Games marketing

You need to come up with at least 1 individual marketing text each within your production groups, but most of you should aim to produce more.

You will be presenting your games and marketing on a stall at the final KS3 assembly, possibly creating materials such as this...



There are many things you can do ...

• magazine ad
• poster
• game cover
• TV ad
• merchandise:
• tee-shirts
• badges
• pens
• mugs
• toys
• board game
• mouse mat ... and many more!
• downloadable content:
• wallpapers
• ringtones
• YouTube channel content:
• game walkthroughs
• interview with game creator/s
• tie-ins
• cereal packet
• soft drink bottle/can
• sweet/chocolate wrappers etc!
• UGC/fan art
• just some suggestions! See PowerPoint below for some examples

SOME USEFUL SITES (may be blocked in school for games topic)

GETANDROIDSTUFF Android games for girls (but useful examples of marketing for children generally)

10 best Android kids games

15 best iOS kids games

2017 games expo application form from DB3igs

...

2017 st g expo from DB3igs

Some videos on advertising to children

...

Scratch

UPDATE 3/3/17: Videos should now be enabled.

Over the next few weeks you will learn how to use Scratch, creating algorithms to control features on screen ... then apply this to your own game concept ... before joining up with others to form a company and create marketing materials for your company stall at a games expo event!

LESSON 1 GOALS:
Using the video resources at https://scratch.mit.edu/help/videos/, create projects which include these elements - save each time you do a new step under a new name (that means you start from Scratch each time!).
Read carefully the instructions below; do not move on until you've fully read + understood the instructions for each step.

For Step 1 you need to click Join Scratch. For Step 2 etc you need to click CREATE, then immediately name the new project. Once you have you can click FILE-SAVE (or download to PC), and save it in your SCRATCH/EXPERIMENTS folder.

Scratch tools i used from DB3igs

STEP 1: SET UP A SCRATCH ACCOUNT + LOG IN
Save any login info you need somewhere you won't lose it - you could send yourself an email, or use the contacts function with your school gmail to save this.

Sweding

Sweding is a term that came from the film Be Kind Rewind, where Jack Black and others did zero-budget spoof remakes of existing films. Swedes are short, featuring well known scenes and characters, and use daft props in place of SFX/CGI.
Here's the film trailer, followed by a sample of its Ghostbusters swede:




There are many examples of swedes online; here are a few examples:
Transformers:

Analysing fonts

When you're designing or analysing a text, whether thats a Word or Publisher document, a Photoshop image (perhaps a poster), website/web page, whatever it may be, one of the most important factors will be your font. The choice of font (and its size, colour, case [ie use of capitals] and any effects such as bold, underline or Italics) for any aspect of the text will help suggest:

• the target audience, always the most important consideration
• the tone: some fonts have a fun feel, others more serious
• different fonts also help to distinguish separate sections

Two useful words here: serif and sans-serif. Serif fonts have 'curly bits' or bits sticking out (as the Wiki puts it, 'the small lines tailing from the edges of letters and symbols'); sans-serif fonts are simply made up of smooth lines and don't have serifs!

This is a serif font. (Often used to set a serious tone, which is why Times New Roman is the default font in Word!)
This is a sans-serif font. (Often used to set a light, fun tone: Comic Sans is the classic example)

Lets consider how this works with a screenshot from three websites: the BBC Health website; Kids Against Tobacco Smoke; Dr P Body's Learning/Fun Center.

Search engines + narrowing results

There are many competing search engines, each using slightly or radically different techniques to come up with their results. There is one globally dominant company, and we easily understand what is meant if someone suggests we 'google it'! However, even Google has more limited success in some countries such as China.

There are some files you need to access at Y:\ICT\KS3\Year 7\The Internet.

The links below will help you to explore and differentiate between the competing search engines, and understand how to get better, more specific/relevant search results.

