[Year 12 IT Apps] A way to start term 4

[Mark]

Hi, holiday-haters

On Sunday I gave an ITA revision session at Trinity College to about 100
students on behalf of *Engage Education <https://engageeducation.org.au/>*.

At one point I asked how many of them had a basic grasp of what
normalisation was.

I heard silence.
I saw 200 scared eyes.
Anyone who *thought* they knew the answer was terrified that I might ask
them to explain what normalisation was.

I then asked how many of them knew what normalisation was *for*.

I heard a dog bark miles away in Lygon Street. It might have been a corgi.
It might have had a limp. I think I heard it cough a little.
Meanwhile, the students in the room were silent and frozen.
I stared into 200 panicking eyes.
One hundred rabbits in the spotlight pleading: I'M NOT HERE.

I did my best to explain *normalisation forms*, but I'd recommend that
whatever time *you* have left with your ITA darlings, you might want to go
over normalisation - from start to finish.

And *ethical dilemmas*. They will never *really* understand that topic at
their age - as previous examiners' reports testify - but you can try.

And you might want to go through basic *classic confusions*, e.g.
- efficiency, effectiveness
- validation, testing, evaluation.

And techniques for planning and tackling the *8 or 10 mark question*
mini-essay would be wise.

And of course, most kids traditionally know little about relevant
*legislation*.

These are just suggestions.

Examiners say that kids make the same mistakes in *every* ITA exam.
Check the examiners' reports (which are summarised in the vceit.com post
mortems) to see where kids usually go wrong.

Good luck

Mark

-- 

​
“Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it yet.”
—L. M. Montgomery,
*​​Anne of Green Gables*

Mark Kelly



mark at vceit.com
http://vceit.com
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