[Year 12 IT Apps] Potts Ch 3 and Study Design

[Keith Richardson]

The approach I use (in covering the plethora of stuff to be memorized)
is I DO NOT TEACH IT.
How do I justify that? There is simply too much and lecturing almost all
of the time switches the kids off (IMHO).
Solution - my kids have to make summaries of the chapters (one per
fortnight) plus some scenarios and sample questions. Reward - they are
allowed to take their own summaries into each sac.
So what do I do with class time? Plenty of practical - let them keep
their hands on computers much of the time. Plenty of short sharp
discussions to whet the appetite/enthusiasm, answer some questions they
might have about what they are reading for homework (emphasizing that
the teacher is only one of many resources available to aid learning).
I have a number of videos such as the study of the info system used in
Big W - this provides a wonderful opportunity for them to identify some
of the stuff they are learning as they summarize.
I am not saying mine is the best approach, just that it seems to work OK
for me.
Cheers, Keith



On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 14:35:35 +1100, "Mark Kelly"
<kel at mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au> said:
> 
> 
> Russell Edwards wrote:
> > Hello list,
> 
> Hello Russell.
> 
> > I just finished my last set of powerpoint slides for Ch 3 of Potts.
> > 
> > I have a few questions; please excuse the naive ones as I am new to 
> > teaching.
> > 
> > Firstly, I did not expect to be giving lecture-style presentations to 
> > secondary students, but in ITA there seems to be so much guff they're 
> > expected to memorise with no real practical activity possible to cement 
> > it, that lecturing and encouraging revision seems the only way to go. I 
> > have been doing 20 mins of theory at the start of each double and then 
> > have them go on with practical work (at present, Dreamweaver). Do others 
> > follow a similar format for ITA? (The 20 mins looks to be too little 
> > actually)
> 
> That's why my site is called "IT Lecture Notes" - exploratory learning 
> can be great but it chews up classtime.  The 'Lecture Tolerance Limit' 
> of your kids can vary from year to year, but I mix lectures with 
> practice whenever I can.
> 
> > Secondly, a few things in the book seem outdated. I'm no network 
> > engineer, but it's my understanding that hubs and token ring networks 
> > are a thing of the ancient past. Yet, both receive a fair bit of 
> > coverage in the Potts book, especially hubs. Likewise, you'd be pretty 
> > hard pressed to find anyone still using 10BASE2 these days.
> 
> It's funny how conservative IT folk can be.  Yes - hubs and coaxial are 
> history; so, effectively, are bridges and repeaters.  Token Ring is a 
> rare oddity.
> 
> To save time, I just teach CAT6, switches and Ethernet and basically 
> ignore coax, hubs and Token Ring.  Be wary with ITA - the depth of 
> networking knowledge is way less than it was in IPM: no topologies or 
> protocols are needed now.  The most technical stuff remaining is cables 
> and wireless.
> 
> > 
> > Thirdly and related, how can I tell *specifically* what things students 
> > will need to know for the exam? (Will hubs and token ring nets be in 
> > it?) The study design mentions switches and not hubs in the glossary 
> > under network architecture, and bus, star and hybrid, not ring, under 
> > network topologies. Does that mean they're guaranteed not to be on the 
> > exam? It seems fairly tricky for teachers and students with a brand new 
> > study design and no past exams to go by.
> 
> If a key knowledge dotpoint or the glossary says "including X,Y and Z" 
> it means that X,Y and Z are examinable.
> If it says "for example", it is just an example to clarify what is 
> intended by a point.
> 
> No topologies are listed in U3O2 key knowledge so could not be justified 
> as examinable.  Topologies and protocols belong in Software Development
> now.
> 
> > 
> > Fourthly, the approach taken to network communications standards and 
> > transmission media both in Potts and in the study design seems a bit of 
> > a dog's breakfast, i.e. there is no concept of layers. Readers won't 
> > know that IP runs on top of a data link layer protocol like the data 
> > layers of ethernet or 802.11, that TCP runs on top of IP and so does 
> > UDP, etc etc. I can't see how they're supposed to know what the random 
> > bits and pieces they are exposed to are for and how they fit together if 
> > they're not given the big picture.
> 
> Fear not.  Such complexities are irrelevant for ITA.
> 
> > Is that a fair comment? So, in my slides I am presenting the TCP/IP 
> > five-layer network model: physical, data, network, transport, 
> > application. I will then go on and cover all the bits mentioned in the 
> > book plus a few more examples for clarity, but all in the context of the 
> > layers. Students will be told that they only need to know what's in the 
> > book but that the five-layer model is a good way to learn it.
> 
> None of that is needed for IPM.  Just stick to the study design.  Don't 
> overcomplicate things: IPM students are FAR from technical geniuses  :-)
> 
> > Thanks in advance for any input I can get
> > 
> > Russell Edwards
> > Whittlesea Secondary College
> 
> -- 
> Mark Kelly
> Manager - Information Systems
> McKinnon Secondary College
> McKinnon Rd McKinnon 3204, Victoria, Australia
> Direct line / Voicemail: 8520 9085
> School Phone +613 8520 9000
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> 
> Webmaster - http://www.mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au
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> 
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> and those who don't.
> 
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Keith Richardson
ITA List Moderator
Head of ICT, Leibler Yavneh College
Elsternwick
Ph: 03.9528.4911
k.richardson at yavneh.vic.edu.au