[Year 12 IT Apps] VITTA Practice Exams Indiscrepancies
Howard, David
dhoward at stmichaels.vic.edu.au
Thu Oct 18 15:36:36 EST 2012
Hi Benn,
Try and think of Practise exams as thought provokers. When I started teaching the subject I too came across similar things. They may point out items which you missed as a class or things that you did not know. They do not get as heavily checked as the VCAA exams for example so there will always be oddities that creep in. The solutions are also provided with explanation so that hopefully it can explain rather than just state an answer. Hopefully the solutions file did this for you.
Cheers
David
-----Original Message-----
From: itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au [mailto:itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of POLLOCK, Benn(POL)
Sent: Thursday, 18 October 2012 3:21 PM
To: itapps at edulists.com.au
Subject: [Year 12 IT Apps] VITTA Practice Exams Indiscrepancies
Thank You Mark and David for prompt replies.
The first place I looked was the SD and did notice that only text (string), number, date/time, Boolean (true/false) where listed. Was just after some clarification as it's confusing as when the kids look on Page 100; they see Currency as a Data Type. I know there was an amendment to the SD which removed currency as a Data Type, but as they can choose currency as a 'Data Type' in Access, you would hope that the examiners would accept either number or currency as the correct answer.
As with the naming conventions, as a first year teacher of IT-Apps, how can the students be tested on names of conventions that aren't specifically listed in the SD or the Textbook? I'm quite puzzled at this being new to the profession and the subject. I taught my students the same way the textbook does, prefixing the tables/queries/reports etc with lower case 'tbl' then the name such as 'CustomerID'. I was not sure of the actually name of this convention, but now I know.. Thanks! :)
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Today's Topics:
1. VITTA Practice Exams Indiscrepancies (POLLOCK, Benn(POL))
2. Re: VITTA Practice Exams Indiscrepancies (Mark KELLY)
3. Re: VITTA Practice Exams Indiscrepancies (Howard, David)
4. Photoshop PD Opportunities (Cameron Ross)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2012 11:53:06 +1100
From: "POLLOCK, Benn(POL)" <POL at wantirnacollege.vic.edu.au>
Subject: [Year 12 IT Apps] VITTA Practice Exams Indiscrepancies
To: <itapps at edulists.com.au>
Message-ID:
<29963D9395C11C428DA4E6DA314566380380E62A at want4.wantirnacollege.vic.edu.
au>
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Hello All,
A few queries regarding the practice exams from the VITTA. My students and I have had quite some debate over quite a few of the answers provided to the exams in the 2012 Exam Pack.
In a response to one of the questions, it asks for the student to fill in the table with the correct data type. The field name is "ProductCost($)". All my students put "Currency" as the appropriate data type, however the VITTA answers sheet lists the correct answer as "Number", however I believe that Currency is listed as a Data Type in the text.
Also, another sub question to this was to identify the naming convention used. The correct answer provided was CamelCase or CamelBack. I can't seem to find these naming conventions anywhere within the text, or remember covering them with my students throughout the year. There is also a multiple choice question in the same practice exam which ask students to choose the correct naming convention used - the responses include, Camel Case, Camel Back, Hungarian Notation and Positional Notation. Once again, can't see to find any reference to any of these in the texts. Have I missed something? If it's not in the text, how can students expect to answer these questions? These are just some of the recent discrepancies I've had with these VITTA practice exams.
Cheers,
Benn
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2012 13:13:43 +1100
From: Mark KELLY <kel at mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au>
Subject: Re: [Year 12 IT Apps] VITTA Practice Exams Indiscrepancies
To: "Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List"
<itapps at edulists.com.au>
Message-ID:
<CAGLnYS5B6x4W=hkx5Dydyaci3Z21seoDH39fyjiZ=UAKjiTKVg at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Hi Benn. Remember that no textbook is the ultimate authority: the study design is. And it defines the mandated data types as follows:
ITA = text (string), number, date, currency, logic (Boolean) Units 1+2 = string, character, integer, floating point SD = string, character, integer, floating point, Boolean
So 'number' would be correct for ITA, even if your kids knew other more suitable types like currency or single precision. I bet real VCAA markers would have accepted those alternatives since they're very common in many languages. The VITTA solution may just have chosen to be conservative and sticking to what the types that the study design lists.
(Dog only knows why they're different for each study... it reminds me of the multiple problem solving models we had before the SDLC was given the
toss.)
CamelCase and Hungarian Notation are the two main naming conventions.
They may not be listed in the study design, but they are commonly accepted in the industry, and the study design often does not list examples or mandated types of things.
As always, we have to be careful using any non-VCAA document - even VITTA's
- because (as far as I know) no commercial text, assessment task etc is officially given a VCAA seal of approval. The closest we get is outcomes that pass auditing.
But then again, vetting texts and tasks might be an excellent service that VCAA could offer authors to ensure VCE materials are top-notch...
