As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!
Section 1.1 of my new revision series is complete (I guess that means I should stop saying new now even though it only took me 3 days). In no more than 22 slides, you can learn about %15-20 of the A level spec - amazing huh?
In case you're new, these summary presentations are offer more detail than my revision guide, but still deliver all the necessary content in a concise fashion with no waffling whatsoever.
Comparing this to my other revision series "The Ultimate OCR A Level Computer Science Dictionary" which has 4 iterations so far, these 3 summary presentations covering section 1.1 actually have less slides in total than version 4.0 (the presentation version). The same content is covered in more detail in 22 slides whereas version 4.0 covers it in 37 slides in slightly less detail.
Don't get me wrong, both resources are invaluable (especially considering what's already out there) and I highly recommend you use both in conjunction with each other. I may make a version 5.0 with revised definitions but that's something for another post.
Anyway, what's next? Am I going to start section 2.1? Or am I going to go back to try and hit the 200 resources target? Or am I, if i'm feeling really ambitious, going to start another revision series? The short answer for now is none of the above.
I'm actually taking a break now for the rest of October. Yep, you read that correctly. After all I am a student and I have other stuff to do. So, this is the last of me till November so use this and all the other resources on my blog wisely.
Here's the link: 1.1.3 Input, output and storage
Hope this helps!
Wednesday 25 October 2017
Tuesday 24 October 2017
The Most Detailed Yet Concise Summary Of OCR A Level Computer Science: 1.1.2 Types Of Processor
As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!
2 down, 23 to go. Yep, it's another summary presentation for today's resource. This one covers section 1.1.2 in just 3 slides. Just one more to go to cover the entire section 1.1 of the spec and then I may decide to stop for a while.
Anyway, this series is proving to be quite time consuming so I may go back to try and hit the 200 resources target or do something else.
Here's the link: 1.1.2 Types of processor
Hope this helps!
2 down, 23 to go. Yep, it's another summary presentation for today's resource. This one covers section 1.1.2 in just 3 slides. Just one more to go to cover the entire section 1.1 of the spec and then I may decide to stop for a while.
Anyway, this series is proving to be quite time consuming so I may go back to try and hit the 200 resources target or do something else.
Here's the link: 1.1.2 Types of processor
Hope this helps!
Monday 23 October 2017
The Most Detailed Yet Concise Summary Of OCR A Level Computer Science: 1.1.1 Structure & Function Of The Processor
As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!
Yep, I went ahead and did it. I've started my summary presentation series despite not having reached 200 resources. I honestly couldn't wait a month or however long it would take to hit that target so I just started making my own resources.
This took quite a bit of time to make but I must say I'm happy with the final result. In only 10 slides (discounting the title slide of course), you can learn the entire section 1.1.1 InShaAllah. Sections 1.1.2 and 1.1.3 are shorter so I should be able to make them in this week InShaAllah.
In regards to the 200 resources target, I may have to put that on hold. I'm still going to try and hit it InShaAllah but I don't know when i'm going to start sharing resources for that. Anyway, here's the first of 25 summary presentations I plan to make which will map to the OCR specification InShaAllah.
As to when I hope to reach this target of 25, I honestly don't know. It could take a really long time because I want to do this right. Anyway, I've decided i'm going to stick with the name "The Most Detailed Yet Concise Summary Of OCR A Level Computer Science" because it's unique.
Here's the link: 1.1.1 Structure and function of the processor
Hope this helps!
Yep, I went ahead and did it. I've started my summary presentation series despite not having reached 200 resources. I honestly couldn't wait a month or however long it would take to hit that target so I just started making my own resources.
This took quite a bit of time to make but I must say I'm happy with the final result. In only 10 slides (discounting the title slide of course), you can learn the entire section 1.1.1 InShaAllah. Sections 1.1.2 and 1.1.3 are shorter so I should be able to make them in this week InShaAllah.
In regards to the 200 resources target, I may have to put that on hold. I'm still going to try and hit it InShaAllah but I don't know when i'm going to start sharing resources for that. Anyway, here's the first of 25 summary presentations I plan to make which will map to the OCR specification InShaAllah.
As to when I hope to reach this target of 25, I honestly don't know. It could take a really long time because I want to do this right. Anyway, I've decided i'm going to stick with the name "The Most Detailed Yet Concise Summary Of OCR A Level Computer Science" because it's unique.
Here's the link: 1.1.1 Structure and function of the processor
Hope this helps!
Saturday 21 October 2017
Here's A Taster Of The Resources I Plan To Make InShaAllah
As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!
Missed yesterday's post because I was working on something more important. What might that be I hear you ask? Well, I've already begun to create the summary presentations I talked about in my last post because I honestly couldn't wait any longer.
I'm still going to reach the 200 resources target InShaAllah but I thought I might give myself a little head-start. Anyway, this series of resources is called... "The Most Detailed Yet Concise Summary Of OCR A Level Computer Science" (long title - I know but if i were to make an acronym it would be TMDYCSOALSC which is 10 times worse).
You may remember this post where I shared a presentation on computer architecture which basically covered most of things for spec point 1.1.1a. Well, it's actually this very presentation (along with other presentations if i'm completely honest) that initially inspired me to start this series.
Anyway, this is going to be a really long project that I don't know when i'll be able to finish. I have a lot more ideas but it's going to take a long time before i'll be able to implement them all.
Here's the link: The Most Detailed Yet Concise Summary Of OCR A Level Computer Science Taster
Hope this helps!
