High-impact computer science resources that are based on sound educational psychological theories to help all pupils reach their full potential. I’m an experienced teacher/HoD and professionally create computing and computer science teaching resources through my company Nichola Wilkin Ltd. All these resources have been exclusively created by me. I’m an author who has written for both BBC Bitesize and Cambridge University Press. Quality teaching resources you can trust!
High-impact computer science resources that are based on sound educational psychological theories to help all pupils reach their full potential. I’m an experienced teacher/HoD and professionally create computing and computer science teaching resources through my company Nichola Wilkin Ltd. All these resources have been exclusively created by me. I’m an author who has written for both BBC Bitesize and Cambridge University Press. Quality teaching resources you can trust!
Are you looking to expand your student’s knowledge of Python programming? These Python challenges give students 8 coding activities all focused on reading and writing to external text files using Python.
If you are familiar with my best-selling Python book “Python by Example: Learning to Program in 150 Challenges” by Nichola Lacey, these new challenges will expand on the skills taught and give your student’s more coding practice.
Download this wonderful set of Python challenges today to see just how useful they are.
WHO ARE THESE PYTHON CHALLENGES FOR?
These challenges assume students have some basic knowledge of programming with Python and know how to use input and a basic print statement as well as being familiar with using lists in Python.
WHAT IS INCLUDED?
This pack includes a single 5 page PDF which gives your students an explanation of reading and writing to external text files with Python, example code and 8 programming challenges for them to work through. You also get another PDF which contains printed versions of the suggested solutions AND you get the Python solutions in Python programs so you can open them and look at the code using an IDLE.
HOW CAN YOU USE THESE PYTHON CHALLENGES?
These challenges are very flexible and can be used in a variety of ways. The main PDF includes an explanation, example code and a page of Python coding challenges. Students can work through them individually and the attractive PDF handout makes a perfect homework task.
Alternatively you can print out the example code and page of Python challenges to give to your class as a starter, plenary or other in-class activity to enable your students to practise using their new skills.
You may even want to isolate the programming challenges into individual tasks, rather than use them as a printed activity to use them in your lesson as small individual coding challenges.
They are also ideal for quick finishers or to motivate higher ability students to keep them interested and learning a new skill whilst you help other students who need a little more reassurance of the basics.
As you have a separate PDF of the answers you can give them to your class at a later date for them to mark themselves, although most students do not require this as they will discover if their code works when they run it and will debug if they find an error. You could also have the answer sheet ready as a help sheet for those who are stuck and need help.
What are you waiting for? Grab your copy of these flexible and highly useful Python challenges immediately. Your students will love them.
Are you looking to expand your student’s knowledge of Python programming? These Python challenges give students 6 coding activities all focused on extending their knowledge of using passing arguments to functions in Python.
If you are familiar with my best-selling Python book “Python by Example: Learning to Program in 150 Challenges” by Nichola Lacey, these new challenges will expand on the skills taught and give your student’s more coding practice.
Download this wonderful set of Python challenges today to see just how useful they are.
WHO ARE THESE PYTHON CHALLENGES FOR?
These challenges assume students have some knowledge of programming with Python and know how to use input and print statements, mathematical operators and string manipulation. As well as being familiar with using if statements, for loops, while loops and functions in Python.
WHAT IS INCLUDED?
This pack includes a single 6 page PDF which gives your students an explanation of using functions, args and kwargs syntax Python, example code and 6 programming challenges for them to work through.
You also get another PDF which contains printed versions of the suggested solutions AND you get the Python solutions in Python programs so you can open them and look at the code using an IDLE.
HOW CAN YOU USE THESE PYTHON CHALLENGES?
These challenges are very flexible and can be used in a variety of ways. The main PDF includes an explanation, example code and a page of Python coding challenges. Students can work through them individually and the attractive PDF handout makes a perfect homework task.
Alternatively, you can print out the example code and page of Python challenges to give to your class as a starter, plenary or other in-class activity to enable your students to practise using their new skills.
You may even want to isolate the programming challenges into individual tasks, rather than use them as a printed activity to use them in your lesson as small individual coding challenges.
They are also ideal for quick finishers or to motivate higher ability students to keep them interested and learning a new skill whilst you help other students who need a little more reassurance of the basics.
