Give us your opinion

We issued a recent request for the completion of a questionnaire covering the next phase of the National Certificate in Digital Media Computing at SCQF Level 6 and the batch of NPAs which we are taking to validation at the same time. The plan is to take these to validation immediately after the summer break.

If you haven't taken the opportunity to give your opinion then could you please visit the following weblink -

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=xAK1ng%2bil6WaHH9ejLCTQA%3d%3d

Your support would be appreciated.

Mike Jannetta
Qualifications Manager

Following on from the last posting

Following on from the recent e-mail, re the development of e-learning materials.

I would like to advise the field that there are developments just being started, through ESF funding, to produce e-assessment materials covering a number of additional units within the HNC Information Technology and the new proposed HNC Interactive Media (being presented for validation on the 8th of June).

At the moment, it is planned that this development will produce e-assessment materials in the following areas and should start appearing in the SOLAR assessment engine from August onwards with our planned completion date of November or December 07 -

HN Information Technology (27 assessments covering)

Outcome Unit Name

1 PC: First Line Support
1 IT: Legislation and Codes of Practice
1 Decision Support and Intelligent Systems
1 e-Commerce: Introduction
1 e-Commerce: Introduction
1 e-marketing
2 e-marketing
3 e-marketing


HN Interactive Media (90 assessments covering)

Outcome Unit Name

1 User Interface Design
1 Project Management for IT
1 Creating Digital Images
1 Bitmap Graphics: Advanced Techniques
1 Vector Graphics: Advanced Techniques
1 Web Development: Essential Content
1 Web Development: Complex Content
1 Web Development Standards and Legislation
1 Client Side Scripting for Web Applications
1 Managing Database Systems using SQL
1 2D Animation
1 Website Development: Foundations
1 Internet and Network Development: Foundations
4 Internet and Network Development: Foundations

If you wish any information on the SOLAR project then please visit the website (www.solarproject.org) where you can find out the assessments that are currently available for delivery through this assessment engine or contact Graeme Clark (Graeme.Clark@sqa.org.uk) or Joan Morris (Joan.Morris@sqa.org.uk) directly.

Regards

Mike Jannetta
Qualifications Manager

Production of e-learning Materials (Phase 3 and 4)

Other e-learning materials are being built up on the following website -
http://www.e-learning-computing.com/index.htm
If you visit this website then items B - G are complete and H - O are either complete or nearing completion (3 still to complete). This e-mail identifies the developments within Phase 3 and Phase 4 of this project. This project will be showcased at the event being held at Hampden Park on the 22nd of June.
The next phase(s) of this project are just starting .....

Phase 4
We have been successful in getting the financial backing for the development of e-learning materials for the proposed HNC Interactive Media through an ESF bid. This HNC Interactive Media award is "hot off the press", in fact, it isn't there yet as validation is due for the 8th of June! The e-learning items that we will be developing materials for are -

1 Interactive Media: Planning (new unit)
2 Interactive Media: Authoring (new unit)
3 User Interface Design (new unit)
4 Digital Media Creation (new unit)
5 Client Side Scripting for Web Development (new unit)
6 Managing Database Systems using SQL (new unit)
7 Internet: Web Development Standards and Legislation (new unit)
8 Project Management for IT (new unit)

We would expect materials for Phase 4 to be available by October /November 07.

Phase 3
There will be an e-learning pack produced for the following items under this phase -

1 DH3D 35 Software Development: Relational Database Systems
2 DM32 35 Software Development: Linked Data Structures
3 DM31 35 Software Development: Array Data Structures
4 DH3H 35 Systems Development: Structured Design Methods
5 DH39 34 Internet: Introducing e-commerce
6 DX43 35 IT: Legislation and Codes of Practice
7 DV6J 35 Internet: Web Technology and Security

We would expect materials for Phase 3 to be available by March 08.

Additional Item
We have also commissioned the development of an e-learning pack (as someone volunteered!) for the unit DW7J 11 Social Software within the National Certificate in Digital Media Computing and we expect this pack to be available in August/September 07.

Regards
Mike Jannetta
Qualifications Manager

Update on the Validation Status of the National Certificate in Digital Media Computing L4 and L5 & the Associated NPAs

1 Validation Status (all awards)
We are just about ready to go back to the Validation Panel and reckon that we have addressed all conditions and most of the main recommendations. The item that is holding us back here is not the SSC approval, which I expected, but there are about 6 or 7 unit IDs missing. We hope to publish the definitive NC DMC frameworks @ SCQF L4 and L5 within the next 10 days. We also hope to have the award IDs at this time.

2 ASP (Assessment Support Pack)
The ASPs vetting/verification production is under way with us giving the PC Passport awards priority. We expect that all ASPs will be complete, as scheduled, by the end of June, however, this is a big job and will take time to complete. Once we are finished, it will take the SQA Publication's Team time to get these items with the correct look and uploaded to the SQA Secure Website.

3 Qualifications Support Team
We am looking to recruit a team across the sector (ie schools, FE and training providers) to support and modify these awards (ie NC DMC, NPAs - including PC Passport) as per the new SQA procedures to maintain awards. If you have any members of staff who would be interested in assisting the SQA in this area could you please get them to e-mail me their details (deadline 1st June)? We would like an initial meeting to discuss how this process works with the selected members of this QST before the end of June.

