Information & Communication Technology (ICT)

Anthony Jones (Head of ICT Department)

ICT foreword

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has influenced vast changes in society over the past couple of decades and it continues to develop at a phenomenal rate. ICT plays an important role in all areas of modern civilization, including: the economy, productivity, business, employment, education, in the local community, and in people’s everyday lives.

Nonetheless, whilst the technology of the digital age is advancing rapidly, the opportunities to embrace much of its potential are slow to materialize. Over recent years, many UK businesses have reported that the ICT skills gap has continued to increase year on year and they have reached the highest recorded levels. However, there are many large companies trying to address the skills shortage in ICT, and accommodate specific EU-wide initiatives examining issues like IT basic skills for the broad population, as well as developing and updating advanced IT skills needed to drive innovation and economic growth.

Similarly, Education, in schools, for lifelong learning and professional training, have been slow to fully adopt the range of opportunities ICT has to offer, and are now gradually beginning to realise the benefits of ICT. The use of ICT in education has been seen by many to be a vehicle for significant social change, and in Higher Education training it is seen, in many countries, as a means for the creation of new industries.

Not only does ICT continue to be a positive and dynamic force in our global economy, but many reports and research suggest that ICT in terms of applications, such as broadband and e-commerce, are still in their early stages and may have a large potential for future growth.

Benefits of ICT in school

ICT plays an important role in the school curriculum and is now being recognised as a ‘priority’ subject by Government. Research has shown that specific uses of ICT on pupils’ attainment in all the National Curriculum subjects has been positive, and those most significant were in Mathematics, Science and English at all key stages.

Evidence has shown there is a strong relationship between the ways in which ICT has been used and the resulting attainment outcomes, and suggests that the crucial component in the use of ICT within education is the teacher and their pedagogical approaches. As well as using ICT within other curriculum subjects to support teaching and learning, ICT is used very effectively as a subject on its own. (British Educational Communications and Technology Agency)

Research has also shown that positive motivational outcomes were found most when ICT was used to support engagement, research, writing and editing, and presentation of work. Both boys and girls have been motivated by uses of ICT, with evidence that motivation from ICT used positively affected the work patterns of boys, so that they worked in similar ways to the persistent pattern of girls. There were also indications that ICT impacted positively upon pupil behaviour inside school, and some impact on their behaviour outside school.

The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta), based on analysis of available research about the motivational effects of ICT on students’ commitment to and engagement in learning, summarised the following findings.

ICT can have a positive effect on students’ enjoyment and interest in learning. Where the key benefits include:

•  increased commitment to the learning task
•   increased independence and motivation for self-directed study
•  enhanced self esteem and improved behaviour

Studying ICT

ICT within the curriculum is designed to enhance the learning experiences of pupils and to help them develop the skills essential to use in school and in future circumstances. Pupils are provided with the opportunity to use ICT independently and collaboratively, to consider which ICT tools best suit the task undertaken and to know when to use ICT effectively to complete a task.

Developing skills, knowledge and understanding in the use of ICT prepares pupils to use technology in their social, educational and working lives. ICT tools enable pupils to access, share, analyse and present information gained from a variety of sources and in many different ways.

Ffynone House School offers ICT as a discrete subject in Key Stages 3 and 4, and is offering a new ‘A’ level course from 2010 (details . Although students are able to choose between Full Course GCSE Higher A*-D and Foundation C-G, pupils at Ffynone are usually encouraged to take the Higher tier when they demonstrate adequate potential at Key Stage 4.

Some useful Links:

NGfL CYMRU GCaD (http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc-landingpage-ict.htm)

BBC GCSE Bitesize (http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/ictt/)

Revise ICT (http://www.reviseict.co.uk/)

Teach-ICT (http://www.teach-ict.com/ks3home.htm)

Heinemann (http://www.heinemann.co.uk/Secondary/GlobalPages/KS3ICT/KS3ICT2.aspx)

Standards Site (http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/)

Education Forum (http://www.educationforum.co.uk/ICT/index.htm)

Note:

Ffynone House School has a newly furnished ICT suite, complete with new computer equipment and additional software.

GCSE pupils have three periods of ICT each week, and are always taught by a subject specialist.

ICT teaching groups are small enough to guarantee every pupil has access to their own computer during lessons.

The ICT suite is often available lunchtimes with the ICT specialist offering extra support to pupils.

The library’s computers have a network link to the computers in the ICT suite, allowing pupils to access their work at different times.

GCSE ICT Content

Currently, the Full Course scheme is assessed through an external examination consisting of two written papers and coursework. External assessment accounts for 40% of the marks and coursework for 60% of the marks. The coursework component consists of a Portfolio of work (30%) and a Project (30%).

SUMMARY OF ASSESSMENT

Written Papers (40%)

Paper 1 (20 %)

Common to GCSE ICT, this paper will assess the requirements of the Key Stage 4 Programme of Study for Information Technology and the external component of the Key Skill in IT.

The paper is provided in two tiers, Foundation and Higher, as follows:

Option Targeted Grades Duration of paper

Foundation G - C 1 hour

Higher D - A* 1.5 hours

Paper 2 (20%)

Unique to the full GCSE, this paper will assess, in the main, the 'application' content (section 5.2) of the WJEC specification.

The paper is provided in two tiers, Foundation and Higher,

as follows:

Option Targeted Grades Duration of paper

Foundation G - C 1 hour

Higher D - A* 1.5 hours

Coursework (60 %)

The coursework component consists of a portfolio of work (30%) which shows candidates' attainment in obtaining and interpreting different types of information; using, developing and communicating information to meet the purpose of their studies and presenting the results of their work. This is achieved through tasks involving:

(i) Information Handling;

(ii) Spreadsheet Modelling;

(iii) Communicating Information.

The full GCSE course includes a project (30%) in which the candidate submits a report on the solution to a problem which demonstrates his/her information systems capability.

Results

In 2009, GCSE ICT resulted in over 3 quarters of pupils achieving an A* to C grade, where a third of those had an A*.

In 2008, just under 50% of all year 11 pupils achieved an A* in ICT at GCSE level, and over 90% gained an A* - C.

All year 11 pupils (2007) gained an A* - C in ICT, and approximately 50% of all pupils achieved an A* grade at GCSE level.

Key Stage 3 ICT

All pupils in years 7, 8 and 9 are taught ICT as a subject in its own right. They are also encouraged to use their ICT skills to develop work for all subjects done in school and will normally involve using a computer to produce homework. This is one of the reasons why it is so important for pupils to develop their ICT skills and to become confident users of the common Microsoft Office Applications.

The following areas covered in ICT, are to help pupils gain a fundamental knowledge and understanding of the most familiar Microsoft Applications. Pupils are also taught to develop their ICT skills to a level that will enable them to use computers for other school subjects, and for the future, ie to help with their education and/or employment prospects.

Areas Taught:

Communicating Information – Word Processing (MS Word), Desk Top Publishing (MS Publisher), Presentation Packages (MS PowerPoint), Internet and Communications.

Information Handling – Databases (MS Access).

Modelling – Spreadsheets (MS Excel).