Missed yesterday's post because I was working on something more important. What might that be I hear you ask? Well, I've already begun to create the summary presentations I talked about in my last post because I honestly couldn't wait any longer.
I'm still going to reach the 200 resources target InShaAllah but I thought I might give myself a little head-start. Anyway, this series of resources is called... "The Most Detailed Yet Concise Summary Of OCR A Level Computer Science" (long title - I know but if i were to make an acronym it would be TMDYCSOALSC which is 10 times worse).
You may remember this post where I shared a presentation on computer architecture which basically covered most of things for spec point 1.1.1a. Well, it's actually this very presentation (along with other presentations if i'm completely honest) that initially inspired me to start this series.
Anyway, this is going to be a really long project that I don't know when i'll be able to finish. I have a lot more ideas but it's going to take a long time before i'll be able to implement them all.
Here's the link: The Most Detailed Yet Concise Summary Of OCR A Level Computer Science Taster
Hope this helps!
Thursday 19 October 2017
Road To 200 OCR A Level Computer Science Resources: 5 Searching & Sorting Algorithms Worksheets
As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!
Hit a bit of a goldmine here. These 5 worksheets provide some good practice for implementing the sorting and searching algorithms. There's none for quick sort unfortunately but the other 5 algorithms are covered along with selection sort in some worksheets which you don't need to know.
Anyway, that's 5 resources done in a day so that brings the count up to 176 resources. It's getting harder and harder to find decent resources now so I can't wait to hit this target and start making my own.
I've noticed that the presentations in particular, are of absolute rubbish quality. There's just too much waffle in the slides and sometimes it's not even of relevance to the OCR spec. The first resource or set of resources i'll be making after I've hit this target are summary presentations for each topic in the spec InShaAllah.
Here's the links:
Hope this helps!
Hit a bit of a goldmine here. These 5 worksheets provide some good practice for implementing the sorting and searching algorithms. There's none for quick sort unfortunately but the other 5 algorithms are covered along with selection sort in some worksheets which you don't need to know.
Anyway, that's 5 resources done in a day so that brings the count up to 176 resources. It's getting harder and harder to find decent resources now so I can't wait to hit this target and start making my own.
I've noticed that the presentations in particular, are of absolute rubbish quality. There's just too much waffle in the slides and sometimes it's not even of relevance to the OCR spec. The first resource or set of resources i'll be making after I've hit this target are summary presentations for each topic in the spec InShaAllah.
Here's the links:
- Binary Search Worksheet
- Binary & Linear Search Worksheet
- Bubble & Insertion Sort Worksheet
- Bubble & Insertion Sort Worksheet 2
- Insertion & Merge Sort Worksheet
Hope this helps!
Wednesday 18 October 2017
Road To 200 OCR A Level Computer Science Resources: Hash Table Presentation
As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!
Resource # 171 takes the form of a presentation on hash tables which is the first of it's kind on this blog. It isn't great to say the least but I still think it can be of some use since it's related to the OCR spec. Anyway, 29 resources to go so if I share one a day, i'll be finished in a month InShaAllah.
Here's the link: Hash Tables Presentation
Hope this helps
Resource # 171 takes the form of a presentation on hash tables which is the first of it's kind on this blog. It isn't great to say the least but I still think it can be of some use since it's related to the OCR spec. Anyway, 29 resources to go so if I share one a day, i'll be finished in a month InShaAllah.
Here's the link: Hash Tables Presentation
Hope this helps
Tuesday 17 October 2017
Road To 200 OCR A Level Computer Science Resources: Databases PDF
As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!
Another exchanging data resource for # 170. This is also the first resource on databases believe it or not. It covers a bit of everything really from RDBMS (that's Relational Database Management Software in case you didn't know), normalisation, entity relationships and primary/foreign keys.
Here's the link: DB PDF
Hope this helps!
Another exchanging data resource for # 170. This is also the first resource on databases believe it or not. It covers a bit of everything really from RDBMS (that's Relational Database Management Software in case you didn't know), normalisation, entity relationships and primary/foreign keys.
Here's the link: DB PDF
Hope this helps!
Monday 16 October 2017
Road To 200 OCR A Level Computer Science Resources: 2 Compression Exam Question Docs
As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!
This is the first resource or resources should I say on the exchanging data section. Both are to do with compression (both lossy and lossless) and they're both also pretty much different versions of the same resource.
They both address the exam question of explaining both compression techniques. The first answer i.e. the "harder" one, starts off well in terms of being relevant to the OCR spec but then gets a bit complicated and beyond the scope of the spec.
The "easier" one is more basic but gives a more relevant answer to the OCR spec. I guess it's good have both so you get the best of both worlds. Anyway, i'm going to try and find more resources for this topic but it's not easy since most of them are A) not specifc or even relevant to the OCR spec and B) get way too complicated and by default go beyond the scope of the specification.
Here's the links:
This is the first resource or resources should I say on the exchanging data section. Both are to do with compression (both lossy and lossless) and they're both also pretty much different versions of the same resource.
They both address the exam question of explaining both compression techniques. The first answer i.e. the "harder" one, starts off well in terms of being relevant to the OCR spec but then gets a bit complicated and beyond the scope of the spec.
The "easier" one is more basic but gives a more relevant answer to the OCR spec. I guess it's good have both so you get the best of both worlds. Anyway, i'm going to try and find more resources for this topic but it's not easy since most of them are A) not specifc or even relevant to the OCR spec and B) get way too complicated and by default go beyond the scope of the specification.