Mike Jannetta
Qualifications Manager

HN Information Technology

Please note that the following units have been added to the HNC Information Technology framework here at SQA -

DE3M 35 Statistics for Business
DM34 34 Supporting Users and Troubleshooting Desktop Applications
DM35 34 Supporting Users and Troubleshooting a Desktop Operating System

If you require any additional information then please contact Angela Lees (Angela.Lees@sqa.org.uk).

Regards

Mike Jannetta
Qualifications Manager

Validation of National Certificate in Digital Media Computing at SCQF Level 6 & Associated NPAs

Folks

We are preparing the National Certificate in Digital Media Computing at SCQF Level 6 and a number of NPAs for validation. The date we have for the internal validation is the 3rd of September but we have the summer holidays to cope with before this!

We require as many individuals as possible to give us feedback on the proposed NPAs at we have identified to take to validation at this time. We wish to gather feedback on 11 NPA awards and the questionnaire can be found at the following weblink -

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=878733860379

Please take a some time to complete this questionnaire as the results are very important to the validation process.

Thanks, in anticipation.

Regards

Mike Jannetta
Qualifications Manager

New librarian qualifications

My team are responsible for Computing/IT, E-Qualifications and Library awards -- but we don't develop many qualifications for librarians. So it was a particular pleasure to go forward for validation this morning for two new library awards: the Certificate in Applications of ICT in Libraries and the Advanced Certificate in Applications of ICT in Libraries. These new Professional Development Awards are designed for practicing librarians - of which there are 4000 in Scotland alone - although we're hoping that these awards will have international appeal.



This development has been led by Rhona Arthur of SLIC. The funding was provided by the Big Lottery Fund. Cleo Jones (Edinburgh Council) chaired the Validation Panel.

The validation event went well. The Panel felt that the level of the awards should be increased and it was agreed to re-title the awards: Diploma in Applications of ICT in Libraries and Advanced Diploma in Applications of ICT in Libraries. Although a number of conditions were placed on the proposals, we're confident that the awards can be approved by the end of June.

Angela Orr is the SQA contact for these awards.

18th of August - Showcase Event

Keep this date free in your dairy!
This is a large update event which will be covering a number of products, new and old in the SQA Computing team's protfolio, and has been arranged for all staff in centres (12 products will be showcased on the day). Why not use it as a staff development day? This event is being held at the Radisson Hotel, Argyle Street, Glasgow and correspondence will be sent out by snail mail and posted on Smartgroups within the week with the usual rsvp link service.

More details very shortly ..... if you can't wait then contact me (mike.jannetta@sqa.org.uk) directly!

Mike Jannetta

Moving from Yahoo to Twitter

Many of you subscribe to an online mailing list called "sqacomputing", which is hosted by Yahoo. In its heyday it had over 600 members but the membership has been in steady decline. It's an announcement-only group (you can't reply) and it's the only Yahoogroup that we still use.

A few months ago the SQA team started to experiment with Twitter, and this has quickly gained a large following, with 110 "followers". Twitter provides a similar service to Yahoogroups but is more up-to-date and more flexible (there are Twitter clients for PCs, tablets, and mobile phones).

It seems sensible to merge these services so I propose to end the Yahoogroup and encourage subscribers to migrate to Twitter. Our Twitter page is:

http://twitter.com/sqacomputing

I'll unsubscribe members of the Yahoo group in a few weeks, once everyone has had time to move over to Twitter. If you chose to follow us on Twitter, we promise not to drown you in updates. You can see the sort of thing we publish on the box on the right.

We had another very productive day a week past Saturday and a big 'thanks' must go out to the QDT members that were able to attend. I have uploaded the qualifications map to a number of Smartgroups (within the frameworks folder) and we hope that you like the content? If you have any feedback on this qualification map then please allow everyone to see your comments via the National Certficate Smartgroup!

You will see that there are themes working from left to right through the different levels of the award(s). We am now in a position to confirm that we have the budget necessary to work this development forward. We am now seeking writers to take on a complete theme from left to write which will involve writing between 1 to 6 specifications depending on these themes. We am now looking for volunteers (ie writers) and have set aside Saturday the 17th of June (In Optima Building, 58 Robertson Street, Glasgow) as a training day for those who are taking up this work. For those who volunteer, it is a must that you attend the training event (which you will be paid for as it is a Saturday). If you would like to be considered for some of these developments could you contact me directly on 0845 213 5473 or by e-mail (Mike.Jannetta@sqa.org.uk) (e-mail probably the best option).

Regards

Mike Jannetta

HNC and Facebook

I came back from holiday yesterday to two pieces of good news. The HNC in Computing was validated while I was away. It was almost there before I left, but it was great to see it put to bed. Don't forget to follow developments via the blog.

The other piece of good news was that SQA had lifted restrictions on staff use of social media while I was away. Like many educational bodies, SQA restricted the use of sites like Facebook and Youtube, but (nearly) all of the restrictions have now been removed.

