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<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_MailEndCompose"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:#1F497D">Thank you Mark and Paula, your advice is most appreciated!</span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:#1F497D">Cheers</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:#1F497D">Damien</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:#1F497D"> </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black">Damien</span></b><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black">
</span></b><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black">Atkinson-Buck</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:#1F497D"><br>
</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black">Head of Learning Area: Technology/Arts</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black"> </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:#1F497D"><br>
</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:#1F497D"><img width="750" height="2" id="_x0000_i1028" src="cid:image002.png@01CED54C.CE242870"></span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:#1F497D"></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black">p:</span></b><span style="font-size:8.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black"> +61 3 9490 3848
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</span><a href="mailto:damien.atkinson-buck@ivanhoe.com.au"><span style="font-size:8.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">damien.atkinson-buck@ivanhoe.com.au</span></a><span style="font-size:8.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:#1F497D">
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</span><a href="http://www.ivanhoe.com.au/"><span style="font-size:8.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">www.ivanhoe.com.au</span></a><span style="font-size:8.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:#1F497D"></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""> Christophersen, Paula P [mailto:christophersen.paula.p@edumail.vic.gov.au]
<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, 29 October 2013 6:08 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Year 12 IT Apps] The Big Question</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"; color:black">Dear colleagues</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"; color:black"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"; color:black">I would like to clarify a point made about the nature of ITA examinations, namely extended response questions ('big questions'). The VCAA produces Examination Specifications to
coincide with a reaccredited study design. The specifications include details about the format/style/conditions of the forthcoming exams. See
<a href="http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/vce/infotech/IT-Apps-samp.pdf">http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/vce/infotech/IT-Apps-samp.pdf</a> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"; color:black"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"; color:black">Page 39 of the study design (ITA) specifically states that examination specifications will be published on the VCAA website.
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"; color:black"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"; color:black">Depending on the extent of changes to a study design there will either sample questions or a full sample examination to illustrate how new content or a new questioning style could
be treated. This is what occurred with this current study design. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"; color:black"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"; color:black">Under 'Format' in these specifications, the following information was provided: </span></p>
<p><span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-size:10.0pt; color:black"> </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"; color:black"></span></p>
<p><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"; color:black">Format</span></b></p>
<p><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">All questions in the examination will be compulsory.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">The examination will consist of two sections.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">Section A – 20 multiple-choice questions worth one mark each.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">Section B – short and
<strong>extended response questions</strong>. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black"> </span></p>
<p><strong><span style="color:black">Questions 7 and 9 (section B) </span></strong><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">of the Sample examination questions illustrate extended-response questions. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">The inclusion of extended-response questions is an examination specification, not a 'whim of the exam-setters'. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">Regards</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">Paula</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"; color:black">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"; color:black">
<a href="mailto:itapps-bounces@edulists.com.au">itapps-bounces@edulists.com.au</a> [itapps-bounces@edulists.com.au] on behalf of Mark [mark@vceit.com]<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, 29 October 2013 2:50 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Year 12 IT Apps] The Big Question</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black"></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">Hi Damien.
</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black"> </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">By "the big question" are you referring to the 8-10 mark question that has appeared in the past couple of ITA papers?
</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black"> </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">- Such big, high-mark questions are purely at the whim of the exam-setters... there is nothing in the study design saying that such a question is required, so there is no
guarantee that such a question will appear in future. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black"> </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">- Having said that, recent history suggests that the examiners
<b>will </b>continue to do it in spite of horrible results: last year's average result was 2 marks out of 8, from memory. ITA kids are just not built for long, complex answers. To be frank, that's why they do ITA rather than SD or physics.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black"> </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">- Even if such a question appears again this year, there is no guarantee that it would have to be about databases, or a database/spreadsheet option. It could just as easily
be about data security or any other meaty key knowledge. (Dog help me, it had better
<b>not</b> be about the physical layer of the OSI model !)</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black"> </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">- What students will need to provide in their answers will completely depend on what the question asks them to provide, so it's impossible to answer your question. If asked
for a formula, they will need to provide a formula; if asked for a design for an input form, they would need to give that.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black"> </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">- SQL definitely won't be there, if that's any consolation, since it is not mentioned or even alluded to in the study design.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black"> </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">- Neither can the examiners even ask for a precise formula or query, since different databases/spreadsheets have different syntaxes. They would either have to give students
the rules for the syntax of a hypothetical dB/SS and expect students to answer using the provided syntax, or they would have to use universally-accepted IT/VCAA conventions (i.e. pseudocode with standard IF , AND/OR, >= , etc.)</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black"> </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">So, having not answered your question at all, I hope I have answered your question.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black"> </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">Regards</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black"> </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">Mark</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">Whose beach-walking has been
<b>greatly</b> incommoded by rain and hurricane-force wind. Grrr.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black"> </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">On 29 October 2013 14:10, ATKINSON-BUCK, Damien <<a href="mailto:Damien.ATKINSON-BUCK@ivanhoe.com.au" target="_blank">Damien.ATKINSON-BUCK@ivanhoe.com.au</a>> wrote:</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black">Hi folks,</span><span style="color:black"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black"> With the big question, I’ve been going through some of the past exam papers and the examiners comments. Am I right to assume that if a student
chooses the SpreadSheet option, they will need to provide the formula. Whereas if they choose the database option, they have to describe the query, not write SQL or draw a query design box (we used Access, not sure what Filemaker etc. display is like).
</span><span style="color:black"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black">I’m thinking it’s a safer bet to describe a query than to remember the exact formula for something in the pressure of an exam. Just wondering what others
thought of this and how they are recommending students handle the big question. </span>
<span style="color:black"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black">Cheers</span><span style="color:black"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black">Damien</span><span style="color:black"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:#880231"><br>
</span></b><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:#82002C">Damien</span></b><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:#880231">
</span></b><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:#880231">Atkinson-Buck</span></b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black"><br>
</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black">Head of Learning Area: Technology/Arts</span><span style="font-size:8.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">
</span><span style="color:black"></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">--
</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">Mark Kelly</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">mark AT vceit DOT com</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black"><a href="http://vceit.com" target="_blank">http://vceit.com</a></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:7.5pt; font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"; color:black; background:#FDFDFF">Day 19, I have successfully conditioned my master to smile and write in his book every time I drool.- Pavlov's Dog</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black"></span></p>
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