Here's the links:
Hope this helps!
Sunday 15 October 2017
Road To 200 OCR A Level Computer Science Resources: Big O Notation PDF
As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!
Back to the main target now after finally creating my revision guide yesterday. Before I go into today's resource I should probably mention a few things I forgot regarding the revision guide.
Firstly, I don't think I mentioned when version 2.0 was coming out and that's because I have no idea myself. I don't want to rush it for the sake of it. In all probability, it will probably come out after a while - by that I mean a long time.
And that's because I want to make some other resources before I go back into updating my revision guide. So as soon as this target of 200 resources is met, I will begin doing that InShaAllah.
Anyway, today's resource is # 168. Unlike the last few resources which have been on topics that weren't on the Big List, this PDF is on something I've covered a couple of times via some presentations. Yep, that's right -It's Big O Notation.
Aside from binary, this topic has the most resources on it in this blog. I guess that's because both topics are on the mathematical side of the spec. And no, this isn't specific to the OCR spec but is still a useful resource nonetheless as it touches on pretty much the same things written in the spec.
Here's the link: Big O Notation PDF
Hope this helps!
Back to the main target now after finally creating my revision guide yesterday. Before I go into today's resource I should probably mention a few things I forgot regarding the revision guide.
Firstly, I don't think I mentioned when version 2.0 was coming out and that's because I have no idea myself. I don't want to rush it for the sake of it. In all probability, it will probably come out after a while - by that I mean a long time.
And that's because I want to make some other resources before I go back into updating my revision guide. So as soon as this target of 200 resources is met, I will begin doing that InShaAllah.
Anyway, today's resource is # 168. Unlike the last few resources which have been on topics that weren't on the Big List, this PDF is on something I've covered a couple of times via some presentations. Yep, that's right -It's Big O Notation.
Aside from binary, this topic has the most resources on it in this blog. I guess that's because both topics are on the mathematical side of the spec. And no, this isn't specific to the OCR spec but is still a useful resource nonetheless as it touches on pretty much the same things written in the spec.
Here's the link: Big O Notation PDF
Hope this helps!
Saturday 14 October 2017
(Almost) Everything You Need To Know For OCR A Level Computer Science (version 1.0)
The first iteration of my revision guide is finally here!
This revision guide (KEYWORD “revision”) is intended to provide you with (arguably) the absolute best preparation possible for your OCR A level Computer Science H046/H446 spec exams.
By no means does this book cover the specification completely (at least not this version) and this book should only be used for revision purposes. That means it probably isn’t the best idea to learn the course content through this book because it’s extremely concise and is only really meant for revision purposes, hence the term “revision guide”.
For those of you who don’t know, The Muslim CompSci (me) is not a teacher or an examiner – I’m just a student trying to do my best to create resources for OCR A level Computer Science that are of good quality, but more importantly, are for free. That’s why this revision guide, along with all the other resources on my blog are for free so please take full advantage of them.
Anyway, let’s actually start talking about this book now. The contents page has a fairly detailed list which maps to the OCR spec exactly to show which parts are covered. As aforementioned this version (v1.0) is missing a few things so I guess I should point them out now. Here’s a list of all the spec points not covered in this version:
Looking at this list, you may be thinking that this book is missing a lot but if I made a list of all the stuff that is covered, then the list would be like 3 times longer. Anyway, version 1.0 covers about 75% of the A level specification and version 2.0 will cover all of it InShaAllah. All the theoretical parts of the spec are fully covered here, it’s just a few technical/practical topics that aren’t.
Moving on to all the other pages after the contents, each section begins with the spec point that it’s addressing. In other words, the title of the section is the spec point that it’s covering. Each section or chapter should I say, has a different colour scheme so you can easily find the right chapter quickly. Speaking of colour schemes, the A level only parts of the spec are highlighted in dark red.
I guess I should also mention that this revision guide took basically a week or so to write and nearly summarises the entire spec in 25 odd pages (which is quite impressive if you consider all the other revision guides available for this course). I guess that’s all the info you need to know about the book itself.
In regard to version 2.0, I already have a fairly good idea of what I’m going to add to it so let me just give you a little taste of what’s to come InShaAllah:
By no means does this book cover the specification completely (at least not this version) and this book should only be used for revision purposes. That means it probably isn’t the best idea to learn the course content through this book because it’s extremely concise and is only really meant for revision purposes, hence the term “revision guide”.
For those of you who don’t know, The Muslim CompSci (me) is not a teacher or an examiner – I’m just a student trying to do my best to create resources for OCR A level Computer Science that are of good quality, but more importantly, are for free. That’s why this revision guide, along with all the other resources on my blog are for free so please take full advantage of them.
Anyway, let’s actually start talking about this book now. The contents page has a fairly detailed list which maps to the OCR spec exactly to show which parts are covered. As aforementioned this version (v1.0) is missing a few things so I guess I should point them out now. Here’s a list of all the spec points not covered in this version:
- 1.2.3 (c) Writing and following algorithms.
- 1.3.4 (a) HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
- 1.4.1 (b) Represent positive integers in binary.
- 1.4.1 (c) Use of sign and magnitude and two’s complement to represent negative numbers in binary.
- 1.4.1 (d) Addition and subtraction of binary integers.
- 1.4.1 (e) Represent positive integers in hexadecimal.
- 1.4.1 (f) Convert positive integers between binary hexadecimal and denary.
