View the English National Curriculum links

View the Scottish National Curriculum links

For larger establishments we can offer special discounts, please see our table of charges below:

The website is currently feeling pretty good – you should have no problems! If you are then please read on…

You may either select a trial usage which is free or you can go ahead and purchase 12 months access immediately should you prefer.

To register for access then just click on the appropriate link below:

Operation Smoke Storm has been designed so it can be used in the vast majority of establishments. However, due to some organisations using equipment and software of varying types and ages, we therefore advise customers to check that their current IT system meets the technical requirements outlined below:

Monitor

Please set your screen resolution to be 1024×768 pixels, and colour depth should be 16 bit (thousands of colours) or greater. If your monitor is set to a lower resolution, some elements will not be visible.

Flash Player

Flash Player 10.1 or above – this can be downloaded free from the URL below:
http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer

Internet connection

A broadband (also known as Cable or ADSL) connection is recommended. At this speed (about 640kbp/s), sessions will take about 10 minutes to load.

Recommended computer (Windows)

Intel Pentium 4 2.33GHz, Athlon 64 2800+ or faster processor (or equivalent)
RAM: 1GB
OS: Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003
Internet Browser: Internet Explorer 9, Mozilla Firefox 3.0+, Google Chrome 2.02+, Safari 4.0+, Opera 9.5+, AOL 9.0+

How can I find out what type of Windows computer I have?

Click on the Start button, click on Settings, then click on Control Panel, and select System. The General tab should tell you about your computer.

Recommended computer (Mac)

Intel Core Duo 1.33GHz or faster processor
RAM: 1GB
OS: Mac OS X 10.6, Mac OS X 10.5, Mac OS X 10.4 (Intel)
Internet browser1: Safari 4.0+, Mozilla Firefox 3.0+, Google Chrome 2.02+, Opera 9.5+, AOL Desktop for Mac 1.0+

How can I find out what type of Mac computer I have?

Select About This Mac from the Apple menu (the Apple icon in the top left), and a window will appear containing information about your computer.

What browsers are supported by Operation Smoke Storm?

All current browser versions; if you use Microsoft’s Internet Explorer then you will have a better (more consistent) experience if you are on Version 9 Click here to download this version. If you encounter problems then we strongly recommend that you upgrade to the latest version of your browser software.

Is there something i can do easily to check out my set up?

Yes there is: run the Operation Smoke Storm test trailer below. Please Note: i) that you should be able to see and hear the trailer. ii) that it uses Flash Player unlike the video displayed above so don’t assume that just because that worked ok then so will this. If it does work ok then you can be reasonably confident that Operation Smoke Storm will also work for you. Run Trailer Test Note: that this will open in a new browser window.

I know that my computer setup is not great, are there any other options?

Yes there are: we have included some ‘lower resolution’ links to the video resources on the resources page, scroll down to the bottom of the page and try using these.

The ‘lower resolution’ files are smaller files by 50%, i.e. width and height. Because they use fewer pixels, the files are smaller and it takes less of the computer’s CPU to process each frame, this means that the videos play back more smoothly. On slower computers the audio stays synchronised to the video. The computer’s memory requirements are also smaller. If you are experiencing difficulties with the standard video downloads then try these!

Every day in the UK, over 900 school children (aged under 16) try smoking!

Operation Smoke Storm is a brand new style of learning resource which targets this problem by creating a lifesaving shift in teens’ attitudes towards smoking and the tobacco industry.

A recent London school trial showed that Operation Smoke Storm improved student attitudes and misconceptions held about smoking by as much as 39% and increased awareness of key smoking issues by 77% !

There is a world wide web facility which enables you to create an image of yourself or an icon to represent your establishment, it is a gravatar. If you follow the gravatar link then you may register your email address and associate with it an image. Many people now use this facility e.g. WordPress (the technology underlying this web site), Facebook, Twitter and many many others. So afterwards any websites that you register with may now automatically display your own image/avatar as it will recognise your email address and find your image/icon automatically – you need do no more! It’s just a very simple way for people to recognise you and associate your image. It is entirely free and optional.

You’ll be amazed how many problems this solves – especially if you’ve just uploaded new software!