Mike Russell, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, has spoken many times about the need for schools and colleges to loosen the controls on social media, so it's great to see SQA lead by example. Services such as Youtube have become fantastic educational resources, and now includes an SQA channel.

The Computing team have used social media for a long time now (this blog being an example) but the lifting of these restrictions gives us more opportunities to use social media to engage with teachers and lecturers and other stakeholders. Watch this space.

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HND Computing Arrangements

Today is a milestone. Caroline uploaded the definitive HND Computing Arrangements to the HN e-group! The Arrangements will also be uploaded to the SQA website later this week.

I'm currently working on an update letter that will be sent to centres in the near future. This letter will contain information about a launch event (for HND Computing) that will take place in August or September.

HN Computing review meeting

I've mentioned previously what SQA planned to do to help with the performance indicator problem in this subject area.

A sub-group of the QST for HN Computing, along with some other volunteers, met this morning to identify specific assessment exemplars that are currently causing delivery issues and that we could improve.

We identified four examplars that we plan to rewrite:

1. Computer Operating Systems 1
2. Computer Architecture 1
3. Computing: Planning
4. Software Development: Array Data Structures

Each pack was assigned a couple of writers who will produce alternative assessment exemplars that, we hope, will be less demanding (in terms of time and pass marks). The Senior Verifier was on-hand to ensure that national standards were maintained.

We also looked at ways of integrating assessments and one concrete action was to produce a new exemplar that combines the assessment of IT: Applications Software 1 and Working Within a Project Team.

So, all in all, we will produce five new assessment exemplars to provide alternatives to the existing packs and that may lighten the assessment load on student and teachers.

It takes time to get new packs into the hands of teachers but I hope that these new improved versions will be available to centres by the autumn.

Contact Caroline for more information about HN assessment exemplars or other support materials for HN subjects.

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Alternative assessments for HN courses

A team of writers and vetters has been working on devising "alternative assessments" over the last few months. The assessments have been designed to provide a "university experience" to college students by combining the assessment of a number of outcomes into an examination or project.

The team has devised six "Alternative Assessment Approach Support Packs" (AAASPs). Here is a summary of what each one covers.


For example, the HND Networking examination covers all of the knowledge and understanding in two complete units.

We recently wrote to centres to invite you to participate in the pilot of these assessments next year. I'm delighted to report that Computing got a great response - better than any other subject area. Only designated pilot centres will be permitted to use the alternative assessments but it's not too late to volunteer. Please e-mail hnenhancementpilot@sqa.org.uk if you want to know more or volunteer to get involved.

Computing and IT Conference (Scotland's Colleges Event)

Scotland's Colleges are organising and hosting this years Computing and IT Conference on Tuesday 19th June.  The conference is aimed at Computing, IT and Digital Media practicators and will be held at Scotland's Colleges premises at Castle Business Park in Stirling.

The purpose of the event is detailed below:

The challenges currently facing Computing, IT and Digital Media staff in Scotland’s Colleges are significant, with continual demands on staff to keep abreast of an evolving curriculum, emerging technologies and new subjects as well as addressing issues relating to retention, achievement and progression. The community has made significant efforts to address these challenges and continue to do so.

The following URL provides more information including links to the programme for the day, online booking and contact details.
 
http://events.scotlandscolleges.ac.uk/events/show/4368
 
Please note that this is not an SQA organised event so all queries in relation to this should be directed to the events co-ordinator (details available in the link above).

HNC Computing validation

The HNC Computing validation was held today. The outcome was that the award was "not validated until conditions are met". But the Design Team were happy at the outcome. The conditions related to the qualification structure, core skills and the Graded Unit. So Mike and his team will be busy over the next few weeks adjusting the award to satisfy these conditions. We're confident that the required changes can be done quickly and that the new award will be available to centres from August.



Don't forget to join the HN Computing online community to keep up-to-date with developments.

SFEU Subject Network meeting

I've been talking to Tony Gurney of SFEU about my input to the Subject Network event at the end of June. I'll be speaking about NC and HN developments - including recruitment and retention issues. You can find out more about the event here.

SIoCE AGM

I attended the AGM of the Scottish Institute of Computing Educationalists at the University of Dundee today. I was invited to speak about vocational qualifications in Computing. The audience was largely made up of Computing teachers from the school sector, who traditionally delivered "academic" qualifications such as Higher Level in Computing.

My colleague, Derek Middleton, gave an update on the Curriculum for Excellence, specifically the new awards being proposed at Levels 4, 5 and 6.

My own presentation followed one from Professor Alan Bundy, of the University of Edinburgh, who spoke about the declining interest in Computing and ways of stimulating interest. I talked about the current range of vocational qualifications that could be delivered in schools -- qualifications that are up-to-date and engaging.

S io ce presentation

View more presentations from bobbyelliott.

My presentation highlighted awards such as Internet Safety, Digital Culture, Social Software and Computer Games Development. It seemed to be well received by the audience.

Contact Hilary if you want to know more about vocational qualifications suitable for delivery in schools

NC DMC Level 6

Today we had a meeting with Walter Patterson and Gillian Leitch regarding NC DMC Level 6. The units are currently being published and coded and will be on the SQA Website towards the end of June, along with the arrangements document.

