[Year 12 IT Apps] REVIEW OF VCE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

[Laurie Savage]

Multimedia and the Office Admin, Business Admin courses seem to cover a lot
of the applications (in both senses) you mention. When I first stumbled into
IPM I thought it was a course in search of content. I still think that and
would not be disappointed to see it die because it overlaps with other areas
so much. Software Development on the other hand, now there's something you
can get your teeth into!

Laurie

-----Original Message-----
From: itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au [mailto:itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au]
On Behalf Of Gales, Graham W
Sent: Wednesday, 19 August 2009 10:03 AM
To: Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List
Subject: RE: [Year 12 IT Apps] REVIEW OF VCE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY


The name of the course is Information Technology Applications.

There are two meanings we can ascribe to 'Applications'

1.  Applications - as in software programs.  

If the course now has two outcomes as databases, then the course is really
limiting the number of applications the students use. 

Perhaps consideration could be given to opening up the applications students
use rather than limiting them.

We could even use a Word Processor as an application in an Outcome.  There
are many features of Word Processors that students do not know about and
that lend themselves to  Outcomes e.g. table of contents, footnotes, mail
merge, hyperlinks, styles.

2.  Applications - as in uses of IT

Yes, databases are a major use of IT in the 'real world', but there are lots
of things out thing that are not databases as well - publishing, graphics,
webpages, games.  I believe that we should provide a broad range of
experiences of IT for our students.  

To concentrate on databases will, in my opinion, shrink the pool of
prospective students at my school and may see the demise of the subject.  I
have found that students gain greater pleasure and satisfaction from the
spreadsheet and web-page work than databases. 


Graham Gales
Bright P-12 College
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