Thanks,thereasonIstartedmakingtheseinthefirstplacewasduetotherebeingprettymuchnogoodresourcesavailableforthiscourse,atleastnotfreeones.Ithonestlyamazedmehowpoorthequalityofthetextbooksandotherresourceswere,especiallythesocalled"OCRendorsed"ones.

Iwasn'tgiventheopportunitytostudyGCSEComputerSciencebecausemy(extremelysocioeconomicallydeprived)schooldidn'tofferitsoIdoneGCSEICTinstead. The internal workings of the (CPU), data exchange, software development, data types and legal and ethical issues. OKFine,notmentioningthatlineinthenewspecistolerablebutwhatisnotishowOCRthinkit'soktojustwritealonglistofwordsandexpectstudentstoreadtheirmindsastowhattheiractualintentionswereinwritingthatvaguelist. There'sglimpsesofclarityoftheoldspecinthenewonebuthonestly,Ithinkwhoeverwrotethiseitherdidn'tgetpaidenoughorisjustplainlazy.IcouldgoonandonbutIthinkyougetthepicture. Personally,IfeelthePGonlinetextbookismuchbetterthanthepurpleocrtextbookwhichhadmistakes.WhatareyouropinionsonthePGonlinetextbook?IamthinkingofbuyingthisbookasIuseditlastyearbutasanexternalcandidate,Icannotgetitfromthelibrary.Somesectionshadsomeextrapointlessinformationwhichisn'tlistedinthecomp.scispec(especiallytheinput,outputchapters)butotherthanthat,theBooleanalgebrachapterswereveryusefulandthedifferentalgorithmtopicsseemedverydetailed.

Infact,IthinkevenOCRgotthepicturebecauseguesswhat,theyreleasedasubjectcontentclarificationguidein2017(nearly2yearsafterthespec)whichI'lllinkattheendofthispost. SEE!EvenOCRrealisedwhatatremendousfailuretheirspecificationwas.Lookattheextraordinary,thegreatlengthsitgoestoandthefamiliarwordingusedtoensureitisasclearaspossible.Sure,theydon'tusetheworddescribelikebeforeastheyprobablywanttoexpandthescopeofthespec,whichisfine. Ineedto"describethe FUNCTIONand PURPOSE"oftheALU.Nowthatmake'ssense,acandidatewillclearlybeabletodistinguishtheknowledgethatisrelevanttohimregardingtheALUandwhatisnot,theysimplyneedtoknowit'sfunctionandpurpose.

Here at OCR we’ve had lots of queries from centres in recent weeks about marking coursework, or non-exam assessment (NEA). For A Level Computer Science (H446), this means the programming project. We hope that your students enjoy analysis, designing, developing the coded solution and testing, and evaluating the programming project using an acceptable high-level object-oriented programming language. Each year we’re really impressed to see the range and diversity of programming projects submitted. AnothereasywayofgettingusedtowritingalgorithmsinOCR'ssyntaxistoliterallywritedownallthealgorithmsinthequestionsthemselvesoftheF452pastpapersinthenewsyntax.Theoldspecpapersuseasimilarsyntaxtothecurrentspec,butthereareafewdifferencesandIpersonallythinkthecurrentspecsyntaxisalotcleaner. IfOCRcouldwritesuchaclearanddetailedspecbefore,whynotnow?Thenewlinearexamsystemisalreadytoughenoughandtomakemattersworse,somestudentsdon'tevenknowwhatcontenttheyhavetoknowfortheexam! That'sthewholepointofaspecification,to specifythecontentthatthecandidatesneedtoknow,notjuststatearandomtermexpectingstudentstoknowwhatyou'retalkingabout.

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EvenafterdoingGCSEICTIhadnoideawhatanyofthismeantandI'mselfteaching!IhadtolookattheoldspectogetabetterideaofwhatIneededtoknow.Sonowlet'slookathowtheoldspecstateswhatcontentyouneedtoknowabouttheALU: Btw,forthepseudocodequestionsdoyouneedtohavesomepreviousprogrammingexperience?IdidalittleprogramminglastyearusingvisualbasicbutstruggledalotanddidnotunderstandathingasIwasatotalbeginnertoallthisstuff.

Nowifyou'resomeonewhohasn'tgotasingleclueaboutcomputersciencewhenyoufirststartthisAlevelthenyou'regoingtohaveabadtime. Candidatesneedtohaveanunderstandingofthepurposeandfunctionofthecorecomponentsofaprocessor.CandidatesneedtounderstandtheroleandcomponentsoftheALU. Pythonhasamuchcleanersyntaxthat'ssimilartoOCR'soneandisveryeasytolearnifyouputtheeffortinwhichiswhatIdidinyear13whenIhadtoselfteachAlevelComputerScience.

OCR Computer Science H446

A free on-line marking course is available on OCR Train. This can be completed in your own time and includes a series of tests designed to ensure that you are correctly allocating levels to the AEP and practical performances. So,thefirsttimeroundyoushouldjustfocusonthelogicofthequestions,notthesyntax.Justuseyournotesoryoucoulduse thisresourcewhichbasicallygivesexamplesandnotesoneachconstructinOCR'ssyntax. As the JCQ guidance also says, the 2022 grading process that takes place after marking, when the grade boundaries are set, will provide a safety net. So please don’t think that by marking your students’ work to pre-pandemic standards this year, you are in any way doing them an injustice. (For more on 2022 grading, please see this Ofqual article from September last year.) What is meant by computational thinking (thinking abstractly, thinking ahead, thinking procedurally etc.)

A CPD webinar could be a one-stop shop for all your needs in improving your delivery and assessment of the NEA for H446. You will look at the mark scheme in detail and review how to apply it fairly and accurately to candidate work. Students must take all three components to be awarded the OCR A Level in Computer Science. Component Candidatesshouldbeableto:a.describethefunctionandpurposeofthe...andALU(arithmeticlogicunit)asindividualpartsofacomputer; Regarding that last point, the JCQ (Joint Council for Qualifications) have recently released guidance, which makes it clear that all NEA must be marked in the same way as before the pandemic disruption. This is really important, as it will help ensure that all students’ work is marked to the same standards.The book is divided into 12 sections, each containing roughly six chapters. Each chapter covers material that can comfortably be taught in one or two lessons. It will also be a useful reference and revision guide for students throughout the A Level course. Content applicable to the A Level only is indicated throughout the textbook.