We have commissioned ASP writers but are still looking for volunteers to write the following:

Computing: Authoring a Website

Computing: Digital Media Elements of Applications

Digital Media: Video

If you are interested in writing/vetting please contact me.

E-learning materials

I got an enquiry this morning about the location of the e-learning materials that can be used to support various IT-related HN units. Previously this had been hosted on a private website but this has been brought in-house and is now hosted on the SQA website.

It's a fantastic resource. All of the HNCs in my portfolio (such as HNC Computing and HNC IT) are covered by this material, and some HNDs (such as HND Computing) have the majority of their units covered. Centres use this material in lots of ways. The most common is to provide additional support to learners who, perhaps, need a little extra help. We're contantly adding to this resource so let us know if there are particular units that you would like to include.

Although most of the e-learning materials relate to HN (thanks to EU funding), we also have some online learning material for non-advanced awards. For example, our Internet Safety unit can be done on the telephone.

Contact Caroline for more information about HN support materials and contact Hilary for NC support materials.

Qualification Support Team

The Qualification Support Team (QST) for Computing met today in the SQA offices in Glasgow. Thirteen people attended today's meeting. Members are drawn from colleges, schools and training providers.

The role of the QST is to "effect on-going improvements to group awards and exemplify national standards". In plain English, that means the QST monitors qualifications and suggests improvements.

A key role is to consider proposals from centres to change awards. Over the course of a year, we get many suggestions for adding, removing or altering awards and units, and the QST considers each one. If it is accepted, my team implements the change. Another key role is to suggest new support materials that are needed by centres. So we spent some time today considering what is needed by centres to help them deliver SQA awards.

The QST is not a talk-shop. Today we agreed a number of changes to units and awards that we will implement before the start of next session. Please contact Hilary if you want to know more about the work of the QST or volunteer to join it. We're particularly looking for school and workplace members. The QST meets annually, with online communications between meetings.

NPA Games validation event

The validation event for the new NPAs in Computer Games Development (at SCQF Levels 4, 5 and 6) was held today at Jury's Inn in Glasgow. The Validation Panel was convened by Nigel Kennington, of Telford College, who was on the other side of the table not so long ago.

The outcome was that the award was validated with conditions (or, more accurately, "not validated until conditions are met"). There were three conditions and a couple of recommendations. But nothing that will take very long to fix.

So we were delighted with the outcome. We hope to address the conditions by the end of June and have the awards available to centres by July. The unit specifications will be on the SQA website by the end of June. The next stage is to develop assessment material for the awards, which we will commence over the summer.

There has been a lot of interest in this development and I think that several centres will want to use them immediately.

These NPAs compliment the recently validated HNC/D awards. The final piece in the jigsaw will be the NC development, which is being led by Forth Valley College.

Please contact Hilary if you want to know more about these NPAs; contact Caroline about the HN awards; and Fiona about the proposed NC.

My thanks to everyone who has been involved in this project, especially the lead developer, Julie McLaren of Madras College, and the convenor of the panel (Nigel).

SVQ Quality Network

The annual SVQ Quality Network meeting was held today in Jury's Inn (Glasgow). Twenty two training providers attended. The purpose of QN meetings is to share good practice (between verifiers and centres) but today's meeting was dominated by the changes to the IT User SVQs.




Chris Morrow of E-Skills attended and provided an overview of the main changes to the National Occupational Standards. Jack Robertson (SQA) showed how the new Standards have been translated into qualifications. I explained the timeline for the introduction of the new awards and encouraged everyone to join the SVQ forum.



The new Standards/qualifications were well received. People liked their flexibility. It was a good meeting.

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HND Interactive Media

The Arrangements Document for HND Interactive Media (Group Award Code: G9AY 16) is available on the SQA website for download by clicking here

The Units are available via the SQA website and all Unit titles and codes are available within the arrangements documentation.

We are in the process of writing Assessment Exemplars for the following Mandatory Units within the HND Group Award:

Sound and Vision for Interactivity
Interactive Media Composition
Designing and Developing an Interactive Active Product
Human Computer Interface
Professional and Legal Issues for Interactive Media Developers
Interactive Media: Graded Unit 2
Building an e-Business

These are being project managed through our Support Materials section and all packs should be available for the start of next session (August 2009).

HNC/D Computing assessment review

The Computing for Change group has met a couple of times to consider ways of improving the performance indicators for HNC/D Computing. As part of that work, I agreed to look at specific issues with the assessment of these awards.

A sub-group of the Qualification Support Team is meeting this Saturday to look at "problem" assessment exemplars and also consider ways of integrating assessments (across units) to reduce the assessment load.

I met with Caroline this morning to discuss the arrangements for the meeting. So far, we've had a low response to requests for the names of the specific units/examplars causing problems. It's not too late to suggest examplars that need to be improved so please use the comment facility to suggest packs.

Central moderation

Central moderation takes place today and tomorrow. This involves the HN moderation team reviewing exam papers and student scripts [ASF]. Each centre is required to submit a sample of scripts which the moderators go over to check that standards are consistent from centre to centre.

