ITQ Revision Guide

Simple questions here will be factual ones such as choosing the best practice from a number of options.  

Better answers for longer questions will show some analysis of the question and not a simple re-stating.  For example, the handbook suggests questions about formal and informal writing.  If a question is worth 3 marks and asks about best practice, 1 mark could be a one word answer or example, such as "CUm8" as an abbreviation.  The candidate uses this as an example of using text speak or slang.  If the questions asks why this is inappropriate in a specific context, the expected answer would be something like, "if I am applying for a job, I will want to create a good impression to the person reading my letter or application as they may be the person offering me the job.  If I write text speak, such as m8, it will create a bad impression and I wil probably not get me the job".  This answer addresses the question, gives a clear example and sums up the consequences.

Simple factual questions will be to state an appropriate security issue from a list of options.

Better answers will involve giving an indication of a clear understanding of the issue, perhaps some solutions and expected outcomes.  If the question was something like recommending a software package for computer security, a good answer might be, "I would recommend something like X software.  This software would be an advantage because it is an industry standard so is well supported and regularly updated.  This will mean the computer will be protected from viruses or other malware.  However, there will be hidden costs such as updates to the virus database, and being more popular will mean that it is more likely to be targeted by fraudsters and hackers."

The applications students are using now for their schoolwork, may not be around by the time they leave school as change is happening very quickly.  The way information is managed is also evolving and they need to be able to apply this understanding as the underlying principles do not change.  Files still need extensions and specific applications to use them.  However, it is more efficient for a file to be accessed in multiple ways.  Most students will likely access material more on a smart-phone than a desktop PC for example.  

Therefore, questions will be about the advantages and disadvantages about forms of presentation.   Good answers will incorporate this evaluative understanding. "If I were to apply for a job and the company is a media based company, I would think that they would not be impressed by a generic document or a print out. Even an attached document as an email might not be suitable.  I think that I would used a video recording tool to create an interactive CV or use an online ePortfolio system with a built in CV template.  This will show that I have a wide range of skills in IT, but also an appreciation of their market place.  This should make me stand out and give me a better chance of getting an interview for the job".

Most students can have an ePortfolio these days, such as on Google, as it is a just an electronic set of linked documents and mixed media.

Basis questions might be true/false questions relating to standards and licenses.

TLM is a big advocate of open standards, the qualification is after all "Open Systems and Enterprise". Open standards are increasingly determining the shape and direction of IT and it is good to have a detailed knowledge of how it works and where it is going.  Questions of copyright and licensing are very poorly understood generally and people assume that if something if "free", it is without a license.  many questions here will be on the open vs. closed debate.  A good answer to a question about openness might be, "supporting and encouraging open standards based software programs is good in the long term because it gives consumers more choice in the market place and possibly more jobs for people such as me.  If companies use open web based technologies and the design software for these applications is freely available, then anyone can create a product and anyone can use it.  However, using closed and proprietary licenses means that only some companies can control development and the market is limited as a result."  other questions will require students to apply their understanding.  "If I create an app for an Android based phone, I would apply a Creative Commons Share Alike license.  I would do this so that I could get interested people to use the software and possibly work with me on improving it.  This will give me a wider take up of users and more of an impression on the market."

Basic questions will be to provide the missing answers in a set of examples, such as which of these might be an input or output etc.

Better answers will include clear examples of processes with relevant examples.  "In my project for IT, I chose to use X graphics program to complete an Art project.  The software had a lot of different file filters, which meant I could import different images from scanners or cameras etc.  The software had a number of complex filters for me to use, so I could make the images I created far more interesting and layered.  The software also has a good range of output formats which meant I could export the graphics to a number of other packages.  This is useful as I needed to design for different environments such as web pages and large scale posters."

This qualification is equivalent to GCSE and some of these questions will be similar to what would be expected in a Maths exam of the same level.  Simple questions will be basic addition and multiplication.

