TOES!) 
    • Register at www.rigb.org  go to the 2008 lectures and watch the 'Digital Intelligence' lecture.
    •  Essay Questions:
      • Use the internet to research the hashing technique - why is this an example of the pigeonhole principal?
      • Write an explanation of Generalisation when used in Computing Abstraction - provide a diagram of how this is acheived.
     
    Important Information:
     
    Your Tutor: Holly Billinghurst  (email me)
     
    Your classes are:  Wednesday 8.30 - 10.45 (room 105)
                                         Friday 11.05 - 1.20 (room 105)
     
    Every Friday you are required to have a Study Plan complete and ready to discuss. This is an essential part of your classwork and A2 Project. Blank forms may be downloaded from here.
     
     
    Subpages (1): Your Course Plan