As you have a separate PDF of the answers you can give them to your class at a later date for them to mark themselves, although most students do not require this as they will discover if their code works when they run it and will debug if they find an error. You could also have the answer sheet ready as a help sheet for those who are stuck and need help.
What are you waiting for? Grab your copy of these flexible and highly useful Python challenges immediately. Your students will love them.
This has got to be one of the most unusual and fun ways of introducing your students to the delights of the bubble, insert and merge sorting algorithms. Even if your exam board only teaches two of these sorting algorithms it’s still worth getting this activity and teaching all three as it is just so much fun!
Using an escape room activity that involves a witch and a goblin (who doesn’t want that?) your students will learn the basics of how these three algorithms work.
This is a student-led interactive escape room activity that is ideal for social distancing and does not require any student computers and they can remain at their individual desks and yet they will still be working together.
The entire activity will last a single lesson.
Your role is to not do a lot and put the emphasis on your students working together. Early on you will be turned into a goblin! Sorry (not really sorry) so you may want to practise your goblin roar for when it’s called upon.
Students therefore cannot rely on you to help them (because you’ll be a goblin) and they’ll have to work together (either as a whole class or in smaller teams if you prefer) to try and solve all the riddles in their “spell books” for themselves.
The main activity is introduced via a whole-class PowerPoint presentation which includes videos giving the students vital instructions and helping them if necessary. Each pupil is given a printout of the spell book which contains all the challenges.
This escape room style activity gives your students a great introduction to the three sorting algorithms (bubble sort, insert sort and merge sort) and will certainly give your students a boost at the start of learning this topic.
Suitable for higher KS3 classes and GCSE Computer Science classes.
FREE BONUS PRODUCT INCLUDED
As a special thank you for purchasing this product I am pleased to be able to also include a surprise FREE bonus gift. This gift is one of my complete resources for which I usually charge full price but is yours absolutely free when you purchase this product. Just my little way of saying thank you to my valued customers. I hope you enjoy it and get use out of it, with my compliments.
This highly interactive lesson that requires the pupils to work in teams and use computational thinking skills to solve a range of puzzles. This activity perfect for pupils about to learn Python programming and you want to show the importance of computational thinking skills.
**This resource was shortlisted for the Teach Secondary Awards, a very rare honor for an independent resource creator. **
Your class need to work together to escape a locked laboratory in a spaceship and start the engines to avoid being sucked into a black hole by completing different challenges which will use a variety of computational thinking skills.
They are given most of the lesson to work together and at the end of the lesson, time is dedicated to discuss the computational thinking skills they used during the activity. This gives them a practical application for the computational thinking theory rather than using the tired old “making a jam sandwich” or “getting up in the morning” scenarios which are commonly used.
This activity is not a handout driven escape room, it involves using an interactive PowerPoint presentation and physical tasks that moves away from pupils filling in yet another worksheet, to working together in a team to solve interesting and challenging puzzles.
Pupils enjoy the lesson and are fully engaged whilst developing the key computational thinking skills of decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction and algorithms.
Please note: This lesson does require teachers to prepare some props beforehand and it is highly recommended the teacher reads through the teacher’s instructions and creates the props well before they want to use the lesson. Also please note that this resource does not work with Google Slides.
Written primarily for key stage 3, this activity can be used in a variety of situations:
Introducing pupils to computational thinking skills before they are introduced to a text-based programming language
Used as an end of term fun lesson which still has an education element
A fun activity to use on a year 6 transition day
Allow your new year 7s to get to know their new classmates and grow team sprit
Helping a reluctant class see the benefits of learning programming skills
.
What are you waiting for? Download this interactive escape room NOW, to help students learn about computational thinking skills in a fun and memorable lesson they will love and remember.
You may also be interested in my Computational Thinking Worksheets which you can buy from here.
This end of unit test can be used to assess the pupils understanding of Excel basic features and includes written and practical elements to the test. It asks questions on basic mathematical operators (+, -, * and /), the order of calculation (BODMAS), basic functions (SUM, AVERAGE, MIN and MAX), relative and absolute cell references, basics formatting, creating graphs along with sorting and filtering data.
Suitable for GCSE ICT classes and KS3 Computing and ICT classes.