- 1.4.1 (g) Representation and normalisation of floating point numbers in binary.
- 1.4.1 (h) Floating point arithmetic, positive and negative numbers, addition and subtraction.
- 1.4.1 (i) Bitwise manipulation and masks: shifts, combining with AND, OR, and XOR.
- 1.4.2 (c) How to create, traverse, add data to and remove data from the data structures mentioned above.
- 1.4.3 (a) Define problems using Boolean logic.
- 1.4.3 (b) Manipulate Boolean expressions, including the use of Karnaugh maps to simplify Boolean expressions.
- 1.4.3 (c) Use the following rules to derive or simplify statements in Boolean algebra: De Morgan’s Laws, distribution, association, commutation, double negation.
- 1.4.3 (d) Using logic gate diagrams and truth tables.
- 1.4.3 (e) The logic associated with D type flip flops, half and full adders.
- 1.5.2 The individual moral, social, ethical and cultural opportunities and risks of digital technology.
- 2.1 Elements of computational thinking
- 2.2.1 (f) Use of object oriented techniques.
- 2.2.2 (a) Analysis and design of algorithms for a given situation.
- The Programming Project
Looking at this list, you may be thinking that this book is missing a lot but if I made a list of all the stuff that is covered, then the list would be like 3 times longer. Anyway, version 1.0 covers about 75% of the A level specification and version 2.0 will cover all of it InShaAllah. All the theoretical parts of the spec are fully covered here, it’s just a few technical/practical topics that aren’t.
Moving on to all the other pages after the contents, each section begins with the spec point that it’s addressing. In other words, the title of the section is the spec point that it’s covering. Each section or chapter should I say, has a different colour scheme so you can easily find the right chapter quickly. Speaking of colour schemes, the A level only parts of the spec are highlighted in dark red.
I guess I should also mention that this revision guide took basically a week or so to write and nearly summarises the entire spec in 25 odd pages (which is quite impressive if you consider all the other revision guides available for this course). I guess that’s all the info you need to know about the book itself.
In regard to version 2.0, I already have a fairly good idea of what I’m going to add to it so let me just give you a little taste of what’s to come InShaAllah:
- Cover the entire specification (duh)
- Have brief chapter overviews to emphasise the importance of computer science to the real world because let’s face it, most people have no idea why they have to learn this stuff if they’re not going to use it in they’re life.
- Each chapter will have a review exercise with questions from past papers to help you consolidate your learning.
- For the mathematical parts of the spec i.e. Boolean algebra and binary, worked examples of questions (probably from past papers) will be provided to illustrate model solutions to common exam problems.
- This last one is a bit ambitious but at the end of the book (along with an index and a glossary) there will be 2 examination style papers; one for each component. Now that I think about, I may not be able to implement all of this in the next version but I definitely plan to over the next few InShaAllah.
Here's the link: The Ultimate Revision Guide (v1.0)
Hope this helps!
Thursday 12 October 2017
Road To 200 OCR A Level Computer Science Resources: Character Sets PDF
As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!
# 167 is the first character sets resource on this blog, weird huh? To be honest, it's not too hard as it's basically just theory but this PDF summarizes both the character sets (ASCII & UNICODE) quite nicely.
For section 1.4.1, there's loads of binary resources on this blog but none for Boolean algebra or data structures which is something I need to change soon. It's just a matter of time really and i'll have resources for every topic InShaAllah
I guess I should also add that this is the easiest topic in section 1.4.1 because it's purely theoretical. The other topics such as binary, data structures and Boolean algebra have a bit of technical parts to them so they can be a bit harder.
Anyway, 33 resources to go and I can't wait to start making my own resources again. I've put everything including the revision guide on hold for now to reach this target and from then on I don't think I'll post any resources not made by me.
Besides, if I did this blog would turn out to be sort of unoriginal and that's something I definitely want to avoid.
Here's the link: ASCII & UNICODE PDF
Hope this helps!
# 167 is the first character sets resource on this blog, weird huh? To be honest, it's not too hard as it's basically just theory but this PDF summarizes both the character sets (ASCII & UNICODE) quite nicely.
For section 1.4.1, there's loads of binary resources on this blog but none for Boolean algebra or data structures which is something I need to change soon. It's just a matter of time really and i'll have resources for every topic InShaAllah
I guess I should also add that this is the easiest topic in section 1.4.1 because it's purely theoretical. The other topics such as binary, data structures and Boolean algebra have a bit of technical parts to them so they can be a bit harder.
Anyway, 33 resources to go and I can't wait to start making my own resources again. I've put everything including the revision guide on hold for now to reach this target and from then on I don't think I'll post any resources not made by me.
Besides, if I did this blog would turn out to be sort of unoriginal and that's something I definitely want to avoid.
Here's the link: ASCII & UNICODE PDF
Hope this helps!
Wednesday 11 October 2017
Road To 200 OCR A Level Computer Science Resources: Bubble Sort Document
As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!
Another algorithms resource for # 166. This only goes into the theoretical part (and overdoes it a tad bit too much) but to practice implementing this algorithm, I'd recommend Edexcel's (I know it's called Pearson now but who cares) A level Maths D1 papers.
Physics and Maths Tutor has a nice file which only contains bubble and quick sort questions from the D1 papers which I'd highly recommend since you need to know how to perform implementations of both algorithms.