This year's event takes place in the Marriott Hotel (Glasgow). The moderators enjoy the opportunity to discuss standards; a face-to-face meeting means that they have the opportunity to debate problems that arise as they review scripts.

CIW Site Designer Foundations Masterclass

SFEU have arranged two events based around the CIW Site Designer Foundations Masterclass.

These are being held on Tuesday 23rd & Wednesday 24th June 2009 at the Glasgow Metropolitan College.

To register online for these events as well as find further information on start times, venue location, agenda etc please click on the URLs below:

http://www.sfeu.ac.uk/events/show/3207
http://www.sfeu.ac.uk/events/show/3202

Please note that this is not an SQA hosted event so if you have any queries, please get in touch with the events organiser (details found on information pages above).

ESF financial support for Scottish qualifications

SQA has received significant sums of funding from the European Social Fund for several years, and we were recently told that this would continue until, at least, 2011.

As part of this funding, I've been asked for ideas for resources to support NC and NPAs in my area. This could be additional assessment exemplars or teaching and learning material or online learning or assessment material. In fact, the financial support is available for e-assessment at any level (including HN).

So if you have any ideas for support materials that you would like, please post a comment here.

Sometimes you just need to get away from the crowd.

HN moderation

The moderation of the HNC examination is taking place today, tomorrow and Friday. Around 10 moderators are presently in residence in the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow to look through candidate scripts from 25 centres. Once complete, each centre will receive feedback on the quality of their marking. For the first time, every centre submitted a prior-approved question paper - which makes moderation much easier.



Either myself or Hugh McDiarmid (full-time moderator) will post a summary of the moderation event on the HN Computing forum.



We're always looking for moderators so please contact Marion Weir if you want to find out more about becoming a Computing moderator. It's an interesting job which provides a great insight into the standards within colleges and training centres.

Links with Cisco

Caroline and me visited Central College this morning to meet with Chris Deegan and Ian Lennie to discuss the links between the HNC/D Networking awards and the Cisco curriculum. Cisco's CCNA programme changed some time ago, breaking the mapping between that and our HNC/D Networking qualifications.

Our interim advice was for centres to create their own credit transfer arrangements until we had a chance to review the Networking awards, which was scheduled for 2010. But that review is now entwined with the HNC/D Computing review so it might take longer than planned.

I agreed to take forward the Cisco mapping separately from the HN review. Although this would involve changing units before the review is underway, we felt it was certain that the review would want to continue with the strong links with vendors. So I plan to convene a small review team to look at the HN units that link with CCNA. These units (four at present) will be updated to reflect the latest vendor curriculums.

We haven't agreed a date for this initial meeting but please contact Caroline if you want to be involved.

Group Mobile Adds Two New Panasonic Toughbook Rugged Computers to Product Offerings

Group Mobile Adds Two New Panasonic Toughbook Rugged Computers to Product Offerings

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Linux Training from Forth Valley College

Thanks to the generosity of LPIC  UK   Scottish Further Education staff   can sign up for free LPIC 1 training. The course runs from 20^th June to 24^th June at Forth Valley College, Falkirk Campus. Those wishing to book a place need to contact Joanne McGillvray Joanna.McGillivray@forthvalley.ac.uk  or Tony Dyer (tony.dyer@forthvalley.ac.uk

E-assessment as default

I attended an internal SQA staff update session this morning and one of the key messages coming out of it was that e-assessment "should be the default position" for new qualifications. In other words, rather than justify its use, we should justify when it's not used. By and large, we're still producing paper assessments - and sometimes assessments that are actually barriers to e-assessment - so this is important news.

I plan to produce some guidance for my assessment exemplar writers to illustrate how, in Computing, we can put this into practice. For example, on Saturday I attended a training event for writers of assessments for the new HND Interactive Media units so this is a good opportunity to put this into practice.

New basic skills unit?

I received an enquiry today asking for an introductory unit that delivered basic ICT skills covering such things as computer skills, Internet skills and learning skills. When I checked through the units available, there were units on each of these areas but few that covered more than one of them, and none that covered them all. That made me think that it might be a good idea to create a 21st Century version of Introduction to Computers, which some of you may remember from the 1990s as the most popular unit in SQA's catelogue.

I had a discussion with the enquirer and the following list of skills emerged:

• basic hardware skills (such as formatting a memory card)
• basic software skills (such as copying data)
• basic Internet skills (such as searching)
• basic safety skills (such as preventing online fraud)
• basic learning skills (such as researching online)
• basic information literacy skills (such as checking sources)
• basic social networking skills (such as protecting privacy).

What do you think? I've created a poll to gauge your views. Is this list of skills on the right lines?

Reminder - HND Computer Games Consultation Events

This is a reminder that we have two consultation events coming up in both Glasgow and Dundee. If you intend to come along but have not yet registered, please do so using the URLs below as these spaces are on a first come first served basis.

The first event will take place on Thursday 4th June at 1330 hours in the Crowne Plaza, Congress Road, Glasgow - If you would like to register for this event, please click on the URL below:

http://www.rsvpbook.com/event.php?442274

The second event will take place on Monday 8th June at 1030 hours in the Queens Hotel, 160 Nethergate, Dundee - Again, if you would like to come along, please click on the URL below:

http://www.rsvpbook.com/event.php?467379

Look forward to seeing you then.