Please note: The test and answer documents are provided in PDF format so are not editable.
FREE BONUS PRODUCT INCLUDED
As a special thank you for purchasing this product I am pleased to be able to also include a surprise FREE bonus gift. This gift is one of our complete resources which we will usually charge full price for but is yours absolutely free when you purchase this product. Just our little way of saying thank you to our valued customers. I hope you enjoy it and get use out of it, with my compliments.
This is a written test about how data is represented in a computer system.
It includes questions on binary, denary, hexadecimal, binary addition, logic gates, truth tables, ASCII, bitmaps and vector images and machine code.
Suitable for GCSE Computer Science classes and KS3 Computing classes. A useful revision tool to help GCSE pupils recognise gaps in their knowledge.
The test takes most students around 25 - 30 mins to complete.
FREE BONUS PRODUCT INCLUDED
As a special thank you for purchasing this product I am pleased to be able to also include a surprise FREE bonus gift. This gift is one of our complete resources which we will usually charge full price for but is yours absolutely free when you purchase this product. Just our little way of saying thank you to our valued customers. I hope you enjoy it and get use out of it, with my compliments.
This is a written test about computer networks.
It includes questions about LANs, the internet and the world wide web, network hardware, network topologies, data packets, MAC and IP addresses, network security and cloud storage.
Useful revision tool to help GCSE pupils recognise gaps in their knowledge.
Suitable for GCSE Computer Science classes and KS3 Computing classes.
This test takes most students 25 - 40 mins to complete.
FREE BONUS PRODUCT INCLUDED
As a special thank you for purchasing this product I am pleased to be able to also include a surprise FREE bonus gift. This gift is one of our complete resources which we will usually charge full price for but is yours absolutely free when you purchase this product. Just our little way of saying thank you to our valued customers. I hope you enjoy it and get use out of it, with my compliments.
This end of unit test is part of the Scratch Introduction unit and can be used to assess the pupils’ understanding of Scratch basics.
This resource includes the test (part written test and part practical element) and the answers to assist with marking.
This test takes most students 40 - 60 mins to complete.
FREE BONUS PRODUCT INCLUDED
As a special thank you for purchasing this product I am pleased to be able to also include a surprise FREE bonus gift. This gift is one of my complete resources for which I usually charge full price but is yours absolutely free when you purchase this product. Just my little way of saying thank you to my valued customers. I hope you enjoy it and get use out of it, with my compliments.
This end of unit test can be used to assess the pupils’ understanding of Scratch advanced features.
This resource includes the test (part written test and part practical test) and the answers to assist with marking.
This test takes most students 40 - 60 mins to complete.
FREE BONUS PRODUCT INCLUDED
As a special thank you for purchasing this product I am pleased to be able to also include a surprise FREE bonus gift. This gift is one of my complete resources for which I usually charge full price but is yours absolutely free when you purchase this product. Just my little way of saying thank you to my valued customers. I hope you enjoy it and get use out of it, with my compliments.
This is a written test about the inside workings of a computer.
It includes questions about the CPU, computer speed, multi-core processors, virtual memory, solid state and magnetic storage, ROM, RAM, user requirements and Moor’s law.
Useful revision tool to help GCSE pupils recognise gaps in their knowledge.
Suitable for GCSE Computer Science classes and KS3 Computing and ICT classes.
This test takes most students 25 - 40 mins to complete.
FREE BONUS PRODUCT INCLUDED
As a special thank you for purchasing this product I am pleased to be able to also include a surprise FREE bonus gift. This gift is one of our complete resources which we will usually charge full price for but is yours absolutely free when you purchase this product. Just our little way of saying thank you to our valued customers. I hope you enjoy it and get use out of it, with my compliments.
This bundle includes two lessons to teach GCSE 9-1 computer science pupils about system security and also includes a revision knowledge organiser to help pupils revise and recap the main points which also includes a practice exam question.
These lessons are suitable for teaching the new updated syllabus starting September 2020 including the OCR GCSE Computer Science (J277) and AQA GCSE Computer Science (8520).
Each lesson includes an attractive dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint presentation that includes differentiated lesson objectives, at least one video and lots of individual and paired tasks and questions. Each lesson also include 3 differentiated exam style questions along with a comprehensive teacher’s lesson plan including all the answers.
