National Award in IT level 3 1 A level

BTEC National IT Practitioners (Certificate and Award)
The department runs 2 BTEC National IT Practitioners courses.

What is the difference between the Certificate and the Award ?

The BTEC National Certificate is equivalent to two A Levels and therefore, occupies two of your four option blocks. (There are a number of different pathways for the Certificate; we teach units from the Systems Support pathway).

The BTEC National Award is equivalent to one A Level and therefore occupies just one of your four option blocks. (There is only one pathway for the Award).

Both courses operate over a period of two years, which means that (unlike traditional A Levels) students are not able to get a recognised qualification if they drop the subject after the first year.

BTEC students trying out some of the Bletchley Park exhibits.

What will I study on this course?
In the Award you will understand how computers work and gain practical experience of installing hardware and software. You will develop skills in programming and develop your own system to meet a given set of requirements. You will design, build and publish your own web site. You will also look more widely at how to design industry standard computer interfaces.

In the Certificate you will complete the same work as for the Award. The extra studies you will undertake seeks to take account of the fact that you are likely to be thinking about a career in IT and computing. You will therefore learn how organisations use computer systems to monitor their business. You will go on to carry out a detailed systems analysis project and build an advanced database to meet your design. You will also learn how to deal with customers when solving technical problems. You will build on the programming work you have already done for the Award, and this will include building and programming Lego robots.

Both versions of the BTEC therefore involve a lot of hands on practical work with computers. The final aspect which you must prove in both courses is your ability to communicate in various ways and demonstrate professionalism in an IT setting. This will be something that you demonstrate throughout the various units you will study.

How is this course assessed?
The course is entirely practical and assessed on the basis of student portfolios. Certificate students will complete 6 units of coursework in each year of the course. Award students will complete 3 units of coursework in each year.

The programme of study is varied and is designed to prepare you for the tasks that would face you in any IT-related job, especially one in systems support. You will learn by completing projects and assignments based on realistic workplace situations, activities and demands, and will build up a portfolio of evidence from the various activities you carry out.

A lot of the evidence will be written, but it will take a variety of forms, such as reports for managers, posters, booklets for staff, user guides and presentation handouts. A number of tasks will be assessed on the basis of observations of what the student does in practical activities. In these cases the teacher will provide appropriate evidence such as video, photographs and witness statements.

What kind of student will do well on this course?
You will enjoy this course if you:

• are interested in computers and willing to commit for 2 years and for the Certificate you must be very interested in computers and may well be thinking of a career in IT or Computing;
• are happy to be assessed purely through coursework and can organise your time to meet deadlines and respond to feedback;
• want to learn how computers work but are less interested in how IT affects society;
• are happy to give presentations and have video taken of you doing practical work (as evidence to include in your portfolios);
• would like to gain practical experience of installing hardware and software;
  wish to develop skills such as advanced programming, web design and database design.

Exam Board & Specification
The examination board for this BTEC National is Edexcel