I met with Charlie Love, of LTS, this morning. Charlie has been seconded from Cults Academy until December 2010 to develop games-related support materials for the school curriculum. He will be exploring how various technologies (such as OpenSim, the iPhone SDK, and the Unreal engine) can be used within schools to deliver National Courses and contribute towards the goals of the Curriculum for Excellence (site is down or I would link). Charlie was particularly interested in the forthcoming NPAs in…
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With the release of version 3, Silverlight has hit the maturity sweet spot with more clients realising the benefits of a runtime specifically designed for RIA and media based application. To help Universities, Media Academies and Colleges understanding the technology and teaching it to their students, and in collaboration with Skillset and the Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, Microsoft developed a ready to teach module that covers all the main aspects of the technology and the associated tools. We are…
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There was an interesting discussion at Friday’s QST meeting about how SQA communicates changes to unit specs or assessment exemplars to centres. The problem is that we can change units or assessments at any time. When people inform us about errors or improvements we try to action these changes as quickly as we can — resulting in revised units and assessment being published throughout the year. This means that staff in centres can accidentally use an out of date unit…
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CompTIA in association with Scotland’s Colleges are holding a workshop based around the new CompTIA Strata Certificates on Monday 29th March 2010 at the Glasgow Metropolitan College from 10.00am until 1.00pm. If you would like to register for the event, please do by clicking here
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February 26, 2010 - Bobby -
The QST for my HN awards met this morning to discuss the support needed for HN awards in my area (Computing, Networking, Multimedia, etc.). The idea behind a QST is that ordinary lecturers can tell SQA about the sort of support materials that centres need to deliver our awards. They can also request changes to existing awards in the light of their experience in delivering the qualifications. It was a good meeting today with lots of actions coming from it.…
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February 26, 2010 - Bobby -
You may recall a few weeks ago I sent a message to you all asking whether, if it was to be organised, you would be interested in attending an event that would look at i-phone application programming. The aim of such an event would be to consider the potential of a range of programming tools to support innovation in curriculum delivery. I’m pleased to announce that Scotland’s Colleges, in association with representatives from Apple and colleges in Scotland, will be…
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February 25, 2010 - Bobby -
We are coming to that time in the year when we have to ensure that all of the contracts have been paid, so if you have worked for SQA and are awaiting payment please send your invoice to us as soon as possible. If you have already sent in your invoice and are awaiting payment, let us know too. Please send your invoice to the appropriate person, either Caroline or Hilary depending on the nature of the work you have…
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February 23, 2010 - Bobby -
At the risk of turning this website into a computer games blog, I have news about a new college-led development relating to computer games. Forth Valley College approached SQA a few weeks ago, as part of the on-going review of National Certificates, to seek our support for the creation on a new National Certificate (NC) award relating to computer games. The college would lead a small consortium of centres in creating a new award entitled National Certificate in Computer Games…
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February 22, 2010 - Bobby -
Over 40 people voted in the poll (see panel on right) about your intentions regarding computer games. The results are very positive with almost everyone being interested in qualifications in this area. Not really a surprise but good to see none-the-less. It was also the largest response to a poll on this blog that we’ve ever had. The validation for the new HNC/D Computer Games Development takes place on Friday, 12 March. This will be followed, sometime in April, by…
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February 19, 2010 - Bobby -
I spent this morning finalising my External Verifier (EV) selections for 2010/2011. Once per year I am asked to select EVs and work out how many days each one needs to carry out their designated roles (which can be to check NC, HN, SVQ or vendor awards). David Drennan (ex-Cumbernauld College, now retired) heads the EV team. EVs don’t just go round centres to check standards. They are increasingly used for a wide range of tasks such as checking the…
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