They cover:
Types of attack
Threats posed to networks
Identifying and preventing vulnerabilities
This ethical, legal and environmental impacts workbook is perfect for students studying for the AQA GCSE (9-1) in computer science and has been updated to completely cover the new specification 8525.
It can be used in the classroom as a teaching aid, for self-study or as a revision tool. In this resource you will receive an interactive PDF workbook so your students can either print it out and complete the activities by hand or fill it in electronically making this an ideal workbook for use in school or for students studying at home.
The answer booklet is provided as a separate PDF file so you can assign your students the workbook without including the answers.
This 27-page workbook completely covers the new specification 8525 3.8 Ethical, Legal and Environmental Impacts of Digital Technology on Wider society, Including Issues of Privacy theory.
Table of Contents:
Ethical impacts of digital technology
Autonomous vehicles
Asking ethical questions
Legal issues
The Data Protection Act 2018 (GDPR)
Wireless networking
Cloud Storage
The Computer Misuse Act 1990
Hackers v crackers
The 51, Designs and Patents Act 1988
Software licences
Environmental issues
Privacy issues
Computer based implants
.
FREE BONUS PRODUCT INCLUDED
As a special thank you for purchasing this product I am pleased to be able to also include a surprise FREE bonus gift. This gift is one of our complete resources which we will usually charge full price for but is yours absolutely free when you purchase this product. Just our little way of saying thank you to our valued customers. I hope you enjoy it and get use out of it, with my compliments.
You may also be interested in these workbooks which have also been updated for the new specification:
Algorithms
Python Programming
Fundamentals of Data Representation
Computer Systems
Fundamentals of Computer Networks
Cyber Security
Relational databases and SQL
Complete exam technique lesson to help GCSE computer science students boost their grades.
Do you feel your students know their computer science theory but are worried they still need a little extra help on understanding how to answer the exam questions to get the highest marks possible?
Fear not, help is at hand.
This stand-alone lesson introduces your pupils to common exam terminology so they feel more prepared in understand exactly what type of answers the questions require to get the top marks available.
It gives them plenty or practice in answering a variety of questions including a min exam paper you can set as a homework task or during a second lesson.
Buy this resource now and give your students the opportunity of gaining a few more valuable points. This can mean the difference between getting the grades they need or possibly missing out just because they didn’t know how to answer one particular type of question.
What is included?
This complete lesson includes :
a 29-slide PowerPoint presentation (editable)
1-page PDF teacher’s lesson plan (not-editable)
1-page PDF algorithms question handout (not-editable)
2-page PDF mini exam paper (not-editable)
.
Please note: This lesson was created specifically for the OCR GCSE Computer Science (J277) and AQA GCSE Computer Science (8525) exams and will help your pupils feel more prepared for their exams.
How can it be used?
The exam preparation PowerPoint presentation is best used during your computer science exam revision lessons. Use the PowerPoint presentation along with the class working through all the exam practice activities together.
You can either set the mini exam paper as a homework task and mark it together the next lesson or even let them mark it themselves. Alternatively set the mini exam paper during a second dedicated lesson and mark it together in class.
What are you waiting for? Grab your copy of this invaluable lesson now and give your pupils the boost they need to get a few extra marks in their computer science exams.
FREE BONUS PRODUCT INCLUDED
As a special thank you for purchasing this product I am pleased to be able to also include a surprise FREE bonus gift. This gift is one of our complete resources which we will usually charge full price for but is yours absolutely free when you purchase this product. Just our little way of saying thank you to our valued customers. I hope you enjoy it and get use out of it, with my compliments.
Looking for computer science revision material? Check out these fabulous self-study workbooks that completely cover the exam specifications:
Complete set of OCR Revision Workbooks
Complete set of AQA Revision Workbooks
Do you want some ready to use worksheets that will help reinforce your logic gates and truth table lessons?
Here you go…
12 ready to use PDF worksheets that you can use straight away. You don’t need to spend hours drawing your own logic circuits for worksheets, it’s all done for you – and you also get all the answers.
These logic circuits use the correct exam board specified logic gate symbols and will help your pupils become familiar with the logic gates and notation they will need to learn for their exams.
There is a variety of different styles of activities to keep your pupils engaged while embedding key skills.
