The validation event for the NPAs in Cyber Security took place yesterday in Glasgow. I am delighted to report that the award was validated, subject to a couple of conditions and recommendations. The purpose of validation is for fresh eyes to check the proposed qualification. Members of the Validation Panel must have had no involvement in the qualification development. A validation event is a meeting of peers (it’s not an inspection of a proposed award) with the aim of making it…
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The team started to use FAQs for new or revised qualifications last year, when we created one for the Digital Passport development. Since then we have created FAQs for all subsequent developments such as PC Passport and Cyber Security. They’ve proven to be popular since they address the most common questions about new developments such as “What’s in it?” and “When will it be ready?”. So we will continue to create a FAQ for every new development. Look out for them in future, and please…
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As part of the Cyber Security development, we are also producing a stand-alone National Unit at SCQF Level 4 entitled Cyber Security Fundamentals. The Unit was suggested to us by Police Scotland. This Unit is designed for the beginner who wants to learn the basics of online safety and aims to raise their awareness of the potential threats posed by online systems and the Internet. It focuses on “cyber hygiene” and aims to show best practice in online protection. The Unit…
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A Unit writing event took place today, in Glasgow, for people involved in reviewing HNC/D Information Technology, HNC/D Interactive Media and HNC/D Computer Games Development. We decided to hold a single event for all of the developments, rather than separate events, since the principles of unit writing do not change from one subject to another. The event went well. There have been changes in the way SQA defines units (units are now more open with more flexible) so even experienced unit writers, I…
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I’m speaking today at a workshop, in Glasgow, organised by Education Scotland. The event is intended to raise awareness of the Cyber Security Badge, designed by Kyle Academy and Police Scotland, and the new NPAs in Cyber Security. There was a fantastic turnout, with standing room only at the event. There is clearly a lot of interest in this area. I opened the workshop with an explanation of what’s in the new awards. It seemed to be well received. A surprising number…
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We met with Chris Deegan, of City of Glasgow College, this morning to discuss this development. Chris has been appointed Lead Developer for this project. A QDT has been created and has already met. We’ve agreed a working title for the revised award. We’re changing its name for HNC/D Information Technology to HNC/D Technologies in Business. The purpose of today’s meeting was to discuss the role of the Lead Developer and the next steps that Chris has to carry out. Chris will…
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June 15, 2015 - sqablogs -
As I said in my previous blog, we have now reached Grade Boundaries in the procedural process. The Grade Boundary is a vital part of the whole process where we set the C, A and upper A pass marks. This involves meeting the Principal Assessor and Principal Verifier, reading a large amount of statistics and other information, and then making a decision on what the pass mark will be. Once an agreement has been made we meet with the Qualifications…
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We’ve recently received a lot of enquiries about the NPA in Digital Passport. This qualification was devised last year and piloted during the current session. The pilot comes to an end this month. The award will be open to all centres from 1 August, when there will be a web page on the SQA website detailing the contents of the award and a list of resources to help you deliver it. It is auto approved for all Scottish schools and…
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The central verification for the HNC Computing Graded Unit (Examination) takes place today. The Senior External Verifier (David Drennan) and his team are in the building looking over hundreds of exam papers and scripts to ensure that they meet the national standard. I visited the team at lunchtime to see how things are going. They’re going well. David told me that the standards were good and that, so far, there were no serious issues. We had an interesting discussion about permitting…
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A recent report by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills shows that the proportion of women working in the digital sector has fallen from 33% (in 2002) to 26% (in 2014). Both figures are significantly below the average for all sectors (47%). The report points out that this decline comes at a time of rising demand for skills in this area. It is compounded by the decline in the number of women doing Computer Science at university. It’s a long…
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