There's also loads of questions for binary search and Dijkstra's algorithm as well. There's not a lot of OCR specific resources for these questions so it's a good idea to use these. It's a bit different in these papers but they give you a general idea on how to perform the algorithms
And if all else fails, there's always Craig 'n' Dave. This post just sounds like a plug for Physics and Maths Tutor and Craig 'n' Dave now for some reason. Anyway, 6 resources down and only 34 to go so I should be done by November InShaAllah.
Here's the link: Bubble Sort Document
Hope this helps!
Another algorithms resource for # 166. This only goes into the theoretical part (and overdoes it a tad bit too much) but to practice implementing this algorithm, I'd recommend Edexcel's (I know it's called Pearson now but who cares) A level Maths D1 papers.
Physics and Maths Tutor has a nice file which only contains bubble and quick sort questions from the D1 papers which I'd highly recommend since you need to know how to perform implementations of both algorithms.
There's also loads of questions for binary search and Dijkstra's algorithm as well. There's not a lot of OCR specific resources for these questions so it's a good idea to use these. It's a bit different in these papers but they give you a general idea on how to perform the algorithms
And if all else fails, there's always Craig 'n' Dave. This post just sounds like a plug for Physics and Maths Tutor and Craig 'n' Dave now for some reason. Anyway, 6 resources down and only 34 to go so I should be done by November InShaAllah.
Here's the link: Bubble Sort Document
Hope this helps!
Tuesday 10 October 2017
Road To 200 OCR A Level Computer Science Resources: Bitwise Operators Presentation
As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!
Resource # 165 is the first ever resource on Bitwise manipulation albeit a short one. Judging solely by the name, this may seem like a complicated topic but trust me, it's not.
Suffice to say this presentation doesn't go into all the stuff you need to know specifically for the OCR spec, but it does touch on some elements. Obviously this being a mathematical part of the spec, the only way to get good at it is to practice practice practice.
I still need to find resources for sections 1.3, 1.5, 2.1 and 2.2 of the spec so I'm hoping to get a couple for each before I hit 200. Anyways, the presentation is really short but make use of way you have.
Here's the link: Bitwise Operators Presentation
Hope this helps!
Resource # 165 is the first ever resource on Bitwise manipulation albeit a short one. Judging solely by the name, this may seem like a complicated topic but trust me, it's not.
Suffice to say this presentation doesn't go into all the stuff you need to know specifically for the OCR spec, but it does touch on some elements. Obviously this being a mathematical part of the spec, the only way to get good at it is to practice practice practice.
I still need to find resources for sections 1.3, 1.5, 2.1 and 2.2 of the spec so I'm hoping to get a couple for each before I hit 200. Anyways, the presentation is really short but make use of way you have.
Here's the link: Bitwise Operators Presentation
Hope this helps!
Monday 9 October 2017
Road To 200 OCR A Level Computer Science Resources: 2 OOP Resources
As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!
I think I can reach 200 a lot earlier than previously expected. After that I'll have more time to create my own resources. Anyway, resources # 162 and 163 take the form of 2 OOP resources (that's Object Oriented Programming for those of you who haven't come across this topic before).
These are also the first OOP resources I'm sharing on this blog somehow. After realising what topics were already covered in the big list, I have a better idea now of what topics are still unaccounted for.
One resource is a PDF covering pretty much everything about OOP and the other's a presentation specifically on encapsulation. As far as the theoretical side goes, OOP (like any other topic) is quite easy to understand but when you get to the programming side, things can get a bit tricky.
In my opinion Procedural languages are easier to code than OOP but maybe that's because I'm a Python guy and I haven't really learnt an OOP language yet (apart from VB.NET but I don't really like that).
Here's the links:
Hope this helps!
Sunday 8 October 2017
Road To 200 OCR A Level Computer Science Resources: 2 A* Algorithm Presentations
As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!
After posting yesterday's big list, I had a bit of a revelation. I now have a clear plan on what I want to do with this blog and I know exactly how to do it.
By (or before) the Christmas holidays I want to reach 200 resources on this blog that aren't made by me and from then on I will only post resources that I make. If you do the math, that gives me about 80 days to reach that target and we're already on resource #160 so I have to average a resource every 2 days.
I reckon I'll finish a lot earlier than that InShaAllah but anyway that's the plan from now on. So what happens next? Well, I want to (finally) make a website. I know I said before I didn't want to because it would take too much time and stuff but I feel after I've shared 200 resources on this blog, a website would be a better place to have them all on (let's face it, navigating on a blog can be a bit annoying at times).
I'll also make another big list when I've hit 200 resources InShaAllah. In terms of the resources I want to start creating, I have loads of ideas but I'm not going to share them right now - sorry. Besides, I still have to complete the revision guide that I haven't worked on for so long.
Anyway, let's not get too ahead of ourselves and start working towards more immediate goals. Today's resources are 2 A* algorithm presentations which obviously aren't for the OCR spec but are useful nonetheless (hey, that rhymed - sort of). Oh and they're both a bit complex mind you so don't worry too much if you don't get it at first.
Here's the links:
After posting yesterday's big list, I had a bit of a revelation. I now have a clear plan on what I want to do with this blog and I know exactly how to do it.
By (or before) the Christmas holidays I want to reach 200 resources on this blog that aren't made by me and from then on I will only post resources that I make. If you do the math, that gives me about 80 days to reach that target and we're already on resource #160 so I have to average a resource every 2 days.
