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Alevel Computer Science Help!!!

I have started year 12 this year and I have chosen A-level computer science as one of my subjects however I have never ever done computer science before so I just wanted to ask what is the best way to learn computer science.( I have been watching youtube videos which kind of help but when it comes to solving a question i get stuck please help)
Original post by Zaspo
I have started year 12 this year and I have chosen A-level computer science as one of my subjects however I have never ever done computer science before so I just wanted to ask what is the best way to learn computer science.( I have been watching youtube videos which kind of help but when it comes to solving a question i get stuck please help)



im doing ocr computer science and im in year 13. Honestly in terms of programming questions that are in pseudocode if you learn how to program in python they will all be fairly easy and python isnt hard to learn/ The rest is just memorisation
Reply 2
Original post by steveeem
im doing ocr computer science and im in year 13. Honestly in terms of programming questions that are in pseudocode if you learn how to program in python they will all be fairly easy and python isnt hard to learn/ The rest is just memorisation


I am really sorry but what is a "pseudocode". And any tips on learning python fast?
Original post by Zaspo
I am really sorry but what is a "pseudocode". And any tips on learning python fast?


oh lord okay you really are a blank canvas. So you will learn what pseudocode is through the year but its vague. Its literally just like programming but with no specific rules. However it is very similar to python except pseudocode you have to do in a bit more english. Its confusing but your teacher will tell you. And id say like codecademy or google free python programming course or something and find one. Its pretty basic and i s alot like regular english and trust me it will help alot. Any other questions let me know
Firstly, don't worry if this is your first week or two having ever studied Computer Science - it's fairly normal for most people starting A-Level to be in exactly the same position. Realistically you're not going to be expected to have learned much more than a few basics in the space of a few weeks.

The first hurdle to get over is to make sure you're happy and comfortable with the syntax of a programming language and able to use the tools to make something which works at a basic level (e.g. "hello world", counting numbers, writing out a shape of a triangle to the screen, etc.)

The most important skills in computer science are all about analysis, problem solving and computational thinking. These aren't skills which can be learned by watching videos or reading books - the only way is to physically sit down and just practice at them by analysing and solving problems with the programming language.

One part about it is being able to look at a big, complex problem, being able to understand what the problem means, identifying important bits of information, and breaking the problem down it down into many smaller, simpler, managable pieces until you're not just solving a single big problem, but you're solving lots of nice small, easy problems instead -- then the "big" problem is really just about fitting smaller pieces together.

For example, a problem such as:
"Ask the user to enter a number, if the number they've entered is even, print it to the screen, otherwise ask them again".
- There's 3 different problems there already which can each be solved on their own with different code/instructions:

1.

Ask the user to enter a number

2.

If the number they've entered is even, print it to the screen

3.

otherwise [... it's not even...] ask them again


Don't solve a single problem when you can solve 3 small ones and put those 3 together when you're done.


Computational thinking is learning how to "think" like a computer - The 3 basic capabilities of a computer are about

1.

Running instructions in sequence

2.

Logic-based decision making (selection)

3.

Repetition of instructions.


The skill is all about being able to express a solution to a problem step-by-step in those terms - i.e. being able to break the solution down into small enough steps so that you can describe each strep using an instruction in a programming language.

Start out with some simple programming problems to begin with. To coin an analogy, nobody learns to climb by starting at foot of Mt. Everest, instead they start with something managable.

Hopefully the kinds of assignments you're getting from your course will gradually increase in complexity, so if you've got a bunch of assignments which you're finding too difficult then go back to some earlier ones and practice with those. Any programming or Computer Science textbooks should also have some problems to try. Keep trying until it just "clicks" -- also take the time to explore and try different things with the programming language just to get a feel for what works and what doesn't. Curiousity is a virtue!

At first you'll get a lot of syntax errors which prevent your program from running - realistically these will take a lot of your time in the first few weeks/months until you get comfortable with the language. If you ever run into any problems, then chances are it'll be a problem somebody else has encountered and solved before. Make use of Google to look for the ways other people have solved the same problem. Something like a syntax error is usually easy to search online because you often have some kind of error code, and maybe some text that you can just paste into Google or even https://www.stackoverflow.com to find other similar questions/answers. Google and StackOverflow should be your two most important websites - many of the best programmers in the world are found on StackOverflow answering all kinds of questions, and you'll often find some really great information there.
(edited 5 years ago)
Reply 5
Original post by winterscoming
Firstly, don't worry if this is your first week or two having ever studied Computer Science - it's fairly normal for most people starting A-Level to be in exactly the same position. Realistically you're not going to be expected to have learned much more than a few basics in the space of a few weeks.

The first hurdle to get over is to make sure you're happy and comfortable with the syntax of a programming language and able to use the tools to make something which works at a basic level (e.g. "hello world", counting numbers, writing out a shape of a triangle to the screen, etc.)

The most important skills in computer science are all about analysis, problem solving and computational thinking. These aren't skills which can be learned by watching videos or reading books - the only way is to physically sit down and just practice at them by analysing and solving problems with the programming language.

