Use you computational thinking skills to get Mario moving!
Remember to read all the prompts on the screen to help you.
Mr Connolly
Let’s be SUPER with coding with Mario!
Layering Up Pictures!
We can’t just take any pictures to use as the creator holds a copyright so can charge for them being used! So we have to make sure that they are free for home or education use.
https://www.freeiconspng.com/latest-png-images.html
https://pngtree.com/free-clipart
Snip and upload your Avatar
When you finish – don’t download the picture or input your e-mail address as we don’t know what they will do with it… instead you can use ScreenShot or the snipping tool!
How to snip the picture!
- From the start icon find the Snipping tool Icon or type snip on the search bar.
- Select the part of the screen you want to snip (Capture as a picture)
- The clip image will be shown, then press the save button.
- Pick where you want to save the picture – Call it a sensible name so you can find it to upload.
- Then Press SAVE.
You are now ready to upload your image!
Uploading a picture.
Click on you letter or avatar, and then click on the camera icon by the bigger picture.
Select the photo from the computer.
Resized the picture before pressing save.
Be safe… but don’t be seen!
In our Google Education account we have the option to add a picture – rather than just use our initial.
Is this helpful?
Is this safe?
Rather than using a real picture of ourselves we can create an Avatar which is a digital image that looks similar to us. It is much safer as it doesn’t give too much information away.
https://mybluerobot.com/create-your-own-avatar/
Any of these websites will help us create a digital image.
I wonder who this image is meant to be?
P@55w0rd5!
This week in computing you are changing your password to one you have picked! It needs to be secure but also easy to remember! It is a tricky balance!
The best passwords are a mix of letters (lowercase and uppercase) numbers and special characters !ӣ$%^&*()@. They also have to be long some 8-10 characters long!
I could make my name more secure…
- daniel – Instantly broken!
- Daniel 400 millisecinds (That’s rapid!)
- Add a capital letter
- Danie1 – 1 second
- Replace a letter with a number
- D@nie1 – 5 seconds
- Adding a special character
- ABD@nie1 – 8 hours!
- Making it 8 characters long!
- D@nie1isgr8! – 34 thousand years!
- Making it a clever combination of the phrase – Daniel is great!
Then I have to make sure it isn’t part of a password chain!
My top tip… Put the first and last letter of the website around your password or add an underscore and the the website!
- GD@nie1isgr8!e – 2 hundred million years
- I think this password is safe!
- D@nie1isgr8!_Google – 5 hundred quadrillion years
- This password is even safer!
When you have picked your password why don’t you test it out! How long would it take hackers to break?
Careful Coding
As a school we do cover coding in computing, but these hour of code activities really help us learn important elements of coding that we can use in our own programs.
I am expecting that Year 6 will definitely be enthusiastic about the challenge and you can apply the skills you learned last year when you wrote your own Scratch Game.
As we learned last year you don’t always manage to get your program right first time so one part of BEST you really need to do in coding is S – stick at it! Before you ask your teacher for help there is a lot you can do for yourself – the VIRTUAL STUCK STATION! The program will show you videos – don’t skip them, but listen carefully as they will teach you what you need to know! Also if your code is wrong the computer will give you hints so you know what you are missing!
Today you will need some maths skills in the activity!
Best of luck
Mr Connolly
The Code Master!
If you enjoy the Frozen challenge in the lesson you might like to try Artist at home!
Staying safe online.
With the start of the new school year we revisit all we have learned about internet safety and how as we get older it is still relevant, in fact as we get even more competent with a computer we can do far more so come in contact with far more people in the digital world.
We know that in school we have filters and monitoring software that is used to keep us safe but sometimes even with these in place we need to TELL an adult when we feel uncomfortable.
Remember our school computer rules.
Don’t switch off the program or close the screen.
Only use technology when you are supervised by an adult.
Close the laptop or turn over an iPad.
Tell an Adult.
But we don’t just use computers in school we use them outside, where there aren’t as many filters in place.
Easter Island Websites
Taking a tour of the palace.
It would be great to go and visit the home of the Queen…
Buckingham Palace however that would be too far for an afternoon, so we need to use technology to get there!
Can we code it? Yes we can…
Today, you have some coding challenges to try today!
Remember watch the videos, and read the virtual stuck stations as they will help you if you get stuck!
https://studio.code.org/s/infinity/lessons/1/levels/1
https://studio.code.org/s/iceage/lessons/1/levels/1
Remember to comment to let me know which was your favourite.
Introducing Spreadsheets
Over this half term we will be learning lots about Spreadsheets. We will be using one in particular Microsoft Excel, however there are others that you can use and they all do similar things. This half terms lessons will be just as useful for other spreadsheets.
Spreadsheets are really useful programs for helping you handle large amounts of data and mean you can make a changes and rather than having to recalculate all the sums the computer does all the work. So they aren’t just useful for school but can be used in the home and by businesses. In fact Mr Connolly used them this week to help with the After school club letters.
KEY VOCABULARY – TERMINOLOGY
row
column
cell
formula
Just like anything technical spreadsheets have special words (terminology) that you need to understand to help your use the program fully.
So the cell highlighted in purple is know as …
The computer uses this as a reference, like a house on a street, what is inside may change but the street and house number remain the same.
