The Nature of VCE level IT

[Yendall]

Moderator action (laseredd): Topic split from Re: IT App's Question Thread

Shows the quality of resources for VCE IT in general (both SD and ITA) are quite shitty, which is a shame because IT students deserve better, just look at the quality of maths/science resources and compare it to IT and you'll see how much better off those students are.

I know what you mean. SD resources this year are shocking, I've had to look around heaps for resources and I still haven't found anything decent. I'm just hoping I'm not in for a surprise when it comes around to the exam this year. VCEIT is probably my best resource at the moment.
I think you should write an SD study guide Paul

[paulsterio]

I would write an SD study guide, but I won't have much financial backing, unless I can get a guaranteed set amount of buyers

[Yendall]

I would write an SD study guide, but I won't have much financial backing, unless I can get a guaranteed set amount of buyers

Yeah that's a fair point, I can see a dramatic decrease in SD students haha I'll take 100!

[MJRomeo81]

Yeah there is a significant lack of resources for ITA and SD. Every textbook I have come across has been poor and some of the definitions are ambiguous.

They really need to change the study design. To get good grades in SACs you need to know HTML/CSS/PHP/etc. and none of this appears on the exam. As a result students stress over little javascript login scripts instead of the core theory.

Questions like the one above only highlight how bad the current SS is. It's also why nearly all of the prac exams are rubbish. No one knows what to expect from VCAA, and if you take a look at some of the recent VCAA papers, even they have no idea (refer to the SD storage question last year, and the physical security MC one from a couple of years back in ITA).


They should just offer an Information Systems subject and a general programming subject. IS will be like ITA in the sense that you use access, dreamweaver, excel, etc. to design and develop your IS + include all of the "general" IT stuff that's currently in the SD course. Remove all of the "business IT" crap that's so dry. Stuff like online communities, why the internet helps businesses, etc. should belong to units 1 and 2.

The programming unit should have an emphasis on algorithms, network infrastructure and advanced modelling (UML use case, concept/data flow diagrams, etc.).

[paulsterio]

The lack of resources is something which can and should be addressed. However, the issues with the study design is very difficult to rectify because IT is a very very diverse and broad field. At Monash University, there are essentially five level one Computer Science Units:

- Programming
- Algorithms
- Intro to Computer Science
- Data Management
- Networks

I'm sure that at La Trobe, it will be a similar situation. This is in contrast to many other areas such as Mathematics and Physics where there are only two level one units. Furthermore, students need to understand that IT is an applied subject. It is not merely theory and it is not merely programming. It is the application of analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation to scenarios. Essentially, we would want Year 12 IT students to have a good understanding of how a software solution actually helps a business.

Either way, I would recommend against heading into VCE IT unless you've had prior programming experience, however. It is horrendous, the number of students going into IT thinking it is a bludge and wondering why they end up doing crap.

[observer7]

They really need to change the study design. To get good grades in SACs you need to know HTML/CSS/PHP/etc. and none of this appears on the exam.

Why do you need to incorporate php into SACs to get an A?? Are we talking about ITA right?

[paulsterio]

You don't have to incorporate PHP into SACs, but it's more the idea that matters - that SACs are based off practical IT abilities which have nothing to do with the course really, whereas the exam is a completely different beast.

[MJRomeo81]

You don't have to incorporate PHP into SACs, but it's more the idea that matters - that SACs are based off practical IT abilities which have nothing to do with the course really, whereas the exam is a completely different beast.

This is what I was saying. Sure you don't have to use PHP or something along those lines. However I propose a question. Which tasks in the ITA SACs generally require the most amount of effort? The development. Average students might have some hiccups when it comes to web page design and analysis, but it is the actual implementation of a log in method (for example) that forces students to take the work home and jump on google.

They really need to change the study design. To get good grades in SACs you need to know HTML/CSS/PHP/etc. and none of this appears on the exam.