• The BBC's WebWise site is a good place to start: its brief but gives you a very clear summary of what a search engine is and how they vary.
• Wiki on search engines, including history of their development (have you ever heard of Netscape? It used to be as dominant as Google is now!) and a list of major search engines. Some other examples of search engines:
• Dogpile;
• Yahoo!/AltaVista;
• Bing;
• Ask;
• Here's a list of the 15 most popular search engines in the USA, which you can compare to ...
• ...the most popular search engines in the UK! (Novermber 2012 figures) or ...
• ... other countries such as China! (September 2012)
• To get better results, use the advanced search options. Here's the BBC's WebWise list of tips on getting better results.
• You can also use Boolean operators. Here's a detailed explanation, including graphics. This is a really good explanation, with examples for how you would use OR, AND, NOT in searches.
• This is the BBC WebWise explanation of Boolean operators.
• Here's the Wiki on Boolean operators.
• If you wanted to find out more about how these companies and the search engine industry operate, including the economics and politics behind them, you could try newspaper sites such as The Guardian's search engine articles. 
• Google allows you to use all sorts of extra search terms; you may not remember many of these at first, but you can always google 'google search terms' for help! Here's Google's guide to its advanced search terms.

Click here for an interactive demo of how Boolean search terms work

Some of the techniques for better search results we'll explore include...

• using the minus sign: a search for salsa finds everything to do with food and dance; if we only want the food-based reults we change our search to -dance salsa. The Boolean operator NOT also works like this: salsa NOT dance will achieve the same results.
• using the asterisk (SHIFT+8) symbol: if we search adam ant we get 5.2m hits, but if we search adam ant* we get 31.9m hits. Why? Because the * tells the search engine to include all words starting with ant, which is useful here because Adam Ant was originally in a band called Adam and the Ants! You use the * if there are several relevant variations of one of your search terms
• adding more words: we're usually looking to reduce the number of hits to get more relevant results, and adding more words usually does this. headlines 2000 gets 195m hits; headlines year 2000 reduces this to 132m; uk headlines year 2000 reduces this to 102m
• word order: whichever words we put first are ranked as more important in the search, which is why I put uk first in the above example!
• speech marks: if we put "" round words the search engine will look for that exact phrase. "adam ant" gets half as many hits as simply adam ant, and they're more relevant
• and finally... The Boolean operator AND tells the search engine not to simply look for web pages with any of the words in the search phrase, but to look for results with all of the terms you put AND between. So, if I search for uk newspaper headlines year 2000 I get 153m hits. If I amend this to uk AND newspaper headlines year 2000 I only get hits which have both UK and newspapers: I now get 144m hits. The search uk AND newspaper AND headlines AND year 2000 gets 104m hits. If I amended this to headline* it jumps up to 365m!

Look at the four results screenshots below: which one do you think returned the most useful answers?

Yr7: DTP2 Creating a Menu

For this task you will be applying the Publisher tools we looked at in the previous lesson:

• opening a document
• changing the page setup from the default portrait to landscape
• adding text
• making text box borders visible (+ selecting colour)
• adding WordArt
• inserting + resizing images
• cropping images
• grouping and ungrouping objects
• changing the order of objects, eg sending an image to back sets it as your document background
• using the taskbar to change the background

You can use some of the screenshots below to help refresh your memory! EXTENSION: You could also find a long document with instructions on many other aspects of Publisher here (right-click to save, Ctrl+click to open in a new window/tab).
We will be creating a menu for your Come Dine With Me dinner party, in a booklet (an A4 landscape document split in two).
First we'll create a list of what goes into a good menu - we can use some of these examples to help with this.

STEPS IN THIS TASK:

1. Note the features of a good menu
2. List your 3-course menu (starter, main, dessert - if you want to extend yourself you could add vegetarian options!)
3. Find + save (or copy/paste into your document) photos for each course
4. Set up a new landscape A4 blank document
5. Set it to 2 columns (see the screenshot below!) - splitting your page creates two panels. (Alternatively we could try some of the brochure entries from the new document section of the task pane)
6. Insert another page (so you have 4 panels to work with; if you don't you only have 2 panels to work with)
7. Pick a background - and apply it to both pages!
8. Use some scrap paper to roughly sketch out/list what will go on each panel
9. Design the front panel
10. Check off the key features as you do them: cover page (the invite, a pic of your home [any house will do]), menu (each course with photo/s), map + directions to your house, dress code or theme, arrival/start time etc)

Photos of the food, a nice cover?

