[Year 12 IT Apps] REVIEW OF VCE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, SUMMARY OF PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE STUDY DESIGN

[Margaret Lawson]

So what you are saying Mark is that we shouldn't offer an IT curriculum 
that is grounded in something that is fundamentally IT, such as Database 
concepts, but rather something more exciting such as image manipulation 
which sounds a lot like the "Graphic Communication" curriculum.

If what this subject wants, in the long term, is to be a pre-requisite 
for a university course, then it needs to have curriculum that is 
fundamentally IT in nature.
It is up to *us* as the teachers of the subject to interpret the study 
design and make the curriculum exciting for the kids. If you want to 
teach photo editing, then teach graphic communication, or certificate 
III multimedia (does that still exist?). After all a database is only as 
exciting as the data that is in it ...... just think about the 
possibilities for depth of learning if the kids are doing two SAC's 
(prac test and extended) in databases?

I like the fact that the new study design is concentrating on databases. 
I know that they can be bland, but it is a key IT concept and an 
important one at that.
I would like to see a greater emphasis on Year 11 IT so that the kids 
that coming into Unit 3/4 have used and abused databases before.

:-)

Margaret

Part time St. Michaels
Part time Konstant Kaos


Mark Kelly wrote:
> Why don't we teach Shakespeare in grade 3 English classes?  Because 
> the clients don't NEED it; they don't WANT it; it is of NO USE to 
> them; and it is damned BORING to them.
>
> And if we did teach it, would we double the dose when they failed to 
> understand it?  That's what is being proposed, as far as I can see.
>
> It reminds me of a conversation:
>
> Mother: Eat your beans*.
>
> Child: I HATE BEANS!  They are BORING and TASTELESS and FARTFUL and I 
> HATE HATE HATE THEM!
>
> Mother: Hmm.  Data reveals that child refuses to absorb beans.  Let's 
> DOUBLE the beans.  That will surely fix the problem.
>
> This is really a step in the wrong direction. We had it better in the 
> previous IPM U3O1 where kids actually ENJOYED doing photo editing.  Is 
> that so evil?
>
> I am seriously feeling that I don't want to teach this proposed new 
> course.  Seriously, folks: I'd rather take ITA off McKinnon's VCE 
> offerings and only offer Software Development.  I'd be embarrassed 
> justifying the proposed ITA as a stimulating VCE option.
>
> Our VCE information night is in two days... and I dread telling 
> current year tens that they will face a course with double-databases 
> in 2011...
>
> "Line up, sign up: there are plenty of databases for everyone.  No 
> pushing. Well, yes, it IS boring, but it is useful. How is it useful? 
> Well, no.  It won't be relevant to any of your other VCE subjects, and 
> it's useless in daily life.  And, yes, serious RDMS normalisation 
> (e.g. many-to-many relationships) IS really complex... more complex 
> than much of the stuff in the Software Development course.  So you 
> have no real interest in IT and would rather do Commerce?  Strange..."
>
> Wouldn't it be more honest to call the new course: IT: Data?
>
> And if the kids did enter tertiary IT (after surviving the new IT: 
> Data), would they not be completely retrained anyway?  Do any tertiary 
> courses assume prerequisite knowledge of VCE key knowledge. Don't they 
> start from scratch?
>
> I appreciate the new course's desire to deepen students' understanding 
> of topics by reducing the breadth of study. This proposed course would 
> deepen the misery of IT study, not its fascination.
>
> I can understand and appreciate dropping project management.  Dull, 
> irrelevant, and employed really artificially in outcomes.  But 
> databases not only persist, but they are doubled??  Badly, seriously 
> wrong, IMHO.
>
>
> *Hint: Beans == Databases.
>
> Mark Kelly wrote:
>> http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/vceconsult/itsumofchanges.doc
>>
>> *TWO* ITA outcomes using databases?  O! no no no...
>>
>> ITA enrolments have been bad enough recently.
>>
>> This will surely kill them stone dead.
>>
>


-- 
Margaret Lawson

Konstant Kaos Designs

ABN 50 523 597 927

26 Nash Street
Northcote 3070
Victoria Australia
M: 0407 896309
P: 9489 6309

margaret.lawson at konstantkaos.net