
Unit 115 - Design and test computer games
With seventeen level 1 units to choose from, the first unit we worked through was Unit 115 - Design and test computer games. The pattern I have used for each of the units so far has been to create an online PowerPoint presentation (please don't groan) using Office 365. The presentation includes the specification and requirements, completed with examples of how the requirements can be met, mostly composed when working with the class via teacher modelling. The online presentation is shared with students, allowing access from home or school to the latest version; any changes or additions made are reflected in the version that students view online, contrasting with using a traditional PowerPoint that is comparatively static, requiring any updates to be viewed via, for example, emailing the latest version. Link to the PowerPoint used for 115 - Design and test computer gamesStudents then created their own online PowerPoint presentations to document work. All students 'shared' their PowerPoints with myself, allowing me to give feed directly into 'live' PowerPoint presentations, or to update my spreadsheet tracking which skills each student has completed.
Each of the units completed follow a similar pattern of exploration of similar products, sharing a brief with students, creating the product to meet the clients' requirements and, finally, evaluating the completed project. In the case of game design, I contacted OCR to find out which applications could be used to create the game; I was told that there is no stipulation for which platform, so we explored a number of options, including Scratch, the popular introductory programming language, and 2DIY, a 2D game creation tool created by Purple Mash. Most of our students opted for Scratch. Link to Scratch Link to Purple Mash 2DIY By the end of the Autumn term, after 2 and 1/2 hours of lesson per week, all students had completed the tasks from the unit, using desktop PCs mostly.
Unit 103 - Special video effects
We followed a similar approach with this unit as with the first. However, the hardware and software used differed greatly. With a dedicated green screen room, portable green screen and iPads available, we developed student skills in combining special effects with real life footage. We have the quite incredible Green Screen app by Doink. I cannot recommend this highly enough. Link to Doink [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"]
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