Again, photos of the food feature!

7ADM suggested the following should feature in a good menu for your Come Dine With me evening:

1:FOOD DETAILS:

• the 3 courses
• key ingredients of each course (+ if something like a curry, the type of curry)
• any accompaniments (eg rice, potatoes [roast, boiled, mashed etc], salad)
• vegetarian alternatives could be given
• info on whether nuts, dairy or gluten has been used for allergy sufferers
• pictures of the food
• funny names might be given, eg Colin's Curry or Larry's Lasagne

2:DRINK DETAILS:

• cola, fruit juice, blends etc

3:ADDRESS/MAP + PIC OF HOUSE:

• no need to use your actual address, any Ilkley street address would do
• use GoogleMaps to create a map (take a screenshot using the Capture programme: START - ALL PROGRAMS - ACCESSORIES)

4:TIME TO ARRIVE + THEME/DRESS CODE:

• there is often a theme (eg the 1950s, Disney characters etc) or a dress code (eg black tie, evening wear, ... Disney characters/fancy dress! etc)
• you could illustrate this with a picture
• although the programme wouldn't, you could also add contact details if you wish - though with e-safety in mind, again don't use your actual contact details!

More detail/choices on this, but note the nice logo + contact details!

Pic of the place, nice subheadings - but this wouldn't work in a one-fold brochure!

You can find other examples by googling something such as 'dinner party menu'.

Here's some reminders of how to access certain Publisher tools:
CREATING 2 COLUMNS

 CHANGING YOUR BACKGROUND COLOUR/PATTERN

 EDITING WORDART TEXT

 CHANGING THE PAGE SETUP TO LANDSCAPE

Yr7: DTP1 Intro to Publisher

In this lesson we will look at some of the key tools in the desktop publishing (DTP) programme Publisher, part of the Microsoft Office suite. When you're creating a poster for other subjects you should use this instead of Word!

STEP ONE: OPEN PUBLISHER + SET UP A BLANK PORTRAIT A4 DOCUMENT
I will demonstrate this first, then ask you to follow these steps.
(i) Open Publisher from the Microsoft Office folder in Start - Programmes
(ii) Either select File-New or find the icon for blank A4 (portrait) document from the opening selection of choices.
(iii) Task Pane - close it! Now work out how to reopen it!
(iv) Click View - Toolbars and look at the options. Remember this - if you accidentally close a toolbar you need, you can reopen it from the same place.

STEP TWO: ADDING TEXT
(v) Try to type into your document and see what happens. A stamp for anyone who can write their own name in their Publisher document within the next 60 seconds!
The main solution is to add a text box: either click the text box icon on the Objects toolbar OR click Insert - TextBox
(vi) Add a new text box with instructions on how to add a text box!
(vii) When you've done this, save your Publisher document as "1st Publisher Doc". As we work on, keep pressing CTRL + S.

STEP THREE: ADDING IMAGES
Publisher has some stock images ("clip art"), and you can of course google for and save images then insert them. Lets take a screenshot to help us remember where we found the text box option:
(viii) Find and open the Capture programme (Start - Programmes - Capture). Select the 3rd option, the rectangle with the dotted outline, to select an area to save (drag the mouse to select). Save it, and insert the image (Insert - Image), resize it and reposition it.
(ix) Also insert a piece of clipart, resize and reposition.

STEP FOUR: WORD ART
Lets use Word Art to add more text as a title. We also find this on the Objects toolbar.
(x) Use this to type in My 1st Publisher doc. Experiment with the options!

STEP FIVE: GROUPING + CHANGING ORDER
If we want to move 2 or more objects (text boxes, pictures, etc) around at the same time, so they stay in the same relative position to each other, we can group these. When we're done we can also then ungroup these objects. We can also change the order, just like layers in Photoshop.
(xi) Group any 2 objects and move them. Then ungroup again!
(xii) Move 1 object so that it partially covers another. (Send to back)
Can you also work out how to change the background?!