Higher level questions, will include some calculation and synthesis of costs in an applied way.  "The overall cost is likely to be £x for each of the Y employees factored in over z months, so it will be £?.  Of this money, the direct costs will be the purchasing of the software packages  and licensing, though they could reduce this by using an open source version as a substitute.  If they did take this route, it would increase the indirect costs because although the software would be license free, it is likely to be quite different from the existing software and require more training to get the best out of it."

Simple questions will ask to identify aspects of target setting and planning systems, the most common being SMART targets.

Better answers will incorporate this understanding. "On my IT project, which was to set up a spreadsheet for a local charity, I used a number of SMART targets in order to make it work more efficiently and effectively.  I decidedly to focus only on a system to check their stock as otherwise it would have been too big to complete in the time I had.  I wanted to make sure it would deal with up to 100 items.  They generally only deal with 50, but I wanted to make sure it had some aspects of being future proof.  I discussed with the client and my teacher to make sure that all of the plans I had could be met.  I would build in some calculations, but not too many to make it complicated and hard to use.  I made sure that it was easy and got feedback all though the process from the end-user so I knew it would work as intended.  I knew also that it would be complete and tested in 5 weeks as that is all I had.  Using these objectives and targets meant that I delivered what was asked of me on time."

Simple questions will ask to identify from a list of, e.g. applications, to decide which one would be good for x file extension.

Better answers would give examples of why and incorporate best practice. "Our school was working with a school based in X country and we were hoping to work on some collaborative projets.  They did not have the IT resources that we had, though they did have some level of internet connection which meant that we should do online work, rather than using heavy desktop based clients.  We ended up using X software because it was free to download and update.  We sent them copies of the software as that would save their limited download capacity.  This meant that any documents that each of us created could be exchanged via email and we could all open and adapt the material.  We also used some Internet based communication tools such as Y so that we could talk to each other live, though this was not always possible because of the large time difference between our countries."

Questions here will be very generic and will depend on what each individual school is doing and what software they are using.  Simple questions will be short statements about projects.  "for my project I used x word processor as that is what the school had".

Better answers will attempt to synthesise different information from some of the units studied.  "I created a project based on Unit 2 which was web design.  I was already comfortable with making basic HTML code and wanted to try and push myself a bit further by trying to incorporate some multimedia.  I didn't want a large and clunky site, so I didn't actually embed any videos, but linked to the videos that were hosted on a video sharing site.  This meant my site worked quickly and effectively, but was not slowed down by trying to serve large video files directly.  I had some problems with specific browsers and had to do some detailed searches on forums on the internet to fix the problems, but the sites were really helpful and proved to be a good resourse."

Simple questions will be about factual statements.  Which f the following statements would you see in a school's AUP etc.

Better answers will expect students to apply this understanding. "If I ran my own web based forum, I would create an AUP that had the following criteria that people needed to sign to use the site:

1. no x

2. no y

I would not let anyone use the site until they had signed and agreed to these items as that would mean that I could be reasonably confident that they would stick to the rules and I could also have a way to exclude them if they did not.  This would make the site better for everyone on there and make it more popular."

In the latest handbook for 2016 onwards, we have added this general category.  This idea here is to have topical IT issues to check student's knowledge of the wider world of IT and use of information technology.

A simple question will be a simple statement to pick out a particular item from a list, such as which is the most widely used smartphone from this list.

Better answers will ask students to analyse IT trends, for example, and apply their knowledge to come up with their idea of what might be the result.  There will not necessarily be a right and wrong answer here, but they will be marked on how well they explain and defend their choices.

"I believe that Google should take over the running of all government departments because they can do a much better job of it than the existing systems.  Google does many things to make money and improve efficiency of their IT systems, so they will make everything work faster and easier for the people.  This will mean people will get a better service and be more likely to use the services.  This will clearly make society much better and hopefully cost less money in the long run."

Candidates might also be asked to explain the key features from a graph showing some IT trends.  They do not really need to know anything about the items in the trend, but should be able to generalise about what they are seeing and offer some evidence to support any claims or conclusions they make.