Introduction to Computing

The steps a PC goes through when it starts up.

Peta waking up as an analogy for a PC booting up

How a computer can communicate with an external device such as a printer.

General Fintle acts as a Device Driver, by helping Peta get him back into the town

Why security is important and how to create secure passwords.

Discussion on creating a strong password

One method that networks use to establish a connection.

Using the security process to get into the town as an analogy for the security protocol to link computer together over a network

An introduction to some of the main programming languages.

Peta meets characters that have personal traits similar to the programming languages they represent.

An overview of the damage a computer virus can cause.

NOTE: This course does NOT teach you how to create such viruses.

Introduction to the concept of a computer virus and the payload it delivers.

NOTE: This course does NOT teach you how to create such viruses.

An introduction to some of the jobs people do in IT.

An introduction to some of the job roles available to people in IT.

No honestly, there is nothing here

The aim of this section is for you to watch the video and then follow the instructions on your own PC. You may need to pause the video a few times.

The character, Python, agrees to teach Peta how to write computer programs.

Installing the Python programming language, we suggest you watch the video and follow the instructions.

The aim is for you to watch the video and follow the instructions on your own PC. You may need to pause the video a few times.

This lesson is about installing Python and then checking that Python has been installed.

The aim is for you to watch the video and follow the instructions on your own PC.

Running a simple program using the IDLE interface

Watch the video and follow the instructions on downloading a coding editor.

Watch the video and follow the instructions.

Installing a coding editor, to make your programming easier to create, manage and use

Storing information such as Text, Integer, Decimals and Dates. Different styles of Taxis represent the different variables.

Watch the video and follow the instructions.

Introduction to programming in Python, looking at storing numbers in Numeric variables

Watch the video and follow the instructions.

Introduction to programming in Python, looking at storing text in String variables

Watch the video and follow the instructions.

Using functions in Python to change values or perform a job

Watch the video and follow the instructions.

Introduction to programming in Python, looking at storing dates in a date variable – Part 1

Watch the video and follow the instructions.

Storing dates in a date variable – Part 2

Watch the video and follow the instructions.

Extending what Python can do by using modules

Greater than, less than and equals are used in an analogy for finding the correct room in the Police Station which holds a prisoner

Watch the video and follow the instructions.

An introduction to the standard operators in Python. These are used to make changes to your data.

Finding a solution to a problem by use of a particular method. They come up with a method for finding particular cars.

Algorithms, Machine Code and Assembler. A demonstration of how programming is a learned craft, rather than a mysterious talent

The analogy is looking at the books in a library to show how there have been counting machines for as long as people could count.

Computing has been around longer than you might think

An actual bus represents the wires that carry information around in a computer. Peta and Zeta go to the Interface Zone

How computers move data around within their own circuits

Introduction to Interfaces. Peta has to revisit the Guard House. This is used as an example of how something looks can be more important than what it does.

Watch the video and follow the instructions.

Creating an Interface program to allow users to communicate with the computer – Step 01

Creating an Interface program to allow users to communicate with the computer – Step 02

Creating an Interface program to allow users to communicate with the computer – Step 03

Creating an Interface program to allow users to communicate with the computer – Step 04

Creating an Interface program to allow users to communicate with the computer – Step 05

Creating an Interface program to allow users to communicate with the computer – Step 06

Creating an Interface program to allow users to communicate with the computer – Step 07

Creating an Interface program to allow users to communicate with the computer – Step 08

Introduction to Interfaces. Peta has to revisit the Guard House, an example of how something looks can be more important than what it does.

Learning about the fundamentals of User Interface Design and some history

Looking at Colour depth. Also, by copying good design you learn how to become a designer.

How the computer manages images

How Events are used to change the appearance of buttons and other objects.

How computers interact with users

Using external signs in the interface zone as an analogy for a peripheral.

The different types of peripherals you come across connected to computers

Using the analogy of Peta dressing up as something else, to demonstrate how people judge things by how they look as much as what they are.

Design is everywhere and is more important than most people think

Using the analogy of people being servers, rather than computers.

An introduction to Servers, looking at Client Server request responses and what Servers look like.

Continuing the analogy of people being servers running a network that looks like a river of physical packets of data.

What are local area networks and how the networks deal with data collisions. We'll also look at how Switches and Routers manage data transmission.

Checking that a server is active by pinging them

What happens when you check to see a Server is active by 'pinging' it.

About Ada Lovelace who was the first programmer.

A quick history lesson on some of the first people to create computers and write programs.

A short discussion about why some passwords are stronger than others

How are passwords encrypted. We look at Data Encryption Standards, Salting and Hashing. We also look at how hacker try to crack encrypted passwords.

A physical attack of a worm virus. Actually, a Worm isn't actually a type of virus, but a method of moving corrupt files through a system

An introduction to a method of infecting computers called a Worm virus. It is called a worm virus because it worms it way through a network.

The variables aren't big enough, so Arrays, or lists, are introduced as shelves, to store more related data.

Looking at Structured Data in Python in the form of Lists. Python also has Arrays and Tuples, but these are all very similar in the way they work and what they can do.

Routers, routing data along different networks. But also introduces the Network Layer as another way of moving data around a system.

How routers make sure that the data goes to the correct place.

Hard disks and how we can store more information than ever before.

How data is stored on disks

Bits, bytes, kilobytes etc.

Looking at Bits and Bytes.

How hard disks work - The Story

How hard disks work

Another type of bus, but this time it has a number of different ways of working

Looking at USB and the different ways it works

Using IF...THEN statements to examine Peta's inner thoughts about whether the Government thinks he is the hacker or not.

IF, THEN and ELSE statements in Python.

IF you want to know about Conditional Statements in Python THEN look at this module. ELSE learn about something different.

Creating read and write text python code in the story

Read information from a text file into Python. Then we can manipulate the text or look for certain text strings. We'll also look at FOR Loops within Python to manage the text.

More about creating read and write text

An introduction to Python Classes so we can perform a web page GET. Which is used to make web pages interactive.

Using TRY and EXCEPT to manage web events that have an uncertain outcome. These are called Exception errors, such as File Not Found.

Peta goes to where the town run servers are located.

Creating our very own Web Server by importing an HTTPServer class. Obviously quite a simple server, which we will use to run a web page locally.

The other side of the coin from reading a text file, in this lesson we will look at the Python code used to write text into a file.