[Year 12 IT Apps] REVIEW OF VCE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, SUMMARYOF PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE STUDY DESIGN

Wed Aug 19 09:52:46 EST 2009

I am reminded of when I started teaching some 13-14ish years ago...there were 3 IT subjects...one got dumped due to perceived lack of enrolments or interest or some other (whatever) reason. To me, it seems like soon, the ITA subject is destined to die at the hand of new curriculum. Fine for those making up curriculum, its not THEIR job they are killing. 
Looks to me like my Cert IV qual may just be a way of generating income in time to come with the the Cert III in I.T. courses or similar, plus my maths background...clearly my I.T. skills are being deflated and devalued by new curriculum design. PLUS, as others have said..what kid will choose a subject thats all database stuff! (i too like the DB stuff but the kids wont like it as they have used it in the workforce yet, as many of us have.)
Kent.

Kent Beveridge, St. Brigids CSC, Horsham. Ph (03) 5382 3545 http://www.stbc.vic.edu.au/ email: kbeveridge at stbc.vic.edu.au "This email and any attachments may be confidential. You must not disclose or use the information in this email if you are not the intended recipient. If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately and delete the email and all copies. The School does not guarantee that this email is virus or error free. The attached files are provided and my only be used on the basis that the user assumes all responsibility for any loss, damage or consequence resulting directly or indirectly from the use of the attached files, whether caused by the negligence of the sender or not. The content and opinions in this email are not necessarily those of the School."

________________________________

From: itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au on behalf of Mark Kelly
Sent: Wed 8/19/2009 8:10 AM
To: Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Year 12 IT Apps] REVIEW OF VCE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, SUMMARYOF PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE STUDY DESIGN

I have not said that databases should not be in the ITA course.  I am
saying that having two out of three software-based outcomes using RDBMS
is excessive.

Personally, I like databases.  I work on them every day.  But kids are
relieved when the database outcome is behind them. And even when I train
many of them up in years 10 and 11, their database outcome is the least
pleasing of the year's ITA assessments.

Sure databases are important in IT, but so are the other things like
image editing, animation etc that don't get a look-in, and now seem to
have even less chance of getting one.

It's a matter of balance.

Margaret Lawson wrote:
> So what you are saying Mark is that we shouldn't offer an IT curriculum
> that is grounded in something that is fundamentally IT, such as Database
> concepts, but rather something more exciting such as image manipulation
> which sounds a lot like the "Graphic Communication" curriculum.
>
> If what this subject wants, in the long term, is to be a pre-requisite
> for a university course, then it needs to have curriculum that is
> fundamentally IT in nature.
> It is up to *us* as the teachers of the subject to interpret the study
> design and make the curriculum exciting for the kids. If you want to
> teach photo editing, then teach graphic communication, or certificate
> III multimedia (does that still exist?). After all a database is only as
> exciting as the data that is in it ...... just think about the
> possibilities for depth of learning if the kids are doing two SAC's
> (prac test and extended) in databases?
>
> I like the fact that the new study design is concentrating on databases.
> I know that they can be bland, but it is a key IT concept and an
> important one at that.
> I would like to see a greater emphasis on Year 11 IT so that the kids
> that coming into Unit 3/4 have used and abused databases before.
>
> :-)
>
> Margaret
>
> Part time St. Michaels
> Part time Konstant Kaos
>
>
> Mark Kelly wrote:
>> Why don't we teach Shakespeare in grade 3 English classes?  Because
>> the clients don't NEED it; they don't WANT it; it is of NO USE to
>> them; and it is damned BORING to them.
>>
>> And if we did teach it, would we double the dose when they failed to
>> understand it?  That's what is being proposed, as far as I can see.
>>
>> It reminds me of a conversation:
>>
>> Mother: Eat your beans*.
>>
>> Child: I HATE BEANS!  They are BORING and TASTELESS and FARTFUL and I
>> HATE HATE HATE THEM!
>>
>> Mother: Hmm.  Data reveals that child refuses to absorb beans.  Let's
>> DOUBLE the beans.  That will surely fix the problem.
>>
>> This is really a step in the wrong direction. We had it better in the
>> previous IPM U3O1 where kids actually ENJOYED doing photo editing.  Is
>> that so evil?
>>
>> I am seriously feeling that I don't want to teach this proposed new
>> course.  Seriously, folks: I'd rather take ITA off McKinnon's VCE
>> offerings and only offer Software Development.  I'd be embarrassed
>> justifying the proposed ITA as a stimulating VCE option.
>>
>> Our VCE information night is in two days... and I dread telling
>> current year tens that they will face a course with double-databases
>> in 2011...
>>
>> "Line up, sign up: there are plenty of databases for everyone.  No
>> pushing. Well, yes, it IS boring, but it is useful. How is it useful?
>> Well, no.  It won't be relevant to any of your other VCE subjects, and
>> it's useless in daily life.  And, yes, serious RDMS normalisation
>> (e.g. many-to-many relationships) IS really complex... more complex
>> than much of the stuff in the Software Development course.  So you
>> have no real interest in IT and would rather do Commerce?  Strange..."
>>
>> Wouldn't it be more honest to call the new course: IT: Data?
>>
>> And if the kids did enter tertiary IT (after surviving the new IT:
>> Data), would they not be completely retrained anyway?  Do any tertiary
>> courses assume prerequisite knowledge of VCE key knowledge. Don't they
>> start from scratch?
>>
>> I appreciate the new course's desire to deepen students' understanding
>> of topics by reducing the breadth of study. This proposed course would
>> deepen the misery of IT study, not its fascination.
>>
>> I can understand and appreciate dropping project management.  Dull,
>> irrelevant, and employed really artificially in outcomes.  But
>> databases not only persist, but they are doubled??  Badly, seriously
>> wrong, IMHO.
>>
>>
>> *Hint: Beans == Databases.
>>
>> Mark Kelly wrote:
>>> http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/vceconsult/itsumofchanges.doc
>>>
>>> *TWO* ITA outcomes using databases?  O! no no no...
>>>
>>> ITA enrolments have been bad enough recently.
>>>
>>> This will surely kill them stone dead.
>>>
>>
>
>

--
Mark Kelly
Manager - Information Systems
McKinnon Secondary College
McKinnon Rd McKinnon 3204, Victoria, Australia
Direct line / Voicemail: 8520 9085
School Phone +613 8520 9000
School Fax +613 9578 9253
kel at mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au

Webmaster - http://www.mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au <http://www.mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au/> 
IT Lecture notes: http://vceit.com <http://vceit.com/> 
Moderator: IT Applications Mailing List

RealMenDon'tNeedSpacebars.

_______________________________________________
http://www.edulists.com.au <http://www.edulists.com.au/>  - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe
IT Applications Mailing List kindly supported by
http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/infotech/itapplications3-4.html - Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and
http://www.vitta.org.au <http://www.vitta.org.au/>   - VITTA Victorian Information Technology Teachers Association Inc

This message has been scanned for malware by Websense. www.websense.com
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: application/ms-tnef
Size: 11031 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.edulists.com.au/pipermail/itapps/attachments/20090819/5bc39b8e/attachment.bin