Mobile Clinical Assistants

Healthcare computers, also known as Mobile Clinical Assistants (MCA) are designed specifically for use by clinicians across healthcare environments. Medical-grade computers are durable and made from easily sanitized, anti-microbial materials. Healthcare tablet PCs are lightweight and offer advanced ergonomics such as built-in carry handles and straps. Most MCAs offer integrated features essential to enhancing productivity and improving patient care in hospitals and other medical facilities. Some common integrated features include built-in cameras, RFID readers, fingerprint readers, barcode readers, as well wireless options like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Gobi 3G, and GPS.

Motion C5 Rugged Healthcare Tablet
The Motion C5 Mobile Clinical Assistant (MCA) is a hospital-grade rugged tablet PC specifically designed for use by clinicians across healthcare environments. This rugged tablet’s durable, disinfectable design, advanced ergonomics and integrated features provide enhanced productivity.

PA600 Rugged PDA
The Unitech PA600 Rugged PDA is perfect for users who need a compact, yet durable device for data collection and real time computing. This rugged PDA comes equipped with a large color LCD touch screen display, 20-key keypad, 624MHz processor, integrated laser scanner, Bluetooth, and optional WLAN as well as anti-microbial housing and integrated RFID and 2D imager for use in healthcare environments.

Panther 1000 RT
The Panther 1000 RT is a light weight, ruggedized tablet PC with innovative Intel® Health technology and excellent mobile performance. It is perfect for the both healthcare and mobile working environments. This fully rugged tablet PC comes with Intel's Ultra Low Voltage 1.06GHz processor and a 60GB hard disk drive.

Toughbook H1 Health - Rugged Mobile Clinical Assistant (MCA)
The Panasonic Toughbook H1 Healthcare (also known as the CF-H1 Health) is a lightweight and durable tablet PC which makes it ideal for the healthcare environment. Based on Intel's reference design, Panasonic's Toughbook H1 rugged mobile clinical assistant (MCA), features a bright 10.4" dual-touch display that offers both tablet and touchscreen functionality.

For more information regarding rugged mobile computing click the links above or visit www.groupmobile.com. Call us at 1-866-RUGGED-8.

HNC/D Computing Launch Event

We are officially launching the following HNC/D Computing awards on Wednesday 19th June 2013 at 1000-1530 hours in the Jury's Inn, 80 Jamaica Street, Glasgow:

HNC Computing (GE3F 15)
HND Computer Science (GG7D 16)
HND Computing: Networking (GG7C 16)
HND Computing: Software Development (GG7E 16)
HND Computing: Technical Support (GG7F 16)

We are busy organising this event and hope to have a range of items for presentation and discussion.

To register, please click on the URL below:

http://hncdcomputinglaunch.eventbrite.com/

As places are limited, please ensure you book early to secure your registration.

A maximum of two places can be reserved by each registered delegate.

Look forward to seeing you then.

Save Big on Brother PocketJet 6 Printers

The Brother PocketJet 6 has 200 dpi resolution, providing a high-quality output while helping to lower the cost of mobile printing. The suggested retail price on the PocketJet 6 is $299. Group Mobile's everyday low price is $279. Read More...



For more information regarding rugged mobile computing visit www.groupmobile.com or call us at 1-866-RUGGED-8.

Entrepreneur Magazine Ranks Group Mobile As One Of The Hot 100 Fast-Growth Business In The U.S.

Group Mobile, an Internet Reseller of rugged, mobile computers, was recently recognized as one of the nation’s Hot 100 fast-growth businesses. Group Mobile’s rapid sales growth and positive job creation, among other criteria, enabled the new company to achieve a rank of 67 on the prestigious Entrepreneur magazine Hot 100 list. The Company was chosen from a database of nearly 21 million companies which were reviewed by research provider CentrisPoint and Entrepreneur magazine. Of the nearly 21 million companies on the preliminary list, only 0.3% made the initial cut, and just a fraction of those made it to the Hot 100.

Read Full Press Release - Entrepreneur Magazine

Working with the British Computer Society

The British Computer Society (BCS) is one of a number of national and international IT bodies that SQA works with. Readers of this blog will know that we recently formalised our relationship with BCS through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). An MoU is a high level agreement so we have to turn that into real action.

That process began yesterday, when me and my team attended a BCS event in Glasgow, and continued this morning with a private meeting in the SQA offices in Glasgow. At the public meeting both parties (BCS and SQA) signalled our intention to work together; at this morning's meeting we got down to what that really means.

There are a number of potential areas of development, including joint promotion and joint development of qualifications. Today's meeting was very productive. One of the concrete outcomes was that all students who undertake the new HN awards will be eligible for Student Membership of the BCS. We also agreed to serve on one another's committees. The BCS already has representation on the Sector Panel but we agreed further collaborations like that.

It's early days in our relationship but look out for more news about SQA/BCS initiatives on this blog in the coming months.

Contact me if you want to know more about how SQA and BCS collaborations.