Mark
On 18 October 2012 11:53, POLLOCK, Benn(POL) <POL at wantirnacollege.vic.edu.au
> wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> A few queries regarding the practice exams from the VITTA. My students
> and I have had quite some debate over quite a few of the answers
> provided to the exams in the 2012 Exam Pack.
>
> In a response to one of the questions, it asks for the student to fill
> in the table with the correct data type. The field name is
> "ProductCost($)". All my students put "Currency" as the appropriate
> data type, however the VITTA answers sheet lists the correct answer as
> "Number", however I believe that Currency is listed as a Data Type in
> the text.
>
> Also, another sub question to this was to identify the naming
> convention used. The correct answer provided was CamelCase or
> CamelBack. I can't seem to find these naming conventions anywhere
> within the text, or remember covering them with my students throughout
> the year. There is also a multiple choice question in the same
> practice exam which ask students to choose the correct naming
> convention used - the responses include, Camel Case, Camel Back,
> Hungarian Notation and Positional Notation. Once again, can't see to
> find any reference to any of these in the texts. Have I missed
> something? If it's not in the text, how can students expect to answer
> these questions? These are just some of the recent discrepancies I've
had with these VITTA practice exams.
>
> Cheers,
> Benn
>
> ___
>
--
Mark Kelly - kel at mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au
Manager of ICT, Reporting, IT Learning Area McKinnon Secondary College McKinnon Rd McKinnon 3204, Victoria, Australia
Phone: +613 8520 9085, Fax +613 9578 9253 VCE IT Lecture Notes:
http://vceit.com
Moderator: IT Applications Edulist
<http://edulists.com.au/itapps/index.htm>
Visit Diigo links for ITA <http://groups.diigo.com/group/vce-info-tech>
and SD <http://groups.diigo.com/group/vce-sd>
--
My personal best for the 100 metre sprint is 11.9 metres.
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Message: 3
Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2012 13:52:00 +1100
From: "Howard, David" <dhoward at stmichaels.vic.edu.au>
Subject: Re: [Year 12 IT Apps] VITTA Practice Exams Indiscrepancies
To: "Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List"
<itapps at edulists.com.au>
Message-ID: <D019E85933645D48BDC3EECEEAB63457637A47EDCC at smgs-exch>
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Hi Benn,
The study design states for Unit 3 ITA that the data types are:
data types---> including text (string), number, date/time, Boolean
(true/false)
I would go by the study design, not the text.
What naming conventions did you teach your students if I may ask?
Regards
David
David Howard
Head of IT & Learning Technologies
St Michael's Grammar School
25 Chapel Street, St Kilda VIC 3182 Australia
Phone +61 3 8530 3272
Fax +61 3 9510 3161
Email dhoward at stmichaels.vic.edu.au
Website www.stmichaels.vic.edu.au
CRICOS Provider 00345G
Please consider the environment before printing this email.
-----Original Message-----
From: itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au
[mailto:itapps-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of POLLOCK, Benn(POL)
Sent: Thursday, 18 October 2012 11:53 AM
To: itapps at edulists.com.au
Subject: [Year 12 IT Apps] VITTA Practice Exams Indiscrepancies
Hello All,
A few queries regarding the practice exams from the VITTA. My students and I have had quite some debate over quite a few of the answers provided to the exams in the 2012 Exam Pack.
In a response to one of the questions, it asks for the student to fill in the table with the correct data type. The field name is "ProductCost($)". All my students put "Currency" as the appropriate data type, however the VITTA answers sheet lists the correct answer as "Number", however I believe that Currency is listed as a Data Type in the text.
Also, another sub question to this was to identify the naming convention used. The correct answer provided was CamelCase or CamelBack. I can't seem to find these naming conventions anywhere within the text, or remember covering them with my students throughout the year. There is also a multiple choice question in the same practice exam which ask students to choose the correct naming convention used - the responses include, Camel Case, Camel Back, Hungarian Notation and Positional Notation. Once again, can't see to find any reference to any of these in the texts. Have I missed something? If it's not in the text, how can students expect to answer these questions? These are just some of the recent discrepancies I've had with these VITTA practice exams.
Cheers,
Benn
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------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2012 14:27:02 +1100
From: Cameron Ross <C.Ross at balcombegrammar.vic.edu.au>
Subject: [Year 12 IT Apps] Photoshop PD Opportunities
To: "itapps at edulists.com.au" <itapps at edulists.com.au>
Message-ID:
<ADBD636EDF962E4AB0F6B86D7399B14316184B1D at CGSWHITE.intranet.crancc.vic.e
du.au>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Hi everyone,
Sorry for the cross posts
I have just been advised that I am teaching an IT subject based around Photography next year. If possible does anyone know if there are any Photoshop PD's currently running with either VITTA or ATOM?
Regards,
Cameron Ross
VCE IT / Maths Teacher
[cid:image001.jpg at 01CDAD3C.A2191C10]
389 Nepean Highway, Mt Martha 3934
Tel: 03 5970 1100 Fax: 03 5974 2755
Email: c.ross at balcombegrammar.vic.edu.au www.balcombegrammar.vic.edu.au
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