Great resources for teachers who want to put some extra fun into ICT/Computing lessons. It's very much a work in progress so check back regularly to see what's new. And many thanks in advance for leaving positive feedback if you enjoyed using a resource.
Great resources for teachers who want to put some extra fun into ICT/Computing lessons. It's very much a work in progress so check back regularly to see what's new. And many thanks in advance for leaving positive feedback if you enjoyed using a resource.
Title: Keyboard Shortcuts Quiz
Level: KS3–KS4 (Y8–Y12)
Duration: 5 – 10 mins
Applications: PowerPoint
Description: A colourful quiz on the common keyboards short-cuts used in most programs, which can be used as either a starter or plenary activity. Learning the most commonly-used keyboard short-cuts can be an invaluable time-saver in ICT/Computing class. Either split students into two teams first, or just use it as a quick revision test. Award one point for orange questions and two points for blue questions, giving a maximum of 20 points in total.
Title: Drawing Tools and Formatting Fun
Level: KS2–KS3 (Y6–Y9)
Duration: 45 mins - 1 hour
Applications: Photoshop, PowerPoint
Description: Students learn in a fun way how to use drawing tools etc. in Microsoft Word and how to insert a footer into a word document, by recreating a variety of features from scratch. Handy hints are given in the tutorial to get students started. Teachers; give students a printed copy of the tutorial (in colour) or a copy in PDF format – or simply display it on your projector. DON'T give students a copy in Word format as this would clearly defeat the object of the tutorial!
Title: PowerPoint – Creating Effective Animations
Level: KS2-KS3 (Y6-Y9)
Duration: 50 mins – 1 hour
Applications: PowerPoint
Description: For everyone who wants to see an end to 'Death by PowerPoint!' A fun, interactive tutorial teaching students how to create effective animations in PowerPoint that grab the audience's attention, without looking silly or 'over the top'. Students are required to re-create a series of animations of increasing technical difficulty. There is also a short tutorial on the last slide for students to complete which could be incorporated easily into a lesson plenary.
Title: Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts Quiz
Level: KS3–KS4 (Y8–Y12)
Duration: 5 – 10 mins
Applications: PowerPoint
Description: A colourful quiz on Photoshop short-cuts which can be used as either a starter or plenary activity. With Photoshop’s extensive menu system learning the most commonly-used keyboard short-cuts can be an invaluable time-saver in class. Either split students into two teams first, or just use it as a quick revision test. Award one point for light-coloured questions and two points for dark questions, giving a maximum of 20 points in total.
Fun PowerPoint starter activity to coincide with Euro 2016.
Instructions: Run the presentation and listen to the voice-over. Add the correct animation to each object, and then use the Animation Pane to change timings so they coincide with the commentary. Completed version also included for teacher.
Note: Headphones are required for this activity.
Title: The Mystery Sign!
Level: KS3–KS4 (Y9–Y11)
Duration: 40-45 mins
Applications: Photoshop, PowerPoint
Description: A fun, step-by-step tutorial to design a realistic neon sign in Photoshop. Students will learn to use the pen tool, quick selection and inverse selection to control image selection. They will also learn to use the clone stamp tool, and how to transform the skew and perspective of an image to make it look realistic. The original image for the tutorial is embedded into the PowerPoint file, and this should be used in conjunction with the tutorial sheet (Word document) to deliver the lesson effectively.
Title: Cartoon Fruit
Level: KS3–KS4 (Y8–Y10)
Duration: 1 hour
Applications: Photoshop, PowerPoint
Description: A fun, step-by-step tutorial to create a ‘fruit person’ using multiple layers and effects. Students will also learn to use the pen tool, magic wand, quick selection and inverse selection to control image selection and manipulation. All the resources for the tutorial are embedded into the PowerPoint file and this should be used in conjunction with the tutorial sheet (Word document) to deliver the lesson effectively.
Title: Dog on the moon
Level: KS2-3 (Y6-Y9)
Duration: 45 min – 1 hour
Applications: Photoshop, PowerPoint
Description: A fun, step-by-step tutorial in a single PowerPoint file (includes required images), introducing students to the most commonly-used Photoshop tools (cut, paste, selection, transform etc.) by realistically superimposing an image of a dog on the Moon.
Title: Cool Logo Text
Level: KS3–KS5 (Y9–Y12)
Duration: 30 - 45 mins
Applications: Photoshop, PowerPoint
Description: A fun, step-by-step tutorial to create ‘designer text’ ideal for logos, websites, and advertising banners. Students will learn to apply the stroke effect to a multi-layered image, and then use another image to create a clipping mask. The images required for the tutorial are embedded into the PowerPoint file, and this should be used in conjunction with the tutorial sheet (Word document) to deliver the lesson effectively.
Title: Text Effects
Level: KS3–KS4 (Y8–Y10)
Duration: 30 - 40 mins
Applications: Photoshop, PowerPoint
A step-by-step tutorial introducing students to the idea of using Photoshop to design creative text for logos, banners etc. Starts with changing the brightness of an image to create 4 regions of different contrast, and then uses the Photoshop fx menu to add different effects to each eponymous description. The tutorial also has a small numeracy element as students must calculate the correct size for each region (i.e. 150 x 800 pixels).
Title: Scratch – Ultimate Space Game
Level: KS3 (Y7-Y9)
Duration: 1 – 1.5 hours (allow two lessons)
Applications: Scratch 1.4, MS Word
Description: A challenging and fun tutorial enabling students to create an exciting arcade-style Space Game using Scratch. All sprites, sounds, and background images are already pre-loaded into the Scratch (.sb) file provided*, allowing students to add scripts to provide functionality. On completion there is a worksheet to assess students’ understanding of the programming techniques involved, by ‘reverse engineering’ the game. The tutorial also contains a numeracy element, as students develop an understanding of the x/y coordinates used in Scratch. Please leave positive feedback if you enjoyed using this resource.
*Please note that the Scratch (.sb) file is embedded in the Word document provided because uploads of this file type are unsupported by TES.
Save nearly 40% on the individually-listed price with this 5 x Scratch Programming tutorials bundle! Please see individual listings for full details of each tutorial. Titles included;
How do I do THAT in Scratch??!
Scratch - Game Review Activity
Scratch - Shark Attack! …What happens next?!
Scratch - Ultimate Space Game
Scratch - Introduction to Computing using the IF Statement.
Save 40% on the individually-listed price with this 5 x Photoshop Tutorial bundle! Please see individual listings for full details of each tutorial.
Photoshop Tutorial 1 - Dog on the Moon
Photoshop Tutorial 2 - Text Effects
Photoshop Tutorial 3 - Cartoon Fruit
Photoshop Tutorial 4 - Mystery Sign
Photoshop Tutorial 5 - Cool Logo Text