STEP SIX: PRACTICE POSTER
Find and insert an image from your favourite movie, and have a go at adding other features to make your Publisher document look like a convincing movie poster! (tagline, bbfc cert, release date, reviews etc)


At the end of the lesson use the wall below to add a note of the most useful (or surprising!) thing you learned how to do today using Publisher.

We'll come back to Publisher next lesson to develop and apply these skills!

Yr8 Logo + Brochure

What goes in to a good logo? It must be easily recognisable from a distance and stand out when placed on colourful backgrounds (packaging, posters etc).
That means:

• a simple graphic design
• using few colours (2 or 3 usually)
• the company/brand name should be short too: 1, 2, maybe 3 words
• the brand name is part of the logo; the font used is very important

You can follow the PowerPoint below to learn more about logos. Once you have you need to create a snappy company name (your business is fixing, mending, improving, transforming photos - you can use your name, txt-style spelling, words linked to photography or improvment/change ...).
Every business needs a good slogan too - as Tesco plc says, Every Little Helps...
Once you've done that you can follow the instructions in how to use Photoshop tools to create a great company logo.
Make sure you save, and keep saving, your Photoshop work - any computer can crash. Press Ctrl+S every time you've made a major change you're happy with.
GuessLogos DB Compressed

Remember: Make sure you save, and keep saving, your Photoshop work - any computer can crash. Press Ctrl+S every time you've made a major change you're happy with.


Your brochure needs to feature certain key details - you could do your own research, looking at examples, but if there isn't enough time you can find a list of the key details you need to include in the document below. This also has instructions on how to create a 6-panel leaflet in Publisher.


Don't forget which panel will end up as the front, back, inside ... use this document as a quick reference:

Think about background colours, and take care with your font choices; experiment with text effects too: you can make shapes with words.

Yr 7: EXCEL working with formulas

For this lesson you will be learning how to make Excel do the hard work for you and make calculations - much quicker than manually working out sums in your head or by calculator and then typing them in!

First, open up both MyDocs and My Computer. Resize and reposition both so you can drag files from the curriculum share / ICT / KS3 / Yr7 folder to your own ICT folder.

I've opened BOTH My Docs AND My Computer. I repositioned AND resized both windows so I'm able to drag and drop files from the curriculum share ICT folder into my own ICT folder.

In MyDocs open up your ICT folder and if you haven't already got a folder called SPREADSHEETS then click FILE > NEW FOLDER and name this.
Navigate to the usual place in My Computer. In ICT / Yr 7 find and open the MODELLING folder. Go into LESSON 1.
Drag the Excel file Zoo Activity and drop it into your own ICT/Spreadsheets folder. Do not open the file yet.

YOU NOW HAVE UP TO 5 MINUTES TO COMPLETE THE ZOO ACTIVITY WORD DOCUMENT BY HAND, USING MENTAL ARITHMETIC OR A CALCULATOR.

tbc

Passwords and the hackers

It is written for an adult audience, but there is plenty of information in the article copied in below (click on read more to read the full piece) about how computer hackers are constantly working to crack our passwords - and why we do need complicated passwords to keep our personal information and files safe!
(Link for the article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/oct/05/online-security-passwords-tricks-hacking)

Online passwords: keep it complicated

By now, you probably have about 20 different passwords you're struggling to remember. There must be an easier way. How do you stay one step ahead of the hackers – and still stay sane?

• 
• • Oliver Burkeman
  • The Guardian, Friday 5 October 2012 17.00 BST

This word cloud shows the most commonly used passwords, with greater prominence given to those used most frequently. Published in InformationWeek BYTE 'Top 5 Password Managers'. Dazzlepod. Disclosure Project, dazzlepod.com/disclosure/

