Applied ICT

Applied ICT

What is ICT?
Information and Communications Technology is a course that offers an exciting opportunity to look at the way in which computer technology is affecting the world we live in.
The practical use of software for problem solving and the use of information by individuals, organisations and within society is the focus of the course.

What courses do we offer?
We offer the coursework-based Applied A Level.
You will:

• study theory work relating to the use of information by individuals, organisations and members of society in general
• study theory work relating to the management of information including the study of hardware, software, communications technology and legal issues
• learn and acquire high-level skills in the use of modern software in order to develop solutions to real-life problems

What is Applied ICT about?
This course is applied because the majority of the assessment is coursework-based. There is an emphasis on a hands-on approach to the units and much of the work that you will complete is practical, continually assessed and counts towards your final grade.

AICT 1 - eBusiness
Gaining skills in eBusiness
What this Unit is about
We all know that ICT is constantly changing - hardware and software is forever developing
and evolving. Businesses also have to change in order to remain competitive and many adopt
developments in ICT to gain a competitive advantage. The ways in which we need to work and interact with others have changed: email; mobile communications; videoconferencing; home working and hot-desking are but a few of these changes. We need to be competent users of a variety of different devices and software applications: computers; laptops; PDAs; smartphones all use a variety of software essential to the eBusiness. New jobs have developed as a result of eBusiness, such as web designers and database managers. Nearly all businesses demand ability in ICT these days, and for many
jobs specific ICT skills are essential. eBusiness needs eCompetent employees. In this unit, you will learn about the use of ICT for eBusiness developing skills in design and development as well as in using software to solve problems.

Software That You Will Use
You will be shown how to use the following software

• The Internet
• Web authoring software (Macromedia Dreamweaver, Courselab 2.4)
• PDF writing software (MS Office 2007, Adobe Acrobat Professional)
• Standard Office software (MS Office 2007)
• Graphics packages with vector and bitmap tools (Adobe Photoshop, Fireworks)

How this Unit is Assessed
The assessment of this unit is by external on-screen examination, set and marked by WJEC.
The examination will consist of questions based mainly on case studies of actual and/or
fictionalised businesses. The assessment is organised into part A and Part B. Part A is question based whereas part B is a combination of practical tasks and questions.
This exam is on TUESDAY 18 MAY 2010 in the afternoon.

Weighting
This Unit accounts for 40% of the AS.AICT 2 - eSkills
Managing eBusiness data
What this Unit is about
For eBusinesses to succeed they must make a profit - forecasting and data management is
critical to success. eBusinesses use ICT to plan, monitor and forecast their daily progress and require experts in the use of spreadsheets and databases to manage this process. The ability to effectively interpret situations; forecast events and monitor data trends will offer the eBusiness the potential to succeed. In this unit, you will develop skills in both advanced database and spreadsheet
development.

Software That You Will Use
To facilitate the successful completion of this unit, candidates will need access to the
following software

• The Internet
• Web authoring software (Macromedia Dreamweaver, Courselab 2.4)
• PDF writing software (MS Office 2007, Adobe Acrobat Professional)
• Standard Office software (MS Office 2007)
• Spreadsheet software (MS Excel 2007)
• Relational database management software with a reporting tool (MS Access 2007)
• Graphics packages with vector and bitmap tools (Adobe Photoshop, Fireworks)

How this Unit is Assessed
You will be required to produce database and spreadsheet solutions to suit business related
situations described in the board set assignment. The scenario will provide background information to the problem and will describe current working practices and their associated problems. This Project will be carried out over a number of weeks.

Weighting
This Unit accounts for 60% of the AS.

Why would ICT be useful to me?
If you would like a career in ICT then Applied ICT would be a good springboard for you. Even if you are not thinking of ICT as a career, the use of ICT permeates all aspects of our personal and working lives.
You will
· gain a deeper understanding of ICT and how it is used and managed
· develop professional standard ways of working in ICT that will benefit your further studies and subsequent career
· learn to understand how software works and give you confidence in dealing with evolving software and inevitable changes that will come along.

About the department
The Department of Information Communication Technology is staffed by Jay Patel as Head of Department and Anne Credland.

The ICT course has proved to be very popular, attracting students with a varied range of A-level subjects.

The College uses Microsoft software for word processing, spreadsheets and databases. For website design and graphical work, we use the Macromedia (Adobe) suite of software including Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Flash.
It would be useful if you had this software at home whilst you are doing the course. Both of these suites are available for students at discounted prices through our suppliers.