I reckon I'll finish a lot earlier than that InShaAllah but anyway that's the plan from now on. So what happens next? Well, I want to (finally) make a website. I know I said before I didn't want to because it would take too much time and stuff but I feel after I've shared 200 resources on this blog, a website would be a better place to have them all on (let's face it, navigating on a blog can be a bit annoying at times).
I'll also make another big list when I've hit 200 resources InShaAllah. In terms of the resources I want to start creating, I have loads of ideas but I'm not going to share them right now - sorry. Besides, I still have to complete the revision guide that I haven't worked on for so long.
Anyway, let's not get too ahead of ourselves and start working towards more immediate goals. Today's resources are 2 A* algorithm presentations which obviously aren't for the OCR spec but are useful nonetheless (hey, that rhymed - sort of). Oh and they're both a bit complex mind you so don't worry too much if you don't get it at first.
Here's the links:
Hope this helps!
Saturday 7 October 2017
The Big List Of OCR A Level Computer Science Resources Not Created By Me
As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!
Unlike yesterday's big list, this list incorporates all the resources on this blog not made by me. They're all sorted in specification order as well to make it even easier to find what you're looking for.
Component 01
1.1 The characteristics of contemporary processors, input, output and storage devices
1.2 Software and software development
1.4 Data types, data structures and algorithms
Component 02
2.3 Algorithms
Component 03
Programming Project
Past Papers
Miscellaneous OCR Resources
Unlike yesterday's big list, this list incorporates all the resources on this blog not made by me. They're all sorted in specification order as well to make it even easier to find what you're looking for.
Component 01
1.1 The characteristics of contemporary processors, input, output and storage devices
1.4 Data types, data structures and algorithms
- Number Systems Website
- Binary Presentation
- Binary Workbook 1 Document
- Binary Workbook 2 Document
- Binary Workbook 3 Document
- Binary Worksheet 1 Document
- Binary Worksheet 2 Document
- Binary Past Paper Questions Document
- Floating Point Representation PDF
- Floating Point Representation Answers PDF
- Floating Point Binary Practice Questions Document
- Normalisation Practice Document
- Floating Point Binary Normalisation Document
- Floating Point Representation Presentation
Component 02
2.3 Algorithms
- Algorithms Presentation
- Big O Notation Presentation 1
- Big O Notation Presentation 2
- Dijsktra's SPA Presentation
Component 03
Programming Project
- Official OCR Programming Project Guide Presentation
- Official OCR Programming Languages Guide PDF
- Official OCR Project Complexity Guide PDF
- Official OCR Programming Project SAM PDF
- Exemplar 1
- Exemplar 2
- Exemplar 3
- Exemplar 4
- Exemplar 5
- Info 4 Project PDF
- Info 4 Section 1 PDF
- Info 4 Section 2 PDF
- Info 4 Section 3 PDF
- Info 4 Section 4 PDF
- Info 4 Section 5 PDF
Past Papers
Miscellaneous OCR Resources
- AS Level Specification
- AS Level Subject Content Clarification Guide
- A Level Specification
- A Level Subject Content Clarification Guide
- A Level Poster
- A Level Delivery Guides
Well, that's it so far, that's all the OCR A Level Computer Science resources on this blog not made by me (45 in total in case you're interested). I'll either update this post or just make a version 2.0 of this list after I've posted more resources.
This list also let's me keep track of which parts of the spec I haven't post resources for e.g. there's nothing for spec points 1.3, 1
5, 2.1 and 2.2. Anyway, that's all for now. Compiling this list was an absolute nightmare on my phone since my laptop is undergoing repairs right now.
Hope this helps!
Thursday 5 October 2017
The Big List Of OCR A Level Computer Science Resources Created By The Muslim CompSci
As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!
30 posts in (something that should've happened like 15 days ago if I had the decency to post daily) so I thought it would be a good idea to list all the resources I've made into one post so they're easy to find.
This list is only contains resources that I've made, I'll make a post tomorrow InShaAllah with all the resources on this blog that I've just found and aren't made by me (duh).
Anyway, without further ado here's the "big list":
The Ultimate OCR A Level Computer Science Dictionary
(Almost) All The Algorithms You Need To Know For OCR A Level Computer Science
30 posts in (something that should've happened like 15 days ago if I had the decency to post daily) so I thought it would be a good idea to list all the resources I've made into one post so they're easy to find.
This list is only contains resources that I've made, I'll make a post tomorrow InShaAllah with all the resources on this blog that I've just found and aren't made by me (duh).
Anyway, without further ado here's the "big list":
The Ultimate OCR A Level Computer Science Dictionary
(Almost) All The Algorithms You Need To Know For OCR A Level Computer Science
(Almost) Everything You Need To Know For OCR A Level Computer Science
Hope this helps!
Wednesday 4 October 2017
Why Is Computer Science Education Below University Level So Bad?
As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!
As you can probably tell from the title, this isn't going to be a traditional post where I write a bit and share a resource. This is going to be the type of post where I write a lot and don't share a resource (sorry).
Now that I think about it, I've made a similar post about how terrible the H046/H446 specification for the new linear course is. This one isn't going to be anything specific about OCR or even A level Computer Science, but computer science education in general i.e. from KS1-KS5.
I'm pretty sure that this is a problem in many countries (not just in the UK), but I can only speak from my own experience so I'll only be talking about England in particular. Anyway, enough chit chat, let's get down to the question. Why is computer science education so bad?
The obvious reason is (or maybe not so obvious) that computer science jobs in industry are extremely well paid. We're talking 6 figure salaries depending on what your role is and in what company. Big tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Apple etc. are tough to get into, but the rewards it brings is what attracts most graduates.