Let me hazard a wild guess: the system of passwords you use on the internet – for accessing online banking, email, shopping sites, Twitter and Facebook accounts – is a mess. You know perfectly well what you ought to be doing: for each site you visit, you should be choosing a different, complex sequence of letters, numbers and symbols, and then memorising it. (That's rule number one of the conventional wisdom on passwords: never, ever write them down.) But you don't do this, because you weren't blessed with a brain that's capable of such feats. So instead you use the same familiar words for every site – your dog's name, the name of your street – with occasional ingenious permutations, such as adding "123" at the end. Or maybe you do try to follow the rules, in which case you're probably constantly getting locked out of your bank account or trying to remember the answers to various absurd security questions. ("What was your favourite sport as a child?" I'm now asked, though my real favourite sport was finding ways to dodge PE. One question at the iTunes Store asks users to nominate their "least favourite car".) And things are getting worse: these days, you find yourself forced to choose passwords with both upper- and lower-case letters, and what normal human being can remember multiple combinations of those? Not you, that's for sure.
One reason not to feel too guilty about your bad password behaviour is that it seems to be almost universal. Last month, an analysis of leaked pin numbers revealed that about one in 10 of us uses "1234"; a recent security breach at Yahoo showed that thousands of users' passwords were either "password", "welcome", "123456" or "ninja".

Yr8 EXCEL chart task: key points

For this task you need to  (1) design a survey; collect responses; tally up the totals for each possible answer you gave; (2) enter the data into an Excel spreadsheet; (3) display your results as a pie chart or graph (using the instruction sheet provided); and (4) finally assess someone else's work while they assess yours!

You need to follow these steps for a successful outcome:

You can create a pie chart or a bar chart/graph

DESIGN A CLASS SURVEY

1. Create a question that most of your class have a reasonable chance of answering!
2. Provide 4 or 5 possible answers, plus 'other' so that anybody who wouldn't choose any of your possible answers still has something to select
3. Examples would be 'which of these is the best film/TV show/pop band/football team/country/city/food' or 'who will win the premier league/championship/formula one title/next football world cup'. These are just a couple of examples.

INPUT SURVEY RESULTS AS DATA INTO SPREADSHEET

1. For your spreadsheet, put the title into cell 1A, eg '8AHF's favourite pop bands'
2. You can change the font and size so that this stands out
3. Skip a row: go to row 3 next
4. In cell 3A write the category (eg film, country, team; whatever your question asked) - one word will probably be enough
5. In cell 3B write 'total'
6. From cell 4A and working down column A type in the choices you gave on your survey form
7. If any of your choices is a number (eg the film 300 was used in a list of best films) then put single quote marks '' around the name so that software recognises this as a word and not a number
8. You may need to expand the border of column A so that the full word/title can be seen: if so, click off from any individual cell; hover the mouse between the border line separating columns A and B until you see the icon change and then simply drag the column A border over to the right
9. From cell 4B and working down column B type in the totals

CHECK AND SAVE YOUR WORK; ADD A BORDER IF YOU WISH

1. Save your work! Either hold in the Ctrl button and press S or File/Save As.
2. BEFORE you start generating a graph/chart, check you've not left a blank column, have missed out row 2, have put category + total in 3A and 3B, and have created a spreadsheet precisely like the example shown earlier!
3. If you really want to add a border, hold in the Ctrl button and click on this link to read this post with instructions.

CREATING A PIE CHART OR GRAPH

1. Now follow the instructions in the Publisher document Differentiated help sheet which you can find in the Y:\ICT\KS3\Year 8\Charts folder (the Y drive is the curriculum share folder you see when you open My Computer)
2. When you reach stage 5 on this helpsheet make sure you also check the box for category name.
3. In the final step change the setting in 'As object in' to Sheet 2 (it is set to sheet 1 automatically).
4. If you think you've gotten everything right you're ready to have the person beside you go through the checklist to note which parts you've successfully completed! When they're ready you can check theirs. Put their full name on the sheet you're writing on (I'll collect all of these in before you go).
5. You can put your data collection sheet into the recycling bin.
6. If you've done all of this you could spend a little time on yout Independent Learning assignment, which must be handed in by Friday 26th October - you can see some instructions in this post.