Grab your copy today and you can use them immediately with no additional preparation.
WHAT IS INCLUDED?
12 PDF worksheets and a comprehensive teacher’s guide that includes all the answers to make your life easier.
They can be used in sequence or you can mix and match them as you need them. These worksheets use AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR and XOR logic gates and notation (see preview images for examples of the exact notation that it used).
Pupils will learn how to fill in truth tables, identify logic gates, draw logic circuits and solve logic circuits (entering 1 or 0 depending on the logic gate).
The teacher’s guide describes how each worksheet can be used, the skills it helps pupils develop as well as giving you all the answers.
HOW CAN I USE THEM?
These attractive logic gate and truth table worksheets can be used in the classroom, for summative assessment, for homework tasks or as a revision aid when revisiting the topic. They are ideal for GCSE computer science pupils.
You can print the worksheets out and ask the pupils to fill them in by hand, however 7 of the worksheets are also interactive and can be filled in on-screen saving on printing costs. The only ones that are not interactive are ones that require pupils to draw their own logic circuits and so printing them and filling in by hand is the easier option.
The worksheets that are included are listed below:
01 Basic Logic Gates – Print or interactive
02 Simple Logic Circuits – Print or interactive
03 Logic Circuits – Print or interactive
04 Drawing Simple Logic Circuits – Print only
05 More Logic Gates – Print or interactive
06 More Logic Circuits – Print or interactive
07 Complex Logic Circuits – Print or interactive
08 Drawing More Logic Circuits – Print only
09 Basic Logic Gates With Notation – Print only
10 More Logic Gates With Notation – Print only
11 Solving Logic Circuits – Print or interactive
12 Creating A Logic Circuit From Notation – Print only
.
What are you waiting for? Grab these worksheets now and save yourself hours of preparation.
Are you ready for an exhilarating and festive end of term Christmas activity? Look no further than our electrifying Christmas Computing Quizzes. This bundle includes 2 quizzes: one for year 10 and one for year 11 meaning you are reuse them year after year without fear that your students will have done them before.
Prepare to be dazzled with these fun digital student-led quizzes specially crafted for each year group studying GCSE Computer Science. Decode the secret Christmas message or break Santa out of prison by answering computing questions correctly with a Christmas theme that will leave both your SLT and your GCSE Computer Science pupils in high spirits as the term concludes.
HOW DO THE CHRISTMAS COMPUTING QUIZZES WORK?
Once you’ve purchased the resource you get a PDF file for each quiz which contains a link. Share the provided link with your students and watch as it whisks them away to an enchanting digital realm filled with engaging questions and a different, fun Christmas theme for each quiz.
Your students can embark on this journey of knowledge and fun on their own, or, for an added dose of excitement, encourage pairs of students to team up and tackle the quiz together. The joy multiplies as collaboration ignites their enthusiasm.
And the best part? The quiz is a self-guided adventure. As your students conquer each stage, the next one automatically beckons, providing you with invaluable time to support those in need or attend to the myriad of other holiday season tasks tugging at your attention.
Fear not, for we’ve thought of everything. All the answers are readily available in the comprehensive teacher’s guides, ensuring you can rescue any students who find themselves in a puzzling predicament.
These captivating experiences are designed to last around 60 minutes but you may need to provide a second activity for particularly speedy early finishers.
WHAT IS INCLUDED?
You get two PDF files, one for each quiz, which contains the link to the activity and includes the answers.
Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity! Grab your copy of this great value GCSE Computer Science Christmas Quiz bundle – a timeless gem that you can deploy year after year with each new wave of GCSE Computer Science students. Let the festivities begin!
Click here to check out this amazing bundle to get all 5 Key Stage 3 Computing and GCSE Computer Science quizzes at a knock down price.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
In order to run the quizzes there are a few activities which require links to external websites. Here are the external sites that you will need to have unblocked on your school network.
view . genial . ly
jigsawexplorer . com
what3words . com
PLEASE NOTE:
This game is intended to be used on a desktop or laptop computer and some of the features will not be available on an iPad or mobile device.
Here are 35 the posters to create an attractive display in your computer room to help explain to your students about a few of the important people in computing who have played a role in the development of computing technology.