Using this new knowledge why don’t you try Wizards-challenge.
With your new knowledge about cell references you can now use the data. You can input formulas into other cells to create another value. Just like in maths you can use any of the four operations; you can + add, – subtract, / divide, or * multiply! But take care as the symbols are not exactly the same!
The first activitiy was just a warm up… Now the super challenge of the lesson can you use formulas to turn the bars gold. Using cell references and formulas try The-gold-mine.
At the end of the lesson I give you a Question to think about…
Why is it useful to reference the cell and not just put in the answer?
Feel good Friday!
Today, you have a choice of what computing activity to do… Or you can do more than one in the time!
On Wednesday you busted out some tunes but didn’t get that long to make a masterpiece so maybe you want to use Isle of Tunes.
Maybe you want to try some more coding… There are links below but maybe you want to try something new with Mario!
You could give TTRS a go! Maybe even have a festival against others in the class!
Or give Mr Connolly’s favourite Memory Game a go… Simon!
Or you could use Paint to create a digital Masterpiece – but for that you will need to be on a laptop not a Chromebook!
Let me know in the comments below what activity you tried!
I’ll name that tune…
Last week in Computing you experimented with a new online program isleoftune.com/ I demonstrated how it worked and how you could get it to play music and different notes!
This week I want you to try your best to use isleoftune.com/ to play this topical piece of music. Think carefully how the notes move up and down the scale. Also how they change length! Remember each Bar (Chunk) needs to add up to 4! This means not all notes last the same length!
At the end of the lesson we will learn how to share our work so others can listen to our work. You only have the time shown on the timer to write your music so GOOD LUCK.
Mr Connolly
Speech Research
Gender Equality Links.
ps://mashable.com/article/best-speeches-gender-equality-womens-rights
https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/9/emma-watson-gender-equality-is-your-issue-too
https://unwomenusa.org/files/Rowan%20Blanchard%20Speech.pdf
Climate Change
Racial Equality
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/52917648
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/us/politics/18text-obama.html
https://www.theredcard.org/news/2019/3/16/armadale-primary-6-class
Text based language!
Today we are going to move away from a block based computer language to a text (Written) computer language – Python!
The Grinch!
Just like before you will need the S of BEST – stick at it! Before you ask your teacher for help there is a lot you can do for yourself – the VIRTUAL STUCK STATION! The program will show you videos – don’t skip them, but listen carefully as they will teach you what you need to know!
Also C3B4ME ask your classmates one of them is bound to be able to help you!
But also if your code is wrong the computer will give you hints so you know what you are missing!
Write a FLAPPY game!
Yesterday, you tried some coding to make artistic shapes today it is all about GAMES! You are going to work through the levels and the last one is where you can create your own version of the Game Flappy Bird using what you have learned!
Just like yesterday you will need the S of BEST – stick at it! Before you ask your teacher for help there is a lot you can do for yourself – the VIRTUAL STUCK STATION! The program will show you videos – don’t skip them, but listen carefully as they will teach you what you need to know! Also if your code is wrong the computer will give you hints so you know what you are missing!
When you finish writing your game get someone else to test it (like proof reading your work in English) and then copy the code as a comment on the blog and I can test and share the games later!
Best of luck
Mr Connolly
The Code Master!
Careful coding
As a school we do cover coding in computing, but these hour of code activities really help us learn important elements of coding that we can use in our own programs.
I am expecting that Year 6 will definitely be enthusiastic about the challenge and you can apply the skills you learned last year when you wrote your own Scratch Game.
As we learned last year you don’t always manage to get your program right first time so one part of BEST you really need to do in coding is S – stick at it! Before you ask your teacher for help there is a lot you can do for yourself – the VIRTUAL STUCK STATION! The program will show you videos – don’t skip them, but listen carefully as they will teach you what you need to know! Also if your code is wrong the computer will give you hints so you know what you are missing!
Today you will need some maths skills in the activity!
Best of luck
Mr Connolly
The Code Master!
If you enjoy the Frozen challenge in the lesson you might like to try Artist at home!
Internet Safety
With the start of the new school year we revisit all we have learned about internet safety and how as we get older it is still relevant, in fact as we get even more competent with a computer we can do far more so come in contact with far more people in the digital world.
We know that in school we have filters and monitoring software that is used to keep us safe but sometimes even with these in place we need to TELL an adult when we feel uncomfortable.
Remember our school computer rules.
Don’t switch off the program or close the screen.
Only use technology when you are supervised by an adult.
Close the laptop or turn over an iPad.
Tell an Adult.
But we don’t just use computers in school we use them outside, where there aren’t as many filters in place.
#OnlineSafety
With the start of the new school year we revisit all we have learned about internet safety and how as we get older it is still relevant, in fact as we get even more competent with a computer we can do far more so come in contact with far more people in the digital world.
We know that in school we have filters and monitoring software that is used to keep us safe but sometimes even with these in place we need to TELL an adult when we feel uncomfortable.
Remember our school computer rules.
- Don’t switch off the program or close the screen.
- Only use technology when you are supervised by an adult.
- Close the laptop or turn over an iPad.
- Tell an Adult.
But we don’t just use computers in school we use them outside, where there aren’t as many filters in place.
The Year 6 Blog! 