PolicyHub Scotland is hosting a conference on Wednesday about Internet Safety. As part of the conference, it’s hosting a series of articles about safety-related issues. I was asked to contribute one about cyber security and Internet safety. I choose the topic “Online safety, cyber security and digital literacy” to show the relationship between these subjects, and to argue that online safety is an aspect of cyber security, which is itself an aspect of digital literacy. The intention is that the discussion…
I recently announced a new development, which involves the creation of two new HNCs: 1. HNC Computer Science 2. HNC Data Analytics Since then, a Qualification Development Team (QDT) has been created and the first meeting was held this afternoon. The Team consists of representatives of colleges, universities and industry. The University of Strathclyde is represented on the QDT since the new HNCs will be designed to articulate with a number of their B.Sc. courses, through their Digital Academy programme,…
I attended this conference today, along with Helen, which was held in the beautiful grounds of the Scottish Police College in Alloa. The event featured in today’s Herald newspaper since it involved cyber crime experts from around the world including the FBI and Interpol. Steven Wilson, of the Specialist Crime Division of Police Scotland, gave the opening address and made specific mention of the importance of education, which he described as the “key” to tackling cyber crime. He, kindly, made…
The Qualification Development Team (QDT) for the PDA in Software Development met for the second time this morning. I announced the development in June and the first meeting of the QDT took place in August. The purpose of the meeting was to review progress. We’ve done a lot in a short time. A QDT has been formed, a Lead Developer selected, the aims of the award have been decided, a structure agreed, and the entry requirements have been discussed. The…
Since Helen announced last week that the new National Unit entitled Cyber Security Fundamentals (SCQF Level 4) was now available, we’ve had a lot of interest from centres interested in offering the new Unit. There are lots of reasons for doing so. In a sense, cyber security has replaced online safety as an essential online skill since it encompasses personal safety but also explores the need for groups, businesses and nations to protect themselves. Recent media reports about cyber attacks…
I came into good news this morning — the NPA Digital Literacy at SCQF Level 3 has now been validated. A number of conditions and recommendations were placed on it at the recent validation event, but these have now been addressed. This (almost) brings to a conclusion a development that commenced last February. The final stage is to “operationalise” the qualification (code it, put it on the website, add it to our database, etc.) so that centres can register candidates for…
Cyber Security Fundamentals (SCQF level 4) is now available on the SQA website. More information about this National Unit can be found here. This Unit will be packaged as an Award and learners will received a commemorative certificate after achieving it. It will be added into the framework of NC Computing with Digital Media SCQF level 4 as an optional unit. The SOLAR assessment and Assessment Support Pack (ASP) are under development and will be available around December this year. Please…
The NPAs PC Passport and Digital Passport launch event will take place in Village Urban Resort, Glasgow on Friday 27th November 2015. It is now available for booking. You can book here. If you have any query about registration, please contact the Events team.
Following last week’s launch event, the new Cyber Security qualifications have been in the news. Today’s Herald has an article about them and the Scottish Government has been promoting them too. SQA has made a YouTube video to encourage schools to offer them. There has been a great deal of interest in these new qualifications. Many schools are offering one or more of them alongside more traditional qualifications, and several colleges are offering them as part of the National Certificate.…
I previously mentioned that Caroline was changing jobs within SQA. Today is the day that she moves to her new job in the Assessment Development & Delivery team. I am currently seeking a replacement for her but until the team gets back up to full strength I would ask you to be patient if our response times are slower than normal. Caroline was responsible for advanced qualifications so this area is more likely to be affected by her absence. It’s a…
The launch event for the new qualifications in Cyber Security took place yesterday in the Stirling Highland Hotel. There was an excellent attendance, on a beautiful day, with 90 people attending both sessions. Sixty five schools and ten colleges were represented at the event, with representatives of regional councils, universities and employers also in attendance. The agenda included a lot of interesting talks, not just about the contents of the awards but also about the growing importance of cyber security, including the excellent…
