The Qualifications Development Team (QDT) for HNC/D Computer Games Development met for the second time today. The purpose of the meeting was to review progress. The Lead Developer (Gill Flockhart of Dundee & Angus College) led most of the discussions. The qualification title will not change and the revisions are mostly updates on the contents of the award, rather than brand new content — although there is some of that. The main change is that Maths has been removed from…
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The QDT for the review of HNC/D Information Technology met on Friday for the second time. The previous meeting was last June. The development was announced last January. Of all the HN developments, this is the one that is going to change the most. The QDT has already proposed a name change (to HNC/D Technologies in Business) and the contents will be similarly revised. The purpose of Friday’s meeting was to get an update from the Lead Developer (Chris Deegan of…
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February 26, 2016 - Bobby -
The QDT for the review of HNC/D Interactive Media met yesterday afternoon for the fourth time. The previous meeting was held last January. The purpose of the meeting was to review progress and agree future tasks and timescales. I recently met with the Lead Developer and we felt it was a good time for the QDT to meet again. The QDT is proposing new titles for the awards: HNC Digital Design & Web Development HND Web Development HND Digital Development. This development has…
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January 22, 2016 - Bobby -
This development commenced in August and since then we’ve made good progress. I met with the Lead Developer (Denise Doyle of Glasgow City College) yesterday afternoon to discuss recent progress. The prime aim of the development is to create two awards that articulate with the University of Strathclyde’s Digital Academy but they will be national qualifications and, therefore, must serve a wider audience. So they are being developed in the normal way — with a Qualification Development Team (QDT) and…
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January 20, 2016 - Bobby -
Helen and I met with the Lead Developer (Fiona Murnin of New College Lanarkshire) this afternoon to discuss progress with this development. It’s at the same stage as the HNC/D Computer Games Development review – the team are busy writing the new and revised units. This is a larger development than Computer Games, with 27 new or revised units being written. Some are almost complete and some are at an early stage. I’ve asked for all of the units to…
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January 13, 2016 - Bobby -
Helen and I met with the Lead Developer for this award today. The aim of the meeting was to review progress. This development is progressing well. The development team are currently writing the Group Award Specification (GAS) and the Unit Specifications. The aims, structures, articulations and unit briefs have all been completed. The revised awards will contain a number (11 in total) of new or revised Units including two new Maths units. It is being proposed that the role of Maths…
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January 6, 2016 - Bobby -
A number of Higher National (HN) awards are currently being reviewed. These are: HNC/D Information Technology (led by Chris Deegan of Glasgow Met.) HNC/D Interactive Media (led by Fiona Murnin of New College Lanarkshire) HNC/D Computer Games Development (led by Gill Flockart of Ayrshire College). Each development is at a different stage but all are well underway. Progress has been slower than I had hoped, mainly as a result of staff changes within SQA. I intend to meet with each of the lead…
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October 19, 2015 - Bobby -
I recently announced a new development, which involves the creation of two new HNCs: 1. HNC Computer Science 2. HNC Data Analytics Since then, a Qualification Development Team (QDT) has been created and the first meeting was held this afternoon. The Team consists of representatives of colleges, universities and industry. The University of Strathclyde is represented on the QDT since the new HNCs will be designed to articulate with a number of their B.Sc. courses, through their Digital Academy programme,…
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September 7, 2015 - Bobby -
The University of Strathclyde created a new Digital Academy in March of this year. The Academy is a collaborative initiative by the University and a number of colleges, which aims to increase the number of job-ready graduates in Computer Science and related subjects. It follows on from the successful Engineering Academy initiative. Students will undertake the first year of their degree programme in college and then progress directly into second year of one of a number of degree courses including Computer Science,…
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The new Higher National Unit entitled Digital Skills is now available [PDF] on the SQA website. This Level 7 Unit is designed for non-specialists who want to gain essential knowledge and skills in digital technologies. Its contents are up-to-date including a range of digital devices (such as PCs, tablets and smartphones) and digital services (including social media). The Unit also covers online safety, cyber security, information skills, and rights and responsibilities. It should be appropriate to a wide range of learners including, perhaps,…
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