ICT key stage 5

COURSE : Applied ICT

Entry requirements

Students will be required to have achieved a minimum of a C grade in ICT and be well-motivated to learn new ICT skills.

What is A Level ICT?

Applied ICT at A-Level is well-suited to students that have completed the Edexcel DIDA qualification, or any GCSE equivalent. Students with a good ICT background will be able to develop skills to an advanced level through the Applied ICT course. It is imperative that students have the ability to work independently and are prepared to work as part of a team.

What will I study?

In your first year at AS Level, you will study the following units:

1 - Life in the information age
In this unit students will have the opportunity to carry out a detailed investigation into many different online services that many of us take for granted in our everyday lives e.g. social networking sites. Students will produce an e-book with various multimedia elements to communicate their findings.

2 - The digital economy
The turn of the century saw a massive increase in e-commerce e.g. online banking. In this unit students will investigate online stores and look into the way they operate behind the scenes.

3 - The knowledge worker
This unit is externally assessed in the form of an online examination where students will be required to complete a practical task using a spreadsheet model.

In your second year at A2 Level, you will study the following:

4 - Using Multimedia Software
This unit will give students the opportunity to develop their current multimedia skills, further giving them the chance to work with various multimedia elements such as sound & video. Students will achieve this by creating an interactive multimedia product for a specified target audience.

5 - Managing ICT projects
This unit will introduce you to some formal project management tools and methods and gives you an opportunity to use specialist software to plan and monitor projects.

6 - Using Database Software
You will learn the principles of data modelling and sound database design, and will use relational database software to build working database systems. This unit is externally assessed in the form of an online examination where students will be required to complete a practical task using a database model.

Assessment

You will be assessed in Units 3 and 6 by assignments set by Edexcel that ask you to carry out practical, 'hands-on' tasks. You will collect evidence for the other units in an e-portfolio. This is designed to be viewed on screen and will showcase your achievements.
    
Where will it lead?

ICT is now at the heart of any course studied in further education, and is also used in all industries worldwide. So you will be safe in the knowledge that your ICT skills learnt at A-Level, will be used in all walks of life you may wish to choose following your studies at Sixth Form.