Yr8 Independent Learning September-October

THE TASK: Create a guide to using the audio software Audacity to show someone new to it how to use it
'INDEPENDENT LEARNING'?: You work on this outside of lesson time (at home or lunchtime for example)
WHERE ARE THE INSTRUCTIONS: You can find information below, but you must download the two documents from the SLG or save from the curric share folder: instructions and a document to write in.
WHAT DO I PRODUCE: You pick the software: PowerPoint, Photostory, iMovie - all of these and more would work well. You also complete the Autumn1 section of the learning log.
CAN I SEE AN EXAMPLE: Yes - scroll down!
DEADLINE? WHERE DO I HAND IT IN? Before your last lesson this half-term. Copy/paste it into the hand-in folder on the curriculum share drive, looking for the folder for your teacher and class.

In addition to the general work we do in lessons you have some independent work to undertake and to hand in by Friday 26th October, the last day before the half-term holidays. You hand it in by saving it in the the hand-in folder within the curriculum share folder/ICT. (Y:\ICT\Hand-in)
Your task is to create a user guide for Audacity - see https://hslg11.capita-cso.co.uk/schools/IGS/SLG/Students/CurriculumAreas/ICT/KS3IndependentLearning/Year%208/default.aspx for details (log in to SLG and go through students, curriculum areas, ICT, KS3 Independent Learning)
You will need to download the documents there.

Don't leave it to the last minute!

Here's an example of what you might do: Matthew Cook (8LO) has produced a PowerPoint with a nice background, clear and specific instructions, and screenshots to help readers to follow his instructions. The sample below is not Matthew's full guide, just a few slides to give you an idea. Remember too that you can also create video work and use other software besides PowerPoint.
How to Use Audacity Matthew Cook Sample Only

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
WHAT IS AUDACITY? - Its a piece of software which you can download and use for free ('freeware'), used by millions of people for recording and editing audio, eg for creating podcasts.
MY LAPTOP/COMPUTER IS A MAC/LINUX... - This software is designed to work on all the common operating systems, so you will find a version that will work on your computer.

Screenshot of the Audacity website.

I DON'T HAVE A COMPUTER AT HOME... - Audacity is installed on the school computers, so you can do your independent work task while at school!
WHAT IS THE DEADLINE FOR THIS WORK? - Friday 26th October.
HOW/WHERE DO I HAND IT IN? - Check that each file is saved with a clear file name: YourName Audacity Guide (eg, Joe Smith Audacity Guide). Copy and paste into the Hand-in folder on the curriculum share folder (Y:\ICT\Hand-in)
WHAT DO I NEED TO INCLUDE? - Read the instructions included in the PowerPoint file you can download from the SLG (see above); you can also read this document below but remember there are TWO documents to download. You also complete the Autumn1 section of the learning log.
WHERE DO I FIND AUDACITY? - The link for their website is included in the PowerPoint file, though remember you can access it on the school computers. This is the link: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/.


Year 8 Term1

Yr7 Independent Learning September-October

In addition to the general work we do in lessons you have some independent work to undertake and to hand in by Friday 26th October, the last day before the half-term holidays. You hand it in by saving it in the the hand-in folder within the curriculum share folder/ICT. (Y:\ICT\Hand-in)

Your task is to plan and write a letter - see https://hslg11.capita-cso.co.uk/schools/IGS/SLG/Students/CurriculumAreas/ICT/KS3IndependentLearning/Year%207/default.aspx for details (log in to SLG and go through students, curriculum areas, ICT, KS3 Independent Learning)
You will need to download the documents there.

You also complete the Autumn1 section of the learning log.

Don't leave it to the last minute!

The PowerPoint document with instructions can be viewed below, but make sure you download all the documents you need (you can also access these through an IndLng folder within the ICT folder on the curriculum share folder).

Year 7 Term 1

Yr8 PHOTOSHOP: Improving photos

YEAR 8: Your challenge: to learn how to apply a range of Photoshop tools to enable you to improve and transform a range of damaged photos. You will then promote this valuable skill by launching a new photo improvement shop, creating a logo and slogan for this and finally a brochure to showcase what your business can offer to the public, including several before and after snaps!

For two lessons you will be learning how to touch up photographs using various Photoshop tools, then applying these skills to a range of photos you'll include within a brochure ...
After your two lessons working with Photoshop you'll work in Publisher to create a company logo and then a brochure for a business which takes in and improves damaged or poor photographs (you might use other software such as Flash to help create your logo).

