December 20, 2007 – 5:19 pm
INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)
Core ICT
All students
|
Option ICT
Students choosing ICT
|
| National First Award in ICT |
National First Certificate in ICT |
| 1 lesson per fortnight |
3 lessons per fortnight |
| Equivalent to 1 GCSE, grades A*-C |
Equivalent to 2 more GCSEs, grades A*-C |
All students in years 10-11 follow a vocational course in Information and Communication Technology which leads to the award of a level 2 qualification. This qualification is equivalent to one GCSE at grades A*-C.
Students who choose ICT as an option gain two additional GCSE equivalents.
What do students learn?
The course teaches the skills, knowledge and understanding required to take full advantage of computer software. It also helps students develop their personal skills in the areas of team working, communication and problem solving. Students learn how to plan and review work effectively and to use a wide range of industry standard software. They learn to produce work of near professional quality to meet a range of objectives.
How are students taught?
Students are taught in dedicated ICT rooms by supportive and experienced staff. They have access to a range of printed and online resources. Tasks are clearly explained and students are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning. Many tasks are designed to be carried out independently with the teacher providing guidance and support. It is important that students are well organised and able to meet deadlines. Students do not need access to a home computer. Access to computers and extra support are available at lunchtimes if necessary.
What work do students produce?
The tasks have been designed in a modern, practical way that is relevant to the workplace and will prepare students for progress into employment or further education. For each unit students produce a portfolio of work consisting of the final product, planning materials, testing evidence and an evaluation. The portfolios are a combination of paper based and electronic documents.
How are students assessed?
Students’ abilities are assessed in a modern, practical way that is relevant to them and their future. Portfolios are marked by teachers in school and then externally moderated by a visiting external moderator. There are no exams. Units are graded individually. The individual unit grades are then combined to provide an overall grade for the qualification.
Grade
|
GCSE Equivalent
|
| Pass |
C |
| Merit |
A/B |
| Distinction |
A*/A |
Students will be encouraged to achieve to the best of their ability and every opportunity will be provided for students to progress as far and as fast as they are able.
More information
For more information please visit www.ict.gcus.net or contact Mr Bramwell, pbramwell@gcus.net
November 19, 2007 – 8:58 pm
With all these independent learners and teachers around – what am I for?
Lots of interesting interactions have been wounding my pride recently, which is on the whole a good thing! Students who are better than I am at a whole range of things, teachers responding to exciting opportunities quicker than I do! – you know who you are 
You give them enough of the skills to work independently and make choices, a direction to go in, fuel an enthusiasm and give them some space… then what do I do once they are on their way making exciting discoveries?
Leave your answers below, but I guess it is along the lines of:
- Peer reviewer
- Recipient of their new found knowledge & skills
- Occasional guide, light house or way point
- Role playing of boss, work mate or client
- Crowd control
- Cheerleader
- The guy who fixes the printer
None of them sound much like teaching 
– I think I’d much rather be the learner.
I know I should be the learner alongside them, but here comes the pride again, maybe I’m just a little bit too tired to learn at the moment.
As for my colleagues, it’s great to see them finding exciting new ways to communicate understanding and share experiences, I wish I had the time to do half of what I wanted… – in a real creative-whack kind of way I guess that the question becomes “where am I spending my time in a way that isn’t producing that joy”? – Hmm, now that’s a trickier one!
November 13, 2007 – 8:39 pm
Just compile a list of some places we eat & drink in Sudbury for some friends who are new to the area. It might be useful to someone?
View Larger Map
November 7, 2007 – 6:50 pm
We’re soon going to partnering with another local sixth form to provide a greater choice of courses for students. This means that students could be studying in different locations as well as at home each week. Although we could host their documents at one of the two schools and make them accessible over the Internet our local authority never seems to make this very easy. We also can’t afford to implement a complete Email solution to our current students and staff.
So here comes Google Apps Education Edition to help us!
Google Apps provides “free communication, collaboration and publishing tools” which we “customize with our school’s logo, colour scheme and content.” without us having to provide or maintain any hardware or software.
As our headteacher said “Wow – the Google Apps looks fantastic – there must be a catch somewhere!”
Two quick answers:
Read More »
November 7, 2007 – 6:06 pm
And we think we have a winner, our first Virtual Private Server to host our school systems – if I give them a plug they might increase the already generous discount – just type in EUKCOUPON to get a 15% discount.
For our £200 year, we seem to get:
- 15 GB Disk Space
- 300 GB Monthly Bandwidth
- 256 MB Guaranteed RAM
- 1 GB Burstable RAM
- CPanel and Web Host Manager Tools
…and a free setup and transfer our site from Siteground – yipppee… all I have to do is change the name servers!
I’d recommend the deal to anyone, and just hope the quality of the service matches the promises.