One part about it is being able to look at a big, complex problem, being able to understand what the problem means, identifying important bits of information, and breaking the problem down it down into many smaller, simpler, managable pieces until you're not just solving a single big problem, but you're solving lots of nice small, easy problems instead -- then the "big" problem is really just about fitting smaller pieces together.

For example, a problem such as:
"Ask the user to enter a number, if the number they've entered is even, print it to the screen, otherwise ask them again".
- There's 3 different problems there already which can each be solved on their own with different code/instructions:

1.

Ask the user to enter a number

2.

If the number they've entered is even, print it to the screen

3.

otherwise [... it's not even...] ask them again


Don't solve a single problem when you can solve 3 small ones and put those 3 together when you're done.


Computational thinking is learning how to "think" like a computer - The 3 basic capabilities of a computer are about

1.

Running instructions in sequence

2.

Logic-based decision making (selection)

3.

Repetition of instructions.


The skill is all about being able to express a solution to a problem step-by-step in those terms - i.e. being able to break the solution down into small enough steps so that you can describe each strep using an instruction in a programming language.

Start out with some simple programming problems to begin with. To coin an analogy, nobody learns to climb by starting at foot of Mt. Everest, instead they start with something managable.

Hopefully the kinds of assignments you're getting from your course will gradually increase in complexity, so if you've got a bunch of assignments which you're finding too difficult then go back to some earlier ones and practice with those. Any programming or Computer Science textbooks should also have some problems to try. Keep trying until it just "clicks" -- also take the time to explore and try different things with the programming language just to get a feel for what works and what doesn't. Curiousity is a virtue!

At first you'll get a lot of syntax errors which prevent your program from running - realistically these will take a lot of your time in the first few weeks/months until you get comfortable with the language. If you ever run into any problems, then chances are it'll be a problem somebody else has encountered and solved before. Make use of Google to look for the ways other people have solved the same problem. Something like a syntax error is usually easy to search online because you often have some kind of error code, and maybe some text that you can just paste into Google or even https://www.stackoverflow.com to find other similar questions/answers. Google and StackOverflow should be your two most important websites - many of the best programmers in the world are found on StackOverflow answering all kinds of questions, and you'll often find some really great information there.


thank you this really helped.
Theres a really good youtube channel I know called craigndave who explains all the topics really well
Reply 7
Original post by loginrunner
Theres a really good youtube channel I know called craigndave who explains all the topics really well


could you link them please.
Reply 9
Original post by Zaspo
I have started year 12 this year and I have chosen A-level computer science as one of my subjects however I have never ever done computer science before so I just wanted to ask what is the best way to learn computer science.( I have been watching youtube videos which kind of help but when it comes to solving a question i get stuck please help)


Hello! I am also in the same position as you. Having never done GCSE computer science, I've been struggling quite a bit. However, my teacher is very supportive and has recommended to use the website Teach ICT, CraignDave (as mentioned above) and Codeacademy to catch up with my other classmates. He also recommended to skim read the GCSE curriculum in your free time (Teach ICT has the whole OCR a level and GCSE course!), as you may understand the A level topics better. Crash course computer science apparently helps too, but I haven't checked.
Reply 10
Original post by MapleFu
Hello! I am also in the same position as you. Having never done GCSE computer science, I've been struggling quite a bit. However, my teacher is very supportive and has recommended to use the website Teach ICT, CraignDave (as mentioned above) and Codeacademy to catch up with my other classmates. He also recommended to skim read the GCSE curriculum in your free time (Teach ICT has the whole OCR a level and GCSE course!), as you may understand the A level topics better. Crash course computer science apparently helps too, but I haven't checked.


Sure thx that helped want to be friends we can help each other as we go along through the year. What language and exam board are you doing?
Original post by Zaspo
Sure thx that helped want to be friends we can help each other as we go along through the year. What language and exam board are you doing?


idk for A-Level but computer science tutor on youtube is good

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsBxhDfwURg-vQASN2ZeHwg/playlists?disable_polymer=1
Original post by Zaspo
Sure thx that helped want to be friends we can help each other as we go along through the year. What language and exam board are you doing?


I do CS and Im in Year 13, i need help as well
Reply 13
Original post by Zaspo
Sure thx that helped want to be friends we can help each other as we go along through the year. What language and exam board are you doing?


Cool, that'll be great! I'll be glad to share any useful notes/websites I can find. My exam board is OCR, and I've been recommended to learn Python. Most probably will use that language for the coursework, too.
Reply 14
Original post by MapleFu
Cool, that'll be great! I'll be glad to share any useful notes/websites I can find. My exam board is OCR, and I've been recommended to learn Python. Most probably will use that language for the coursework, too.


same python but exam board is aqa. That is still fine.
Reply 15
Original post by Zaspo
same python but exam board is aqa. That is still fine.


Noo, that's too bad. I guess if we look at the board's specifications, we could find similar topics.
Reply 16
The topic I'm currently on is 'Components of a computer and their uses'. Anything similar to this in AQA?

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