The Digital Skills Partnership will be running events in May with a specific focus on cloud architecture and cloud services. These events are primarily aimed at early stage lecturers who want to make sure they have a working knowledge of how industry is deploying cloud. The DSP will also be running an event to support lecturers with the introduction of the HND in Cyber Security. Details of this event will be released in week commencing 8 April. More information about…
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January 11, 2018 - Helen -
Our annual Computing Conference 2018 will take place on Friday, 26 January, 10:00 – 15:30 with registration at 9:30am, in Radisson Blu Hotel Glasgow. The event will be of interest to college lecturers and school teachers – or anyone with an interest in vocational qualifications. The event will include an update on SQA Computing qualifications and external verification. There are also networking opportunities. The focus, as always, will be vocational qualifications but we will have interesting keynotes about contemporary issues in education and…
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The Lead Person Network (LPN) event took place yesterday in the Radisson Hotel in Glasgow. This replaced the annual Heads of Computing event, which had been running for years previously (the one exception being last year). The event went well. It was the usual mix of updates, keynotes and networking. I was both MC and presenter at the event. My presentation summarised changes to qualifications. The keynote, from Andy Neagle of Microsoft, was particularly interesting, and the demonstration of virtual reality,…
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December 13, 2016 - Bobby -
We had to cancel last year’s Heads of Computing event due to staff shortages. That was a pity since we had been running them, without interruption, for over a decade. I’m pleased to let you know that these events will resume next year. Some time ago we established the Lead Person Network (LPN). The LPN is a group of college staff who we consult with about various aspects of Computing qualifications and who cascade information from SQA to their respective teams.…
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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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February 12, 2016 - Bobby -
I attended the Scottish Government’s Cyber Security 2016 Conference yesterday, which held in Dynamic Earth. The event was attended by experts in cyber security from across Scotland, the UK, and the rest of the world. The agenda sounded interesting, and the presentations were as good as the agenda implied. The speakers were fascinating and included the Director of Cyber Security for the Scottish Government and the Head of Cyber Security for KPMG. My talk was about what education is doing to teach…
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February 9, 2016 - Bobby -
Today is Safer Internet Day. The Safer Internet Centre is launching a number of initiatives in support of the day. SQA is supporting the day too with a webpage explaining the qualifications that are available to protect learners from online threats. SQA was the first awarding body in the UK to offer a national qualification in online safety (in 2007) and we’re the first qualification authority in Europe to offer cyber security qualifications to school-age learners. The Award in Internet…
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January 8, 2016 - Bobby -
We’ve been running an annual “Heads of Computing” event for a long time. It’s normally well received since it gives busy people (you) the opportunity to find out what’s been going on with qualifications and assessments. So it wasn’t an easy decision to cancel this year’s event due to staff shortages. It will be back next year but, given the current pressures on the team, it’s impossible to have one this year. Because of the changes in colleges, I intend to…
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December 16, 2015 - Bobby -
I attended the Christmas Cyber Security lecture at Glasgow University yesterday afternoon. It was the usual high standard, with great speakers from all over the UK talking about various aspects of cyber security. This year’s theme was the new NPAs in Cyber Security so the speakers all addressed some aspect of this qualification. I particularly enjoyed the informative and entertaining lecture on selecting a password. The lectures have been organised by Martin Beaton since their inception. Martin is a great…
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December 11, 2015 - Bobby -
Education Scotland convenes regular meetings with Local Authority leaders in technology called National Technologies Network meetings. I attended the meeting in Glasgow yesterday since cyber security was on the agenda. I gave a presentation on national qualifications in this field. I focussed on the new National Unit Cyber Security Fundamentals (at SCQF Level 4) and the new NPAs in Cyber Security. I expressed my view that every young learner in Scotland should have the opportunity to take the National Unit since,…
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