KEEP A RECORD (create a Word document, Photoshop tools used, for example) OF THE TOOLS YOU'VE USED. THIS WILL HELP ENSURE YOU GET FULL CREDIT WHEN YOUR WORK IS ASSESSED!

An example of an old photo a customer might bring to you

Here are a few tips on which tools to use for improving photos in Photoshop...

ENHANCE - AUTO-CORRECTION
This won't always work well, but is worth a try. Click ENHANCE from the top menu and try out a few of the options to see what effect these have. This is worth trying out with a new image, but as often as not you'll want to undo (Ctrl + Z) the changes.

THE CLONE STAMP
This is arguably the most important tool you have to improve photos with cracks, folds, dirt etc. Remember, you need to hold in the ALT key to select the part of the image you want to clone, and you'll need to redo this as you move around. The x that appears marks the spot that you cloned. Experiment with the brush too. This site has great videos to help guide you step by step: http://simplephotoshop.com/photoshop_tools/clone_stampf.htm. You could also use this detailed, more text-based, guide: http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/retouching-repairing-images.html.

By using the clone tool I've begun to fix the image!

CORRECTING RED EYE
Modern cameras are getting better at avoiding this, but many photographs, old and new, still have this redeye effect. Unless your subject really is a demon you'll want to correct that! When using this tool remember you can experiment with the light/darkness settings to make it more realistic. There's a useful guide at http://www.brainbell.com/tutorials/Photoshop/How_to_Use_Red-Eye_Tool.html.

As you discover useful tools, make a note so you can find and use them again

USING FILTERS TO MAKE A PHOTO INTO A PAINTING!
This article (http://www.bmcphotoart.com/tutorial-impressionist-photoshop-painting/) takes you through the steps you need to apply a filter to create something very different from the original photograph, a service that might help your photo editing business attract some customers! You can experiment with many more filters than the ones shown here.
Also try out FILTER > DUST + SCRATCHES and experiment to see if this can undo some damage to save you a long time using the clone stamp tool.

USING THE IMPRESSIONIST BRUSH
Check the brushes available to see if these offer the ability to make changes to sections of your final image. See this guide: http://garymgordon.com/misc/tutorials/photoshop_tutorial/elements/ref/tool_impressionistBrush.htm. Here's another guide, much more detailed than the first with information on what settings to change: http://www.the-graphics-tablet.com/impressionist-brush.html

FRAMING A PHOTO

You can choose from many frame styles

Especially for photos that you've made to look like paintings by applying certain filters, its useful to be able to offer your customers a framing service so they can hang the image you produce on the wall. Framed images are also popular as gifts! Try clicking through LAYERS > EFFECTS > FRAMES and experiment. Note that frames can only be added right at the end - to a single, flattened layer.
Look at the options on the right of your screen - just above the Layers palette you get the Styles and Effects palette. Select Effects from the first dropdown menu and frames from the second, then pick and modify your frame. 


In the second lesson of four on this you're ready to start taking in orders and turning damaged photos into flawless photos that customers will be thrilled with! You can find a range of damaged photos in the CUSTOMERS PHOTOS folder within the curriculm share/ICT/KS3/Yr8/Photoshop folder. The more of these you can work through the more before-and-after shots you can use in your brochure to tempt in the customers! You could copy some of these into your own My Documents and work on a couple over a lunchtime or two as well!

Not ideal, but if you're struggling to fix 3 photos here's a quick method. This is Photo1 and I've selected the crop tool and drawn round an area which cuts out the fold and tear. Once I click on the green tick I get...

It may not be quite what the customer wants, but we can do this partial fix very quickly. We can also try the auto smart fix from the ENHANCE menu at the top of the screen

ENHANCE>autofix options are hit and miss, but here they've worked quite well to sharpen the image, although we can take more control over sharpening by trying FILTER>SHARPEN from the top menu

We could also add a frame...

...and here it is; hopefully the customer will pay good money for this as a gift (at least once you've also removed the other small bits of wear and tear!)

xx

Yr 8 EXCEL: drawing a border around data

See the instructions at http://www.techonthenet.com/excel/cells/border.php