Not so long ago, you could check the starting salaries of every single degree course in the UK after 6 months of graduation based on official government statistics. Unistats, allowed such a possibility but now for some reason it doesn't.
Anyway, I used to do a lot of research back in Year 10 and 11 about degree course statistics using Unistats because it was really reliable. It still is, but a lot of the information that was available isn't anymore and I hope it comes back soon.
Without going on a tangent, allow me to summarise what I found to be particularly interesting. The top courses for the highest starting salaries were... you guessed it computer science. And if my memory serves, degrees from Cambridge, UCL and Imperial had starting salaries of 40k. Yes, £40000.
Obviously, you don't need me to tell you where new graduates can get this kind of money (let me give you a hint: it's not from teaching jobs). So let's make sense of this data in context of the question.
A person with a computer science degree will most likely work in industry as the jobs are better and let's face it, why wouldn't you go for those jobs after working so hard for your degree? Don't get me wrong, some people go straight into teaching and other jobs but the fact is the vast majority of computer scientists don't.
That's how the problem arises, there's simply not enough computer science teachers and the teachers already teaching it aren't very good at it (in my experience anyway). Another common problem or myth shall I say is that being good at a discipline doesn't make you a good teacher of said discipline.
My old school (which is in the top 5% of the most socioeconomically deprived schools in the UK) didn't even have a Computer Science teacher until I asked the head of sixth form at the start of Year 12 to do A level Computer Science.
A level Computer Science also always has the worst pass rates every year and that just sums it all up really. I know there's a lot of contributing factors to why computer science education is so bad and I guess I've just added myself to the long list of complainers because I can't too do much about it (except what I'm already doing with this blog which isn't much mind you).
Anyway, I don't have much more to say and even if I did it wouldn't solve the problem so I think I'll just end it here.
Hope this helps!
As you can probably tell from the title, this isn't going to be a traditional post where I write a bit and share a resource. This is going to be the type of post where I write a lot and don't share a resource (sorry).
Now that I think about it, I've made a similar post about how terrible the H046/H446 specification for the new linear course is. This one isn't going to be anything specific about OCR or even A level Computer Science, but computer science education in general i.e. from KS1-KS5.
I'm pretty sure that this is a problem in many countries (not just in the UK), but I can only speak from my own experience so I'll only be talking about England in particular. Anyway, enough chit chat, let's get down to the question. Why is computer science education so bad?
The obvious reason is (or maybe not so obvious) that computer science jobs in industry are extremely well paid. We're talking 6 figure salaries depending on what your role is and in what company. Big tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Apple etc. are tough to get into, but the rewards it brings is what attracts most graduates.
Not so long ago, you could check the starting salaries of every single degree course in the UK after 6 months of graduation based on official government statistics. Unistats, allowed such a possibility but now for some reason it doesn't.
Anyway, I used to do a lot of research back in Year 10 and 11 about degree course statistics using Unistats because it was really reliable. It still is, but a lot of the information that was available isn't anymore and I hope it comes back soon.
Without going on a tangent, allow me to summarise what I found to be particularly interesting. The top courses for the highest starting salaries were... you guessed it computer science. And if my memory serves, degrees from Cambridge, UCL and Imperial had starting salaries of 40k. Yes, £40000.
Obviously, you don't need me to tell you where new graduates can get this kind of money (let me give you a hint: it's not from teaching jobs). So let's make sense of this data in context of the question.
A person with a computer science degree will most likely work in industry as the jobs are better and let's face it, why wouldn't you go for those jobs after working so hard for your degree? Don't get me wrong, some people go straight into teaching and other jobs but the fact is the vast majority of computer scientists don't.
That's how the problem arises, there's simply not enough computer science teachers and the teachers already teaching it aren't very good at it (in my experience anyway). Another common problem or myth shall I say is that being good at a discipline doesn't make you a good teacher of said discipline.
My old school (which is in the top 5% of the most socioeconomically deprived schools in the UK) didn't even have a Computer Science teacher until I asked the head of sixth form at the start of Year 12 to do A level Computer Science.
A level Computer Science also always has the worst pass rates every year and that just sums it all up really. I know there's a lot of contributing factors to why computer science education is so bad and I guess I've just added myself to the long list of complainers because I can't too do much about it (except what I'm already doing with this blog which isn't much mind you).
Anyway, I don't have much more to say and even if I did it wouldn't solve the problem so I think I'll just end it here.
Hope this helps!
Tuesday 3 October 2017
I Don't Know What I'm Doing...
As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!
I have no idea why I'm even posting this but I guess I needed some substitute for today's poat if it wasn't going to be a resource. I don't know why, but I feel like all the resources that I find and share on this blog are not a good representation of what this blog is supposed to be.
I know I've said countless times when the resources available are scarce, use whatever you find but I just feel like I could be doing a lot more. Obviously if I were to only share the resources I make then I wouldn't be able to post resources daily which is something I still want to do.
It's probably because I'm really self critical that I'm thinking all this but I just wanted today's post to be different. I've decided to make this month the last month InShaAllah where I share resources not made by me unless they're really really really good.
Anyway, I want to start making my own resources a lot more (let's face it I've "only" wrote 60% of a revision guide and made like 2 other resources or something). I have loads of ideas but it's just a matter of time before I can starting realising those ideas.
