I was invited to West College Scotland (Paisley campus) yesterday to observe their HNC Computer Games Development students showcase their projects to local primary children. The idea was to “test” their games on the children who then voted on their favourite game. The college Principal awarded the prizes at the end. The idea worked really well by not only giving students feedback on the software but also engaging young learners in software creation. I really enjoyed the experience and the…
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We’re currently developing two new HNCs: one in Computer Science and one in Data Analytics. They were originally conceived as part of the University of Strathclyde’s Digital Academy initiative, which involves the University and three Glasgow colleges. At a meeting, held earlier this week in the SQA offices, it was agreed to add options to the existing HNC Computing for articulation, meaning that the HNC Computer Science can be developed without this requirement. We agreed to devise the new HNC Computer Science…
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May 12, 2016 - sqablogs -
Hello everyone As Bobby already advised in his previous post I recently joined the Computing team to cover Emma’s maternity leave. I joined SQA in April 2014 as part of the Logistic and Customer Engagement team and then moved to the NQ Biology and Human Biology team as a Qualifications Officer in May 2015. As I was solely dealing with National Qualifications and school sector I welcome the opportunity to work in and learn about vocational part of SQA qualifications.…
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Prodigy Learning and Microsoft are offering unlimited free MOS exams to SQA centres in Scotland this May and June to Certify Scotland! All SQA centres in Scotland are being offered the opportunity to register and deliver unlimited MOS exams for free (to registered students at their Centre) until June 30, 2016! As part of the campaign, Prodigy Learning is providing eligible SQA centres: • Free registration and setup as a Certiport Test Centre • Free unlimited GMetrix MOS Practice Tests…
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As part of SQA’s Digital Media and IT Vendor Alliance (DIVA), our partner Oracle Academy is in a position to offer industry-relevant CPD online training courses to aid delivery of the new Computing Science qualifications. The courses cover Computing Science Information System Design and Development units at Higher and Advanced Higher (SCQF levels 6 and 7). This CPD activity is available from Oracle Academy free of charge but applicants will need to commit to: Java Fundamentals: 90 hours virtual study…
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The time has come for me to say a ‘temporary’ farewell. I am finishing up today to go on maternity leave…I am very excited about the new adventure I am about to embark on, although, to be honest, a little bit of nerves and anxiety are also creeping in. Since joining the team two months ago, I have been fortunate enough to be supported by an excellent team. I would like to thank both Bobby and Helen, who have been very…
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I have great news to share with you today…The revised NPA PC Passport is now live and available for centres to deliver. The qualification was validated a couple of weeks ago , but it has taken until now to get through the process of ‘operationalising’ the Award. The codes for the revised PC Passport are: PC Passport (SCQF level 4) – GL31 44 PC Passport (SCQF level 5) – GL32 45 PC Passport (SCQF level 6) – GL33 46 Moreover, you can find all the relevant information…
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I attended a conference about sexting yesterday in the COSLA Conference Centre in Edinburgh. There were expert speakers about various aspects of online safety from organisations such as NSPCC, University of Edinburgh and Childline. My interest was SQA’s Internet Safety Award, which was recently updated. I learned a lot about the on-going threat to young people posed by sexting and other online threats. What was clear is that, far from improving, this problem is getting worse. Some of the statistics are…
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I updated the “Useful Links” section on the right-hand panel today to include links to information such as the latest portfolio diagram, Unit search pages and the Computing subject page on the SQA website. Please check it out. The right-hand panel also has other useful links including a way of receiving blog posts straight into your inbox. I’ll keep these links up-to-date so that, for example, the link to the portfolio diagram is always pointing to the latest version. Please…
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April 8, 2016 - sqablogs -
As Bobby had already advised in an earlier post, the Internet Safety Unit Specification has been undergoing a review in order to add clarity and update the content to reflect some of the contemporary threats to online users, such as cyberbullying and sextortion. I have just been advised that the revised Unit Specification for Internet Safety is now available on the SQA website. Some changes have been made to the mandatory content, but they only involve minor amendments to the wording of some Outcomes…
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