[Year 12 IT Apps] Databases and VCE IT.

[Baas, Benjamin B]

Hi All,

Just wanted to say my one cent about some of the conversation that’s been happening around databases, be aware this my first year teaching VCE IT and this is my first year just teaching, so what I am about to say might be completely wrong as I am still getting my head around this whole teaching thing. (Bonus: I’m teaching IT apps this year but my year 11’s want to do software development next year. Double bonus: New study design that I have to get my head around coming soon. At least my school has networked me with two excellent VCE IT teachers.)

Firstly I like databases, I was a tutor for a first year database subject at university, and this subject assumed students had no knowledge about databases. So I might be a bit biased.  I have over the past six months being listening to the talk about teaching databases in IT applications, especially about it being a the topic that students struggle with the most and how normalisation just makes some of our students brains melt. I have just finished the fun and joy of teaching databases to my students and although I agree that databases is a complex subject I feel that the only thing that stoped my students from understanding normalisation and relational databases was time. Yes I am aware that we have a limited budget on time in VCE but I feel that we do not give enough time to students to learn the skills they need to be competent at relational databases. Ideally I would have liked eight to ten weeks teaching databases (not including the extra theory stuff that has been tact on) before I start assessing.

Now I know I am never going to get more time to teach databases, it’s just something I wanted to put out there. But overall feeling of VCE IT is that it is too rushed and has too much extra theory attached to it that gets in the way of the things students want to learn. I know the theory is important but what is the use of it if they can’t design and develop a useful database/web site/program/solution.

I have looked at the new study design all my brain keeps thinking for Informatics is this looks really boring. I have other opinions but they are something I would rather discus in person with other people as I am still getting my head around this whole teaching thing.

Cheers,

Benjamin Baas
-Alkira Secondary College.


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