Faculty of Technology

Information & Communication Technology

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Guide to A Level Information & Communication Technology (Edexcel)

Minimum recommended entry requirements:
Grade B in GCSE Information Technology or a good IT Portfolio.

The study of ICT at AS and A Level will enable you to learn about the administration and management of Information and Communication Technology systems. You will also learn a good deal of technical background knowledge to support your study of the running of ICT systems.

The course is designed to encourage you to develop your problem solving skills and examine your solutions not only from an academic, but also from an ethical or social point of view.

You will need to put the theory of managing ICT systems into practice to produce projects for your coursework units, which are worth 40% of the available marks for the course.

Advanced Subsidiary (AS)

Unit 1 Systems Administration (Written Paper)

The main aim of this module is to develop the knowledge, skills and understanding required to administer computer based ICT systems. You will have to demonstrate knowledge of how large commercial and industrial ICT based systems are administered but you will only be assessed within a context that is meaningful to you.

Unit 2 The Generation of Applications (Written Paper)

The main aim of this module is to develop the knowledge, skills and understanding that are required to use computer based ICT systems effectively in problem solving situations.

Unit 3 The Unit consists of two coursework tasks:

Task 1 – (16% of AS assessment) You will be asked to produce a detailed written report of the ICT administration processes undertaken by a major existing application from industry, commerce, government, society, or academia.
Task 2 – (24% of AS assessment) You will be asked to produce and document an ICT solution to a significant problem that focuses on one area of application. This might include modelling, communications, modern user interface, data logging involving significant file processing, database manipulation or multimedia.

Advanced Level (A2)

Unit 4 Systems Management (Written Paper)

This unit considers, in some depth, the knowledge, skills and processes involved in being responsible for an ICT based system. It also considers the complexity of systems in large companies and in small sole trader businesses.

Unit 5 The Implementation of Event Driven Applications (Written Paper)

The main aim of this unit is to develop the knowledge, skills and understanding that is required to use computer based ICT systems effectively in problem solving situations. This unit builds on the knowledge, skills and understanding in unit 2 to extend your experience of using at least one event driven programming language that can communicate with the generic application generator. The development of programming skills is demonstrated via an event driven object based programming system, because system managers are increasingly concerned with customers who communicate with ICT systems through event driven interfaces.

All aspects of the AS/A2 course will be assessed in Units 4 and 5. This Synoptic assessment represents 20% of the A Level assessment.

Unit 6 The unit consists of two coursework tasks:

Task 3 – (16% of A2 assessment) You will be asked to produce a detailed written report to include the social, ethical, and technical issues surrounding a major systems application from industry, commerce, government, society or academia.
Task 4 – (24% of A2 assessment) For this task you have to produce and document an ICT solution to a significant problem that involves the specification, analysis, design, implementation, testing and evaluation of an application that requires Event Driven Object Based programming, e.g. Visual Basic.

Career Opportunities After you have completed your AS or A Level course in Information and Communication Technology you may choose to seek employment in the ever growing Information and Communication Technology related industries, or continue your study full time at a Further Education Institution.

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