ICT

OCR

This course is about the practical application of ICT in nearly every aspect of modern day life. There is a high emphasis on encouraging practical skills which will give learners the abilities they’ll really need to enter today’s world.

You will explore the latest technologies, such as Bluetooth, broadband and Global Positioning Systems. Your practical skills will be developed through the advanced use of software from web page design through desktop publishing to database development.

You can combine ICT with a wide range of Science, Visual Arts/Media, Business and Humanities subjects. Many jobs today demand ICT skills. The skills you learn will undoubtedly enhance your job prospects, support your other AS/A studies and assist those who go onto university with their research and presentations.

ICT students go on to university to study Business, Information Systems and Computing and careers including IT, business administration, human resources and teaching.

AS ICT

In AS ICT you will learn about ICT and its applications and develop your own IT and problem solving skills using a range of modern software applications. You will study:
• Data, how it handled, selected, manipulated and presented.
• Hardware and software in a modern information system.
• Modern software and enhancement techniques covering web design, graphical image editing, using wizards and macros, spreadsheets, databases and multimedia software.
• ICT, its impact on society, organisations and individuals and the way we work.

You will complete practical tasks using a variety of software packages to create graphical images, newsletters, web sites, spreadsheets and databases.

Assessment

One coursework portfolio and one written examination.

Entry requirements

A minimum of BBCCC at GCSE including English/English Language, and Mathematics or a science.

A2 ICT

At A2 ICT you will build on what you learned in the AS course and:
• Apply your skills and understanding of ICT to solve problems in a range of contexts, both as an individual and a member of a team.
• ICT in action – its application, limitations and consequences for individuals, organisations and society and the social, legal, ethical and other considerations that influence its use.
• ICT and communication – wired/wireless network technologies.

You will undertake a piece of coursework using ICT to solve a real life problem – investigate a client’s problem and possible solutions, develop and test a software solution, and document and evaluate the system you have created.

Assessment

One coursework portfolio and one written examination.