Why do you need to incorporate php into SACs to get an A?? Are we talking about ITA right?

Considering the SACs are to be strictly completed in class over 10 periods, I do reiterate that a sound knowledge of some advanced tools (such as PHP for ITA) is beneficial for students who are seeking to top the class. Even though it might be a small aspect of the webpage that requires some scripting, it still consumes time and effort.

[Lasercookie]

I wouldn't say completely that the SACs don't relate to the exam. Whilst development took the longest, the theory content like networks, the dry business/information systems stuff etc. did make a reasonable presence in the SACs that I did.

The questions on last years IT Apps exam had the 8 marker where you had to propose a solution and also the questions about the databases (fair few of those). Normalisation is bigger in exams than SACS - that's usually because when you're designing a table, you're probably going to be creating a normalised table straight off. There was that question with the site map of that website too, that was fairly good I thought, though the website formats and convention questions were kind of dull a lot of the time.

From what I've seen so far, Software Development exams have a reasonable emphasis on programming/algorithms (especially when it comes to section C). Regarding SACS, pseudocode and thinking about the algorithm was weighted the same as development in the two programming sacs that I did. Some of the theory stuff like sorting etc. didn't play as much of a big part though.

[observer7]

The login doesn't actually have to work? It's just a prototype. I think the ITA study design is fine apart from a few tweaks. However SD is absolute rubbish and the VCAA has been negligent.

[paulsterio]

The login doesn't actually have to work? It's just a prototype. I think the ITA study design is fine apart from a few tweaks. However SD is absolute rubbish and the VCAA has been negligent.

Why do you think SD is absolute rubbish, I actually do like the SD SD (Software Development Study Design haahaha, excuse the pun), but yeah, I just think it's more how the course is delivered moreso than what we have to know.

Btw, IT teachers can sometimes be absolute rubbish too, it's like IT, a once great and popular subject has been relegated to the realms of niche subjects, which is sad, considering that every single student in VCE would probably use a computer on a regular basis.

Don't get me started on how important I think it is for everyone to be IT literate, like it just annoys me to no end when I get asked by friends to "fix" their computers, stuff which they could easily figure out by tinkering with their control panel. Like someone I know doesn't know how to change his screen resolution? And we're supposed to be the "tech-saavy" generation - I seriously do not think so.

[observer7]

I think you might have done SD in 2010 with the old study design is that right? Because over the summer period and even the first semester the communication between VCAA and the SD teachers was shocking in regard to technicalities of the study design. Shamozzle.

[Genericname2365]

The login doesn't actually have to work? It's just a prototype. I think the ITA study design is fine apart from a few tweaks. However SD is absolute rubbish and the VCAA has been negligent.

Why do you think SD is absolute rubbish, I actually do like the SD SD (Software Development Study Design haahaha, excuse the pun), but yeah, I just think it's more how the course is delivered moreso than what we have to know.

Btw, IT teachers can sometimes be absolute rubbish too, it's like IT, a once great and popular subject has been relegated to the realms of niche subjects, which is sad, considering that every single student in VCE would probably use a computer on a regular basis.

Don't get me started on how important I think it is for everyone to be IT literate, like it just annoys me to no end when I get asked by friends to "fix" their computers, stuff which they could easily figure out by tinkering with their control panel. Like someone I know doesn't know how to change his screen resolution? And we're supposed to be the "tech-saavy" generation - I seriously do not think so.

Yeah I'm doing it by distance education at my school as I am the only one who is studying it this year. Not that it's a big school, but given the importance of IT this century, I think it's a pretty stupid situation.

[paulsterio]

The issue is that 20 years ago, computers were expensive ($5,000 for a Pentium MX that ran at 66MHz) and difficult to use, thus, they were only for the tech saavy, those who needed them. These days, computers have become accessible and affordable, leading to the widespread adoption of computers amongst the general public. Gone are the days where computers were an exclusive tool to those who are enthusiasts.

[observer7]

Is that the issue though?