Applied ICTJuly 2012

Applied ICTPortfolio Deadlines

AS

G040Initial deadline: 15/11/12Final deadline:17/12/12*G042 Initial deadline: 01/3/13Final deadline:12/4/13*G041Examined unit Provisional exam date: 23/5/13

A2

G048Initial deadline: 25/1/13*Final deadline:15/3/13G051Initial deadline: 25/1/13*Final deadline: 1/3/13G053Initial deadline: 8/3/13*Final deadline: 3/5/13

*After portfolios have been assessed students are given at least 2 weeks to make further improvements in their own time and the work is remarked.

The GCE in Applied ICT AS Level provides students with an opportunity to develop a wide range of ICT skills that will complement all other courses as well as the transferable skills needed at University and practically any other job applied for.

What does the course involve?It is a varied and challenging course. Students don’t need to have studied ICT before but if they have a GCSE in ICT or equivalent then this course builds on the work they have already done. What students must have is an interest in how technology is used in business, at school and at home. Students probably don’t want to be a computer programmer but should be interested in using computers in a variety of ways. Students should enjoy working by themselves on research projects and also be prepared to take part in group activities and class discussions.

What is Studied?The course is a hands on and practical tour through the landscape of ICT. Students will get the chance to learn about the advanced uses of spreadsheets, how to use a database and the secrets of advanced searches on the internet.

Students will also utilise presentation skills to produce a variety of professional documents in a number of different software applications. Some theory is covered by this course but the emphasis is on the practical use of ICT.

Unit G040: Using ICT to Communicate: Coursework (worth up to 33% of final grade). Focus: Presentation skills in a variety of different software.

Unit G041: How Organisations use ICT: Exam (90 Minutes).

Unit G042: ICT Solutions for Individuals and Society: Coursework (worth up to 33% of final grade).Focus: Developing research and analysis skills.

Introducing Applied ICT

this issueIntroducing Applied ICTApplied ICT results A2 Applied ICTMeet the teachers

AS Level

Information

AS ResitAs with all courses in the College we encourage students to continuously improve their work. For the most part this will be during the delivery of the units, however, in some cases this will be after the AS results.

Students can resit the examined unit but also resubmit their coursework units.

For either case teachers will arrange a time to discuss possible improvements and will expect students to attend the workshop sessions to ensure work is improved before the resubmission or resit itself.

Student infoThe majority of the information about the course, including assignment briefs, help sheets and presentations can be found on the college’s e-learning Moodle site (accessible anytime and from anywhere).However, to keep students up to date we regularly post reminders and deadlines on Facebook. We also use it to answer students’ questions and post links to sample work.

Achievement on our Applied ICT course exceeds the national average in all areas

We are extremely proud of the

achievements of our Applied ICT students. Our results reflect the high standards set by the course leaders.

In 2010 the team adapted the delivery to provide students with a more project-based approach to the course. This has led to a noticeable increase in student motivation as they engage more fully with the course. The project-based nature of the course has a number of distinct advantages enabling students to: see the ‘real-world’ relevance of the tasks involved in the course explore areas of interest to them, express themselves and be more creative.

A2 Results 2011Cirencester College

(blue) results in comparison to OCR

National proportions

AS Results 2011Cirencester College

(blue) results in comparison to OCR

National proportions

The charts above demonstrate, our results are considerably higher than the OCR National average.

A2 Applied ICTA great opportunity to further develop your skills and gain a higher qualification

Information

A2 Starters: June 2013

Immediately after the May half term the College expects all students to return to start their A2 qualification for two weeks.

For the Applied ICT course this is an excellent opportunity to start working on the important course work which will ease the pressure for the following year.

During the two weeks we will carry out a number of tasks which could contribute up to 10% of the final grade for

both G048 and G051.

During this time there will be a small number of activities to complete outside of the class.

Look out for our A2 Returners booklet which we send out in May 2013.

What the students say...

“Last year I took the Pre-Teaching course, alongside myother AS levels, which included Applied ICT. I feel the presentation skills I learnt in ICT helped me immensely when creating lesson plans and delivering my lessons whilst on placement in the classroom. I feel anyone looking to do teacher training and qualify as a teacher will benefit from doing the Applied ICT course as using ICT is a daily task for a teacher.”

To gain the full A level in Applied ICT students will be required to continue their studies in the second year (commonly referred to as A2). However, before continuing on to the A2 students must gain at least a D in their AS.

We aim to further develop skills that not only improve the students’ ICT abilities but also encourage a mature work ethic and responsibility; skills that are extremely important to higher education and the work place.

G048 and G051 are the first two coursework units. These are studied simultaneously.

During these units the students will create a professional publication in response to a brief that is set by the examination board.

Students will further improve their Microsoft Publisher skills alongside developing their ability to plan and meet deadlines; reflect and evaluate both their work and the approaches they took during the process.

The final unit G053 will focus on the design and creation of a website. New skills will be learnt through the introduction of using both HTML and Dreamweaver, providing students with a flexible and powerful approach to web design.

All three units contribute equally to the overall mark for the A2 and, there is NO examination at the end of the second year. This means students can continuously check their progress in order to have a greater understanding of their expected final grade for Applied ICT.

Zoe Pattenden A* 2012 Current employment: Primary Teaching Assistant

Higher Education: Winchester University: 2013

Support for Students

We appreciate that being a student isn’t always easy so we try to offer support to ensure students achieve the grade they deserve on this course.

EmailWe will always respond to emails from students as soon as we are able to. We encourage students to communicate with us about missing lessons, lateness or anything else related to the course. We also welcome emails from parents, so please feel free to contact us if you have any queries or questions about Applied ICT or the progress your son/daughter is making.

WorkshopsThere is an expectation that students will work as much outside of class as they do inside of class. However, as there are a restricted number of PCs at the College we have booked an IT room on a Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning so that students can not only use these PCs but also interact with their teachers further.

Our ICT rooms are well equipped with PCs. When we have spare computers available we will encourage students to use these for silent study whilst other classes are in progress. Students can access all software necessary and if we get an opportunity we can answer any questions or queries they might have.

Sarah StandingSarah has worked at Cirencester College for seven years and is Head of the ICT department. She is also the course leader for Applied ICT and teaches predominantly on the Applied ICT course.

Contact Sarah:tel: 01285 626243

email: sarah.standing@cirencester.ac.uk

Meet the teachers...

Kate BlackieKate has been at Cirencester College for almost 6 years and has taught on every course the ICT department offers. Kate is currently course leader for the more technical Computing course bringing those skills as well as her professional presentation skills to the Applied ICT course.

Contact Kate:tel: 01285 626197

email: kate.blackie@cirencester.ac.uk

Getting in contact...If you have any further questions about the course or concerns about your son/daughter’s progress throughout the year please feel free to contact either member of staff.

Cirencester College Fosse Way Campus Stroud Rd CirencesterGL7 1XATel: 01285 640994

www.cirencester.ac.uk