[Year 12 IT Apps] Section A and B

[Mark Kelly]

Selina Dennis wrote:
> My comments on Section B:
> 
> Q1a) While D is the "best" answer, it didn't ask for the best answer.
> Therefore, both A and H could theoretically be accepted as correct answers
> if properly justified - A with an argument for critical importance of the
> newsletter requiring it appear on the homepage, and H with an argument that
> parents will automatically assume that parent information, such as the
> weekly newsletter, will appear under a link entitled "parents". Hopefully
> this is taken into consideration when marking.

Yep - I'd agree that H could be successfully argued along with D and A. 
  There is no indication that of the 2 marks, one goes to the choice of 
position and one to the justification, so I'm pretty sure the examiners 
will be more marking the justification than the choice of position.
> 
> Q1b) "Discussion" is unclear - do you discuss the legitimacy of the decision
> itself, do you discuss the potential risks of the new system, or do you
> discuss the benefits such a system will provide? I would hope they would be
> flexible with the marking criteria here.
> 
> Q2a) As mentioned, "medium", not "media".
> 
> Q6a) Considering the dodgy question regarding VPN in the multiple choice, I
> would hope that the intent for this question is for students to respond with
> a comment about research teams wanting to keep their information secure.
> 
> Q6b) What exactly do they mean by design element? I would assume/hope they
> are referring to the design elements such as proportion, orientation,
> clarity, usability, etc., in which case I have no issue. But, if not, they
> really should have made it much clearer what they were asking.

Interesting.  The glossary defines it as "Factors that contribute to the 
appearance and functionality of an information product. In this study 
these elements are proportion (visual hierarchy), orientation 
(direction/aspect), clarity and consistency, colour and contrast, 
usability and accessibility, appropriateness, relevance."

For the life of me I can't see any of those being used to "present the 
scientists' information"... so I assumed the question had to refer to a 
component of the site - such as the wiki or chat room.

> Q8c) A small business purchasing a UPS that is powerful enough to keep the
> entire office up after a power outage for more than a few minutes (ala a
> data center) was amusing. Realistically, you'd purchase a cheap-as-chips UPS
> for your central server so that your core data does not become corrupted on
> a power failure and/or surge, but linking every computer in the office to it
> is a bit of a stretch for your average small business. I guess they could
> purchase personal UPS systems for each employee (@ approx $US100), but
> that's not what the diagram shows they have done. Ultimately, though, no big
> deal, as students should be able to answer this question easily.

To be fair, the question refers to Uninterruptible Power SupplieS - in 
the plural - so not all the PCs would be hanging off a single UPS :-)

And the diagram, I believe, shows a _switch_ feeding the PCs and 
printer.  I don't believe it's a UPS.

> 
> Q9c) Victorian postcodes are 3000-3999 and 8000-8999 if you're being really
> picky. Doesn't change the answer, however, so no big deal.
> 
> Q11) This entire question is a waste of space. My Year 7s have had more
> difficult questions on their Excel test. I would have preferred a question
> that required students to provide evidence of their ability to problem
> solve, or evidence of their ability to analyse information problems.

Agree.


> Q11b) The formula is incorrect. They meant VLOOKUP - take a careful look at
> the THIRD argument. If they wanted to use LOOKUP with a third argument, the
> correct formula would be: =LOOKUP(A7,$F$2:$F$4,$G$2:$G$4) as the third
> argument in LOOKUP is a vector reference to another row or column of the
> same size as the second argument. However, this is irrelevant to the
> question, so it doesn't matter. I was just irked at the carelessness.

I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I believe their formula is 
correct.  Ugly, but correct.  The third argument in the VLOOKUP says 
what column to go to in the loookup table to get the return data - in 
this case, column 2 of the table (containing the $ per second value).

VLOOKUP has an optional Boolean _fourth_ parameter which indicates 
whether an exact match is required or not.

> 
> Q11d) Very poorly worded. I assume they wanted "select rows 7-18 and sort by
> column A, ascending", but our students aren't psychic, and the question is
> vague.

Yep.  A pretty awkward phrase.  I wonder what convoluted reason they had 
in their mind to make them choose such poor wording.

Maybe something like:

In Swahili, the phrase "Explain how you would group the calls from each 
carrier" translates as "May your mother's water buffalo catch chicken 
pox and fall off a cliff" and would offend Swahili students so let's say 
"List the instructions" instead.

> Q11e) They should have asked for three tests, not two.

Yep.

> That's my 2c.
> 
> Selina Dennis
> Strathmore Secondary College

Thanks, Selina.  Your findings give me a new slant on things I hadn't 
paid much attention to!

-- 
Mark Kelly
Manager - Information Systems
McKinnon Secondary College
McKinnon Rd McKinnon 3204, Victoria, Australia
Direct line / Voicemail: 8520 9085
School Phone +613 8520 9000
School Fax +613 95789253
kel AT mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au

Webmaster - http://www.mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au
IT Lecture notes: http://vceit.com
Moderator: IT Applications Mailing List

You'll know when we are officially a civilised race: our schools have 
all the money they need and the Air Force has to run a chook raffle to 
buy a new bomber.