As you will be aware from previous blog posts, the Qualification Design Team (QDT) for HNC/D Computer Games Development have been working on a minor review of the current awards which is being led by Gill Flockhart of Dundee and Angus College. We are now at the stage of consultation and the survey is now live. You are access it here: HNC/D Computer Games Survey The aim of this survey is to get feedback on the draft consultation. This feedback…
I’ve previously announced the development of a new PDA in Software Development. The Qualification Development Team (QDT) met for the first time this morning in the Glasgow office. It’s a good team, consisting of representatives schools, colleges, universities, professional bodies and employers, with a wealth of knowledge and experience in this field. The meeting covered the role of the QDT, the qualification development process, and tasks and timescales. We had a particularly good conversation about what should be in the…
I previously mentioned a new service called uShare, which is designed to help you find resources for delivering SQA qualifications. I’m pleased to tell you that two Computing qualifications are now available on that service. The NPAs in Cyber Security and Digital Passport now have resources listed for them. You can access the resources on the home page for each qualification. The Cyber Security page is here and the Digital Passport page is here (scroll to the bottom to see the resources). Some (not…
This seems a good time to remind you how to contact the team. You can, of course, phone us but we prefer e-mail. You can e-mail me, Caroline of Helen directly whenever you have a query. We’ll try to get back to you as soon as possible.Please note that Helen takes care of the non-advanced part of my portfolio and Caroline the advanced part. Many of your queries might be addressed by this blog so please visit regularly. We post regular updates…
A lot of work has been done to this development since last update in April. The revised award consists of 3 mandatory units, 2 of which are brand new: Computer Basics (SCQF Level 3) Digital Skills (SCQF Level 3) (New) Computer Applications (SCQF Level 3) (New) The two new units are now being finalised and we are hoping to publish them at the beginning of September. More information about this qualification can be found in our updated FAQ. The validation event for this…
I know that schools and colleges have recently returned from the Summer holiday. I hope that you had a nice break from the pressures of teaching and feel ready for the new term. The SQA team has been busy over the Summer. A number of National Units in Cyber Security were published in mid-July. These Units form part of the suite of NPAs that were validated in late July, and made available to centres a short time later. The Units have…
Me and Helen attended this event yesterday, held in the Erskine Bridge Hotel, organised by West College Scotland. We enjoyed it a great deal. The aim of the event was to show how digital technologies can be used within teaching and learning. SQA was one of the sponsors. Almost the entire staff attended. There were keynotes and workshops throughout the day on topics such as Open Badges, Moodle and social media. It was interesting to hear how some teachers are using…
The NPAs in Digital Passport at SCQF levels 4, 5 and 6 were made available to centres from 1st August this year and today the web page for this qualification is set up: http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/74863.html The FAQ on this web page contains additional information about this qualification. We have set up an online (public) group for centres and practitioners who are delivering or interested in delivering the qualification. You can join the group via the link below: www.groupspaces.com/DigitalPassport We have received a few queries…
Many of you will be aware of the gender problems in Computing, both in the workplace and in education. I’ve posted about this problem previously. It appears to be getting worse. Computing is now the worst subject (from a gender perspective) in the worst sector (STEM), overtaking Engineering as the most male dominated subject area. I completed a survey today, created by the Employment Survey Institute, which aims to discover the root causes of the problem. You may want to complete it…
I am meeting with Microsoft later today to discuss the new version of PC Passport (working title PC Passport 2016). So it seemed like a good time to update the FAQ. I know that many of you are interested in how this development is coming along and the FAQ should answer all of your questions at this time. The qualification is on schedule to be available to centres in January 2016. We’re currently working on the Group Award Specification and…
I took the opportunity today to update the qualification portfolio diagram. Regular readers will know that there is a great deal of development work going on right now, so it seemed a good time to update it. You can see (and download) the diagram here. The diagram summarises the vocational awards available to centres. As you will see, the portfolio is growing, particularly the range of National Progression Awards, which are proving to be popular in the school sector. But…
We used to have a private online group for the Qualification Development Team members involved in the development of the NPAs in Cyber Security at SCQF levels 4, 5 and 6. Now the development is completed and I made this online group public today. This public group is for centres who are delivering or interested in delivering the qualification. The group will provide peer support, group discussions, updates and useful information. Some of the QDT members will remain in this group. You can join the…
A few months ago, I was approached by the University of Strathclyde and a group of colleges to ask if SQA would develop qualifications for the Digital Academy. I am delighted to let you know that I have been given approval to proceed with this development. This development will produce two new HNCs: 1. HNC Computer Science 2. HNC Data Analytics. These qualifications will articulate with the University’s existing degree in Computer Science and new degree in Data Analytics (2016). The…
