I came back from holiday yesterday to two pieces of good news. The HNC in Computing was validated while I was away. It was almost there before I left, but it was great to see it put to bed. Don’t forget to follow developments via the blog. The other piece of good news was that SQA had lifted restrictions on staff use of social media while I was away. Like many educational bodies, SQA restricted the use of sites like…
Read moreRead more about HNC and FacebookScotland’s Colleges are organising and hosting this years Computing and IT Conference on Tuesday 19th June. The conference is aimed at Computing, IT and Digital Media practicators and will be held at Scotland’s Colleges premises at Castle Business Park in Stirling. The purpose of the event is detailed below: The challenges currently facing Computing, IT and Digital Media staff in Scotland’s Colleges are significant, with continual demands on staff to keep abreast of an evolving curriculum, emerging technologies and new…
Read moreRead more about Computing and IT Conference (Scotland’s Colleges Event)Jim Krieger, of Anniesland College, is leading the development of these NPAs, and has asked for my help in promoting a survey that he is conducting to get feedback on his proposals. The questionnaire should take about 10 minutes to complete and is in relation to four Mobile Technology awards which we hope to validate in June: NPA Mobile Technology at SCQF level 4 NPA Mobile Technology at SCQF level 5 NPA Mobile Technology at SCQF level 6 NC Mobile Technology at…
Read moreRead more about NPA Mobile Technology surveyI was asked by Iain Shand, of Cardonald College, to post something on this blog about a survey he is conducting. Iain is leading the development of a new NPA, which will be linked to the Microsoft Technology Associate qualification. The NPA, which will be at SCQF level 6, will cover the fundamentals of networking, security and server administration. Iain would like your feedback on his proposed award. Please complete the short survey here. The survey closes on 19 May.
Read moreRead more about NPA Professional Computer FundamentalsI visited Cardonald College and Clydebank College on Tuesday. I taught in both centres, so it was a particular pleasure to return to them. Both campuses have been significantly improved since my time there. I thought that they both looked great. I was visiting Cardonald to meet with Morag Robertson to help with a specific issue with a candidate. I think we managed to resolve the issue. My visit to Clydebank was to meet with Graeme Downey… and enjoy the…
Read moreRead more about Visit to centresWe kicked off the “HN 2.0” project a few weeks ago. The project team met on Saturday to discuss progress. The team includes practitioners from Aberdeen, Anniesland, and Cardonald Colleges, and a representative from a university. I had intended to keep you up to date with this project via the HN Review blog but I think that it is of wider interest than that, so I will “mainstream” it by using this blog for updates. I’m pretty sure that whatever…
Read moreRead more about HN 2.0 project updateI attended, and presented at, the Learning Through Technology conference yesterday, which was part of Holyrood Conference programme, held at Our Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh. The keynote was given by the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Mike Russell, who gave an interesting talk about the importance of technology in education. He talked about the new version of GLOW, recognising that it needs “to move on”, and to be “more attractive, more open, easier to use, and more enjoyable”. He also spoke…
Read moreRead more about Learning Through Technology conferenceOur storage facility at Newtongrange is keen to clear out some documents. Currently they have around 20 sets of the Student Notes/Instructor Guide for GH83 43 NPA in Digital Literacy. Please e-mail me if you would like any of the following: BB3868 Digital Literacy – ComputingBB3919 Digital Literacy – Communication MethodsBB3920 Digital Literacy – NumeracyBB3927 Digital Literacy – Instructor Guide
Read moreRead more about NPA in Digital Literacy at SCQF level 3 – Student Notes/Instructor GuideI’ve mentioned previously that we are developing new awards in mobile technology. The original idea came from the Sector Panel for Computing & IT, when it was suggested that this was an area where we wanted to develop new awards. Well, we have. The new HNs in Computing feature units in mobile technology, and the NQGA team has led the development of specialised qualifications in this area. I spent some of this morning providing comments on the proposed awards. There…
Read moreRead more about Mobile TechnologyThe NPAs in Computer Games Development have become very popular in schools and colleges, and they are among the best supported qualifications in SQA’s portfolio, with lots of teaching, learning and assessment material available to help you deliver them. I got an e-mail yesterday to let me know that, thanks to EU funding, more material is now available on SQA Academy. This teaching and learning material covers all of the units in all of the NPAs (at Levels 4, 5…
Read moreRead more about Teaching materials for Computer Games