[Year 12 IT Apps] Sample exam questions andentity-relationship diagrams

Fri Apr 1 20:20:47 EST 2011

Well said Mark.

The big picture always needs to be used to answer questions of this type. It is too easy to drown in the technology details in situations like this, which is hard to avoid without stepping back.

Also I am sorry to say that we need to take into account in a big way the assessment at the end of the year and the type of questions the students can answer; as you have done. It is a pity that in year 12 the end of the year exam  dominates our teaching so much, but that is life!

Mike

________________________________
From: itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au [itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of Mark KELLY [kel at mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au]
Sent: Friday, 1 April 2011 6:40 PM
To: Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Year 12 IT Apps] Sample exam questions andentity-relationship diagrams

Yes, boiling down the NFs for kids is the big issue.  In the past I've boiled it down to soup level: "normalisation is removing data redundancy,  increasing database efficiency, and maximising data access by creating separate related tables. Here's an example.  It's a good idea. Let's move on..."

Kids can handle that.

I already know what the looks on my kids' faces will be if I delved any deeper into 1,2,3 NF. I really doubt the benefit of such a venture in ITA, considering our typical clientele.  Some of them still have trouble telling the difference between efficiency and effectiveness.  Six of my 24 kids are ESL and don't understand the word "appropriate".

Most of them find databases quite challenging enough without making matters more painful with NF-level theory.

By the looks of the sample exam questions<http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vcaa/vce/studies/infotech/it-applications/publications/IT-Apps-samp.pdf> my ITA kids are going to be seriously troubled. I'm guessing a question like 3c is going to score about 0.01 marks out of 2 on average across the state. I wonder what the success rate would be amongst ITA teachers for that question... To get my kids to answer it well, I'd need to spend at least two periods (more like a week) just on normalisation theory - and frankly, it's not worth it.

IMO, such levels of complexity do not sit well with VCE level. Even my SD kids would have trouble with this.  Sure: ask kids why normalisation is a good idea, but to differentiate the different levels is overkill, I think.

If I had to choose between spending a week on normalisation, and a week on key fields and 1-to-many relationships (and we all do need to decide this), I know where I'll spend my valuable class time.

Sorry for being grumpy about this, but this level of complexity really does not suit ITA.  I don't mind normalisation being a bit of key knowledge, but how it might be examined seems excessive.

Woof!
Grumpy Mark K

On 1 April 2011 17:08, Timmer-Arends <timmer at melbpc.org.au<mailto:timmer at melbpc.org.au>> wrote:
Hello Mark

I'm curious to know what these conflicting sources are.

I've followed Robert H's link and the page one gets to doesn't actually define them but does describe a (simplified) process to get to each NF - and what one gets from the process does conform with NF defs. The links from this page do go to definitions and they are in agreement with other sources I have looked at.

Mark K's quote is a definition of 2NF that conforms to other definitions.

The only difference I can see between various versions I have read is the degree of mathematical/academic gobbledy-gook involved.

1NF, 2NF and 3NF were defined way back in the seventies and because they were formed from a theoretical basis I don't think they are going to have changed all that much.

About the only thing that seems to have changed greatly is the addition of another three NFs.

I think the issue is a problem with the question, not with the consistency of the definitions. Decoding the definitions for consumption by students is of course another matter...

Regards
Robert T-A

----- Original Message -----
From: Mark Scott<mailto:msc at luther.vic.edu.au>
To: Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List<mailto:itapps at edulists.com.au>
Sent: Friday, April 01, 2011 2:45 PM
Subject: Re: [Year 12 IT Apps] Sample exam questions andentity-relationship diagrams

Paula

This is good stuff but we are still struggling with Question 3c

Any chance of a VCAA definition of what actually goes in 1NF, 2NF and 3NF.

The definitions are different depending on which “source” you use.
thanks
Mark Scott
Luther College
PS I suppose we could all wait for the guru (Mark Kelly) to provide an answer. :)

From: itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au<mailto:itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au> [mailto:itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au<mailto:itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au>] On Behalf Of Christophersen, Paula P
Sent: Friday, 1 April 2011 1:32 PM
To: Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List
Subject: [Year 12 IT Apps] Sample exam questions and entity-relationship diagrams

Dear colleagues

The examination specifications and some sample questions focusing on new content in the study design are now on the VCAA website:

http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vcaa/vce/studies/infotech/it-applications/publications/IT-Apps-samp.pdf

Structurally the examination remains the same – two sections: Section A multiple choice; Section B short and extended responses.

I draw your attention to a couple of matters in the sample questions:
•         Question 4 focuses on an entity relationship diagram – this hopefully clarifies recent concerns that have been raised.
•         Question 7 illustrates one way in which the examination can deal with the choice of different software in Unit 4, Area of Study 1. Here a common question is presented, and students select the software tool to explain their answer.
•         Question 9 is an example of an extended response (worth 8 marks) with prompts to guide answers
•         Question 12 is an example of the scope of a question on RDBMS – the focus can only extent to what is covered in Unit 3. Again it illustrates an extended response with prompts

Regards
Paula

Paula Christophersen
ICT Curriculum Manager
VCAA
41 St Andrews Place
EAST MELBOURNE 3002
(03) 9651 4378

--
Mark Kelly
Manager of ICT, Reporting, IT Learning Area
McKinnon Secondary College
McKinnon Rd McKinnon 3204, Victoria, Australia
Direct line / Voicemail: +613 8520 9085, Fax +613 9578 9253
kel at mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au<mailto:kel at mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au>
VCE IT Lecture Notes: http://vceit.com
Moderator: IT Applications Edulist

All generalisations are false, except this one.

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