August 13, 2014 - Bobby -
One of SQA’s strengths is that we work closely with the education community in Scotland (and elsewhere). That means that we involve teachers, lecturers, trainers and others in every aspect of our work including the development, maintenance and quality control of our awards. The team use this blog (and Twitter) to let you know about opportunities to get involved — and many of you do. But we’re always looking for new blood so don’t be backward in coming forward. At…
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August 12, 2014 - Bobby -
Most Scottish schools and colleges return from their summer holidays this week. Welcome back. I updated the team diagram today to include minor changes that have occurred over the last few months. There are no significant changes but, nonetheless, you may want to download and print this diagram. Please use this information when you contact SQA. Contacting the right person means that you will get a quick response. We look forward to working with you again this coming academic session.…
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Now that the component units have been published and the group award has been validated, it seems a good time to update the FAQ for Digital Passport. This is a major update to the FAQ (for example, it includes links to the published units) but there will be on-going minor updates as the qualification evolves. I won’t keep posting messages every time the FAQ is changed. It is available online, where you will always find the latest version. As you…
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I updated the vocational Computing qualification diagram today. This version incorporates the latest changes to the portfolio of awards. It includes the new Digital Passport award(s), the recently revised NC qualification(s), and the new workplace qualification in Information Security. I wasn’t sure whether to label HND Computer Science as a new award but since many centres will be offering it for the first time next year, in spite of it being developed last year, I decided to think of it…
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The National Units within Digital Passport were recently published. They were published before they were audited for core skills. I got notification yesterday of the results of the audit. I’m pleased to report that the Units within Digital Passport carry the ICT and Problem Solving core skills (at each level). The unit specifications will be updated accordingly in the next few weeks (but the unit codes will not change). Digital Passport develops all five core skills but these two will…
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The day I stopped for annual leave, the Times Educational Supplement (Scotland) carried a prominent article about Digital Passport. I was pleased with Julia’s article, which seemed to be a fair summary of the strengths and (potential) weaknesses of the new award. Overall, it was positive and emphasised the originality of the new qualification. The team behind it worked hard to ensure that it captured up-to-date digital literacy skills, and I do think that it is unique in what is…
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The National Units that are included in the forthcoming Digital Passport award have now been published on the SQA website. They can be downloaded from the usual place by searching on their titles or they can be directly downloaded from these links (all PDFs). Information Literacy (SCQF Level 4) Information Literacy (SCQF Level 5) Information Literacy (SCQF Level 6) Network Literacy (SCQF Level 4) Network Literacy (SCQF Level 5) Network Literacy (SCQF Level 6) Social Media Literacy (SCQF Level 4)…
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I attended a focus group meeting yesterday afternoon, at Ibrox Stadium, which was organised by E-Skills UK to discuss new National Occupational Standards relating to big data. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the job roles and skills that are involved in this new area. Representatives of JP Morgan, RBS, NHS and other Scottish employers attended. One of the key questions was: are there intermediate level jobs in this area? It’s well known that there is a demand…
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I recently mentioned that I planned to create a list of regional college contacts for Computing. With all the changes to colleges over the last few years, the team’s contact list is now out of date and doesn’t reflect the changed college structures. So I plan to identify a person from each regional college to be the “contact person” for the college. We would use this list of names to disseminate information to centres. The designated person would cascade the…
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I had planned to post this message before the schools and colleges stopped for the Summer. I still miss my long Summer holidays (I enjoyed 22 years of them) but, on the plus side, it’s a good time for me to catch up with things since the office is relatively quiet for the next few weeks. And it’s nice to take my own holidays when it’s cheaper and quieter. Me and my team will be busy over the Summer. We…
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