Digital Literacy Framework

I recently mentioned SQA's Digital Literacy Competency Framework, which we have been using as the basis of the new Digital Passport awards. I asked for feedback, and one of the comments that I took to heart was that it's not a competency framework (more a list of knowledge and skills). So it's been retitled Digital Literacy Framework (DLF). It's also been updated (a little).


It's interesting to see how the "traditional" view of digital literacy (as computer literacy) is shrinking while the more contemporary view of it (as a mix of online skills, behaviours and attitudes required by "digital citizens") is growing. I think that reflects our times. The important thing to know isn't how to post a status update on Facebook (which is trivial) but what that means in terms of your social presence (and, potentially, your safety). People need to know about the opportunities and threats posed by big data more than they need to know how to design a database.

The Framework will continue to evolve. The latest version is available here.

New HNC/D IT forum

A new e-group was created today to support the review of the HNC/D IT award. The group is public and is designed to keep lecturers up-to-date with developments and also to provide feedback to the Qualification Design Team.

You can subscribe to the group by visiting the home page or sending an e-mail.

Satisfaction survey

A few months ago, I mentioned that I planned to get feedback from you about the quality of service that the (vocational) SQA Computing team provided. At long last, I have got around to creating a short questionnaire about this. It will only takes five minutes to complete, and the results will help us to improve the service. The survey can be found here:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SQAComputing

I won't be sharing the results with you, since we will use it internally to identify strengths and weaknesses, but it will let us know what we need to do to improve the service.

Please contact me if you want more information about this survey.

NC Computer Games Development at SCQF level 5

Last week I attended the validation event for the centre led proposal for a National Certificate in Computer Games Development at SCQF level 5. Fiona Jackson from Forth Valley College was the lead developer and the design team included representatives from other colleges including Aberdeen, Adam Smith, Kilmarnock, Motherwell and Stevenson.

The Award has a number of new Units which have been designed to develop creativity in candidates, and will also hopefully increase the candidate base by attracting more females to Computing courses. It also includes the Units from the NPA in Computer Games Development at SCQF level 5 in the mandatory section, which means that candidates will be certificated for the NPA, as well as the NC when they successfully complete the required Units.

The qualification was validated with conditions and should be available for August 2011.

In the meantime please contact me if you would like further information.

Mobile Computing Solution Bundles

Group Mobile has created mobile computing product bundles to provide an easy and affordable way for our customers to get all of the mobile computing products they need without any guesswork. These rugged computing solutions have many of the essential upgrades and accessories needed to help make mobile workers more efficient and productive at a reduced price. Please check our website frequently for more bundle options, or call us at 1-866-784-4338 to build a custom mobile computing solution. Learn more...

GoBook XR-1 Fully Rugged Laptop - $750 Off

The GoBook XR-1 Fully Rugged laptop from General Dynamics Itronix is now on sale for a limited time. This exclusive offer is only available through Group Mobile. Offer ends July 31, 2008.

Standard Product Features:

• Sunlight Viewable Display
• Speedy Intel Processor
• Removable Hard Drive with Heater
• Integrated Touchscreen Display
• Glow-in-the-Dark Keyboard
• Completely Waterproof & Dustproof
• 6.8lbs with Carrying Handle
• Windows XP Professional
• 3 Year Warranty

Upgrade Options:

• Upgrade Memory up to 4GB
• Spare Hard Drive Options
• Integrated Bluetooth & GPS
  
• Smart Card & Fingerprint Reader
  
• Integrated Mobile Broadband Wireless
• Vehicle Docks
• Carrying Handles & Cases

NEW PRICE: $3,445
List Price: $4,195

Learn More On The GoBook XR-1

Save $1,400.00 on Panasonic Toughbook 19

Group Mobile is offering special pricing on a brand new Panasonic Toughbook 19. The MSRP is $3,799 and we are offering it to you for $ 2,399.00, a savings of $1,400.00! This is a special package and is available only while supplies last.

This special configuration of the Toughbook 19 includes:
Intel Core 2 Duo U7500 1.06 Ghz (Centrino) processor
10.4 XGA display with Digitizer Touch
80GB hard drive
1GB RAM
Intel 802.11 a/b/g
Bluetooth
WINXP Tablet

Add accessories such as a DVD/CD multi-drive, carry case, additional memory card, power cords, vehicle power cords, and vehicle mounting equipment.

Awarding Body Forum

The E-Skills Sector Skills Council arranges regular meetings of the Awarding Bodies which offers S/NVQs in Information Technology. There was an Awarding Body Forum yesterday in London.



The main item was the new Occupational Standards. All of the Awarding Bodies plan to launch new qualifications based on the new Standards. SQA will introduce new awards in August 2004. There a Quality Network meeting on 27 May where these developments will be discussed.



Chris Morrow of E-Skills also talked about their E-Skills Passport and informed members that he plans to make it available in early June.

Bundle and Save with Group Mobile!

Group Mobile is offering special bundle pricing on the Inspection and Appraisal Solution, featuring the popular Motion J3600. The bundle includes everything you need to keep you hands-free, powered up, and connected.