I guess I have to stop this post getting any longer since it's pretty much useless in terms of resources. As always, hope this helps!
P.S: if there's any typos it's because this is the first post I'm typing on my phone and I guess I don't have to explain to you guys what a pain autocorrect can be.
I have no idea why I'm even posting this but I guess I needed some substitute for today's poat if it wasn't going to be a resource. I don't know why, but I feel like all the resources that I find and share on this blog are not a good representation of what this blog is supposed to be.
I know I've said countless times when the resources available are scarce, use whatever you find but I just feel like I could be doing a lot more. Obviously if I were to only share the resources I make then I wouldn't be able to post resources daily which is something I still want to do.
It's probably because I'm really self critical that I'm thinking all this but I just wanted today's post to be different. I've decided to make this month the last month InShaAllah where I share resources not made by me unless they're really really really good.
Anyway, I want to start making my own resources a lot more (let's face it I've "only" wrote 60% of a revision guide and made like 2 other resources or something). I have loads of ideas but it's just a matter of time before I can starting realising those ideas.
I guess I have to stop this post getting any longer since it's pretty much useless in terms of resources. As always, hope this helps!
P.S: if there's any typos it's because this is the first post I'm typing on my phone and I guess I don't have to explain to you guys what a pain autocorrect can be.
Monday 2 October 2017
Here's A Couple Of Software Development Resources
As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!
I don't think I've ever shared a software development resource before but I found these 2 resources which aren't specifically for the H046/H446 spec (they aren't even specifically for A level, let alone for OCR) but hey, when resources are scarce you have to make do with anything you find.
They only cover 2 out of the 5 software development methodologies you need to know: the waterfall life-cycle and agile development methods. Obviously if you want all 5 covered in the detail that the spec requires you can always take a look at the sneak peek of my revision guide.
Anyway, the whole software development topic, like any other theoretical one, is quite simple. You just have to know what each method is along with the relative pros and cons of each.
I think i'll make a post soon that has ALL the resources I've ever shared on this blog all in one folder so all you lovely people don't have to go searching for them by clicking on different posts (at times like this I wish I made a website *cries*).
Here's the links:
I don't think I've ever shared a software development resource before but I found these 2 resources which aren't specifically for the H046/H446 spec (they aren't even specifically for A level, let alone for OCR) but hey, when resources are scarce you have to make do with anything you find.
They only cover 2 out of the 5 software development methodologies you need to know: the waterfall life-cycle and agile development methods. Obviously if you want all 5 covered in the detail that the spec requires you can always take a look at the sneak peek of my revision guide.
Anyway, the whole software development topic, like any other theoretical one, is quite simple. You just have to know what each method is along with the relative pros and cons of each.
I think i'll make a post soon that has ALL the resources I've ever shared on this blog all in one folder so all you lovely people don't have to go searching for them by clicking on different posts (at times like this I wish I made a website *cries*).
Here's the links:
Hope this helps!
Sunday 1 October 2017
A Ton Of Resources For Learning The "Number Systems" Part Of The H046/H446 Spec
As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!
I was originally intending to make today's post another "top 10 tips" post for writing a computer science personal statement but then decided to go with this instead. Don't worry, i'm saving the personal statement post for another day InShaAllah.
Anyway, I found a bunch of resources for learning nearly all the number systems stuff you need to know for OCR A level Computer Science. They're not made specifically for the H046/H446 spec so they're probably applicable to other exam boards as well.
It seems like I've made quite a few posts on binary but that's probably because it's that easy topic in the spec that people initially find really confusing. As for my own revision guide which is currently still in the making for those who don't know, I still need to cover pretty much all the binary content.
I suppose another reason i'm sharing so many of these resources is because this part of the spec needs a lot of practice. You won't get any good at this by simply memorising the rules and stuff. The best way to get good at this is use all the past paper questions on this topic (and yes that includes the old spec papers as well) and then if you've run out of questions you can use the resources i'm posting here or try other revision materials like textbooks.
Anyway, you know the drill: practice, practice, practice. I've put all the number systems resources I've ever shared on this blog including the ones i'm posting today in a neat folder to make it nice and easy to find them.
Here's the link: Binary Folder
Oh, and there's a nice website I found that has exercises, guides, animations etc. all to do with binary here.
Hope this helps!
I was originally intending to make today's post another "top 10 tips" post for writing a computer science personal statement but then decided to go with this instead. Don't worry, i'm saving the personal statement post for another day InShaAllah.
Anyway, I found a bunch of resources for learning nearly all the number systems stuff you need to know for OCR A level Computer Science. They're not made specifically for the H046/H446 spec so they're probably applicable to other exam boards as well.
It seems like I've made quite a few posts on binary but that's probably because it's that easy topic in the spec that people initially find really confusing. As for my own revision guide which is currently still in the making for those who don't know, I still need to cover pretty much all the binary content.
I suppose another reason i'm sharing so many of these resources is because this part of the spec needs a lot of practice. You won't get any good at this by simply memorising the rules and stuff. The best way to get good at this is use all the past paper questions on this topic (and yes that includes the old spec papers as well) and then if you've run out of questions you can use the resources i'm posting here or try other revision materials like textbooks.
Anyway, you know the drill: practice, practice, practice. I've put all the number systems resources I've ever shared on this blog including the ones i'm posting today in a neat folder to make it nice and easy to find them.
Here's the link: Binary Folder
Oh, and there's a nice website I found that has exercises, guides, animations etc. all to do with binary here.
Hope this helps!
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