As you are aware, we are in the process of reviewing HNC/D Interactive Media and we are now at the stage to consult with the sector on the proposed changes to the awards. I would be grateful if you could take a few minutes to complete the questionnaire by clicking here You can find out more information relating to the development from a previous blog posting here If you would like to discuss any aspect of the proposed revised awards,…
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I have recently had a number of requests from other subject areas about a good, general purpose Higher National Unit in the area of digital skills. This reflects the growing importance of digital skills across all sectors. There are some general purpose IT units in my portfolio (such as IT Applications) but they a little long in the tooth and don’t cover areas such as social media and information literacy. As a result of those requests, I commissioned a new…
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The QDT for PC Passport met for the second time on Saturday in the SQA offices in Glasgow. We got down to discussing the contents of the new award and managed to (mostly) compose the outcomes for all of the units. I’ve updated the FAQ in the light of the meeting. We’ve now decided on the qualification title, structure and outcomes. The next stage is to write the Group Award Specification and the component units. As you’ll see (from the…
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One of the strengths of the way SQA develops awards is the involvement of practitioners in the qualification development process. We use practising teachers and lecturers to contribute to the contents of the new or revised qualifications. A key role in this process is that of lead developer. This person is responsible for, effectively, devising the qualification (in consultation with other QDT members). We usually select a teacher or lecturer for this role. Right now, we have David McDade (Kelvin…
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February 26, 2015 - Bobby -
As you may know, we are currently reviewing PC Passport. The development is making good progress. We create a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for new or revised awards. Here is the FAQ for PC Passport. It can be viewed here. The FAQ will be updated from time to time so that it contains the latest information about the development. Contact Helen for more information about PC Passport.
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February 24, 2015 - Bobby -
As you will have read in a previous blog posting, we have been busy developing two new HN units in the area of Big Data at SCQF Level 7 and Data Science at SCQF Level 8. Both units are now complete and available for download via the SQA website. I am currently liaising with the Qualification Support Team (QST) to establish which frameworks the units should be part of and once this has been decided, they will be added as optional…
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February 24, 2015 - Bobby -
The Qualification Development Team (QDT) for the NPA in Cyber Security met for the first time yesterday afternoon in the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow. There has been a lot of interest in this development since it was first announced and there was an excellent turn-out at the meeting, with representatives of schools, colleges, universities and employers in attendance. After I explained the qualification development process, and the role of the QDT, we got down to business. We had a wide-ranging…
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February 18, 2015 - Bobby -
The UK government published a report yesterday on the need to improve digital skills. The House of Lords Select Committee on Digital Skills published a report entitled Make or Break: The UK’s Digital Future. A BBC article summarises the main findings and recommendations, which include: the need to ensure everyone leaves school with basic digital literacy the need to attract more women into computing the need to improve intermediate and high-end digital skills more emphasis on digital skills within Modern…
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February 16, 2015 - Bobby -
I previously mentioned that the QDT for this award met for the first time last week. I have now created a FAQ for the revised award. You can read (and download) it here or simply scroll the embedded version below. It’s early days in this development but this FAQ will be updated as our thoughts solidify so please keep an eye on it in the coming weeks and months. By the end of the development, it will contain all the…
Read moreRead more about NPA Digital Literacy FAQ
February 13, 2015 - Bobby -
I mentioned previously that we were about to review the NPA in Digital Literacy, which was first introduced in 2007. The first meeting of the Qualification Development Team (QDT) met yesterday. It was a good meeting. We discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the current award, the likely demographics of the revised award, and the knowledge and skills needed within the new qualification. The QDT decided to retain the current title on the basis that there is a strong focus…
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