Buy the display set now and instantly brighten your computer room.
HOW CAN YOU USE THIS DISPLAY?
This people in computing poster display works well when positioned:
around your room following a timeline
in a grid format
.
PREPARING THE DISPLAY
It is best to print the pages in colour, if you can, but I have included a black and white version too. If you are printing in black and white you may wish to print them onto coloured paper to add a bit of interest in your classroom.
I suggest printing the posters on card or laminating each page to give a more professional finish.
A nice display option, if you have room, is to display the posters of all the people in computing in date order joined to a ribbon to show a timeline for students to follow around your classroom. Use a wide brightly coloured ribbon for added interest. Alternatively, they fit nicely in a grid (7 x 5).
I’ve include a couple of suggested layouts to give you an idea of how you can display these people in computing posters.
What are you waiting for? Download this ready to use people in computing display poster pack now and get printing. They are sure to brighten your classroom.
FREE BONUS PRODUCT INCLUDED
As a special thank you for purchasing this product I am pleased to be able to also include a surprise FREE bonus gift. This gift is one of our complete resources which we will usually charge full price for but is yours absolutely free when you purchase this product. Just our little way of saying thank you to our valued customers. I hope you enjoy it and get use out of it, with my compliments.
Are you teaching Python sequences of data and want to spice things up a bit?
Look no further.
This great value bundle includes 5 stunning, no-prep worksheets which enhance learning and spark critical thinking as well as a great escape room activity.
With these no-prep activities your students will enhance their learning of Python programming with sequences of data including using iteration, selection and lists.
Created for year 9 students, the worksheets have been developed to complement your existing “Teach Computing” scheme of work, break up the lessons and can promote deeper thinking into the subject matter.
The escape room activity combines quizzes, puzzles and sound to test their understanding of programming with Python using lists, sequences and iteration.
Absolutely no preparation required by the teacher.
Break monotony, energise your lessons and reinforce learning with these versatile worksheets and escape room activity. Ideal for time-strapped teachers seeking engaging, hassle-free activities.
Save money now when you purchase these two great resources as a bundle.
CLICK HERE TO SEE MY INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON PROGRAMMING WORKSHEETS AND ESCAPE ROOM
#tcer&ws
Are you teaching “Clear messaging in digital media” and want to spice things up a bit?
Look no further.
This great value bundle includes 5 stunning, no-prep worksheets enhance learning and spark critical thinking and a great escape room activity.
These no-prep activities your students will enhance their learning of clear messaging in digital media. Created for year 7 students the worksheets have been developed to compliment your existing scheme of work, break up the lessons and can promote deeper thinking into the subject matter.
The escape room activity combines quizzes, puzzles, animation and sound to test their understanding of important concepts in the clear messaging in digital media unit.
Absolutely no preparation required by the teacher.
Break monotony, energise your lessons and reinforce learning with these versatile worksheets and escape room activity. Ideal for time-strapped teachers seeking engaging, hassle-free activities.
Save money now when you purchase these two great resources as a bundle.
#tcer&ws
Are you teaching vector graphics and want to spice things up a bit?
Look no further.
This great value bundle includes 6 stunning, no-prep worksheets to enhance learning and spark critical thinking and a great escape room activity.
With these no-prep activities, your students will enhance their learning of creating and understanding vector graphics.
Created for year 8 students, the worksheets have been developed to complement your existing scheme of work, break up the lessons and can promote deeper thinking into the subject matter.
The escape room activity combines quizzes, puzzles and sound to test their understanding of creating vector graphics.
Absolutely no preparation required by the teacher.
Break monotony, energise your lessons and reinforce learning with these versatile worksheets and escape room activity. Ideal for time-strapped teachers seeking engaging, hassle-free activities.
Save money now when you purchase these two great resources as a bundle.
CLICK HERE TO SEE MY CLEAR MESSAGING IN DIGITAL MEDIA WORKSHEETS AND ESCAPE ROOM BUNDLE
#tcer&ws
Want to learn Python programming?
These 4 documents that include example Python code, tasks and programming challenges to complete to help students, NQTs and non-specialist teachers to learn the following Python programming skills:
Input and print statements
If statements
For loops
While loops
Perfect for classroom activities, homework tasks and self-study.
Answers are included.