The mobile computing bundle includes a well equipped Motion J3600 with a powerful Intel core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB hard drive, with View Anywhere® display with Gorilla™ Glass. The bundle also includes the Motion Mobile Keyboard, Spare Battery, Work Anywhere Kit, and a 12V Motion DC Auto/Plane Adapter. Learn more about the Inspection and Appraisal Solution.

Open for Education

I attended a JISC event today, in the National eScience Centre in Edinburgh, entitled Open for Education. The event had a number of speakers and workshops around how education can use open source software.

I throughly enjoyed the event. I was particularly impressed with the Google Docs and Facebook talks. Colin Maxwell, of Carnegie College, gave a very persuasive talk on how colleges can use Facebook as an alternative to the traditional VLE, pointing out how difficult it can be to get students to engage with a VLE and how easy it is to get them to use Facebook.

It was a good event but was the last one from JISC North & East Scotland, which closes in July. I've benefitted from many of their services and events.

Contact Kenji Lamb if you want to know more about this event or this topic.

Digital Passport pilot

I wrote to centres last week to invite you to participate in the pilot of Digital Passport. We've had a good response so far with 14 centres already coming forward.

We've also had a lot of questions from centres about such things as: "What involved in the pilot?" and "What support materials are available?". Pilot centres will be used to trial the qualification. In return, we will provide tailored help and support. A big part of the pilot will be to test the contents of the qualification and try out the support materials. We're currently developing assessments and plan to produce teaching and learning material in the near future.

Pilot centres can offer all the levels or one level -- or even one unit. Please contact Hilary if you want to know more about the pilot or volunteer to be involved. Or you can check the qualification FAQ to find out more about the award.

PC Passport and UCAS points

I received a query this morning about UCAS points for PC Passport, which made the check the current position.

Some time ago, I posted a message indicating that PC Passport (at SCQF Level 6) was likely to attract UCAS credit. Well, it's now official. From 2010, PC Passport at Higher level (SCQF 6) will get 45 UCAS points (approx. the same as a Higher "C").

Planning for NPA validations

Shirley and I have been planning for the forthcoming validation events for six new NPAs.

On Monday, 1 June, there will be two validations events - one in the morning and one in the afternoon to validate the following new NPAs:

• Software Development (Level 5)
• Website Enterprise (Level 5)
• Computer Hardware and Software (Level 5)
• Digital Media Production (Level 6)
• Digital Media Photography (Level 5)
• Social Software (Level 4)

We have got Panel members identified, including college, industry and Sector Skills Council representatives so everything is in place.

I'm hoping for a successful outcome so that we can make these awards available to centres as soon as possible.

IT Exam Exemplars

We are still looking for a couple of exam exemplar writers for the HNC Information Technology Graded Unit.

These are for availability Winter 2009, therefore this would be work over the summer period alongside a specified vetter/verifier.

If you are interested in becoming involved in this project, please contact me direct (caroline.douglas@sqa.org.uk).

Exciting New Trimble Juno T41 Accessories

New Office Dock!

Have your Trimble Juno T41 ready to go into the field every morning, and easily-synched when returned to the office with the Juno T41 Office Dock. The office dock features an easy-to-use recharging function for any model of the Juno T41, as well as the Juno T41 extended battery pack. The office dock offers Ethernet and USB connections to allow secure physical synchronization of collect field data with back office computers. Learn More About the Juno T41 Office Dock...

Juice Pack External Battery!

The Juno T41 Juice Pack external battery is rugged and provides nearly double the run-time between charge cycles. It is a dual-mode Juice Pack. This means the user can have it in the mode that allows the use of battery life of the Juice Pack, or put it in the mode as a mobile charger for the Juno, so it can charge the internal battery. When the Juice Pack is depleted, users can remove it from the Juno T41 and recharge it while continuing to use the Juno T41. Most users will find the Juice Pack is fully recharged and ready to use before the Juno T41 internal battery is fully discharged.

The Juice Pack has the same custom ports, so it will not interfere with the use of USB host/client or 9-pin serial data connections. A status check button and three LEDs inform users of the battery charge status when charging or when in use. The Juice Pack can recharge from the same International AC Charging Kit, Office Docking Station, or Vehicle Charging Kit used for the Juno T41 handheld. Learn More About the Juno T41 Juice Pack...

The Juno T41 Product Family 

The versatile, fully rugged Juno T41 is available in a wide variety of configurations. Build the handheld computer you need: 1D/2D Barcode Imager, Ultra-High Frequency RFID Reader, Enhanced GPS Collector, or SmartPhone... whatever the ideal combination of features and functionality, the Juno T41 is a dependable workhorse built to last for years in any environment.

All JunoT41 handheld computer units contain a 1GHz processor, 512MB RAM and 8GB-32GB of storage with either Android 4.1 or Microsoft WEHH 6.5 operating systems. Other standard features include an 8MP integrated camera, standard 2-4 meter GPS capability, multi-touch capacitive 4.3" sunlight-readable display, rugged dust and water ingress protection ratings of IP65 or IP68, and all-day battery life.   

To learn more, configure, and order a Juno T41, visit

http://www.groupmobile.com/product.asp/sku=6156, or call 866-RUGGED8.