Welcome to D201 Using ICT which it part of the DiDA qualifications. What does DiDA actually stand for? It stands for Diploma in Digital Applications. The course you will be following is part of DiDA and is called AiDA (Award in Digital Applications) which is what you will be awarded on successful completion of the course.

The AiDA course will give you the equivalent of one GCSE at whatever grade you achieve.  The vast majority of you will be entered at Level 2 which gives you access to A* - C

DiDA is 'hands-on' - very little can be done away from the computer. this is good news for you but you must learn about the risks of using computer for long periods of time and how to keep yourself safe. You will produce many files as you work on this unit and you will learn how to store your work sensibly so that you can find it later on.

The course requires you to complete a board set Summative Project Brief (SPB) during Year 11.

Skills building and practice for D201 Using ICT will be done up to May half term in Year 10. You will start work on the SPB in June and complete it by April in Year 11. Your teacher will give you individual deadlines for each of the activities. Work on the actual SPB from Edexcel will start at the beginning of December until Easter of Year 11. Once your work has been internally assessed (marked by your teacher), it will then be submitted via an e-portfolio (a web based interactive portfolio of your work) for checking by exam board moderators.

Welcome to D201 Using ICT. This is the first unit in the DiDA course. What does DiDA actually stand for? It stands for Diploma in Digital Applications. The course you will be following is part of DiDA and is called CiDA (Certificate in Digital Applications) which is what you will be awarded on successful completion of the course.

The CiDA course will give you the equivalent of two GCSEs at whatever grade you achieve.  The vast majority of you will be entered at Level 2 which gives you access to A*A* - CC.

DiDA is 'hands-on' - very little can be done away from the computer. this is good news for you but you must learn about the risks of using computer for long periods of time and how to keep yourself safe. You will produce many files as you work on this unit and you will learn how to store your work sensibly so that you can find it later on.

The course requires you to complete two board set Summative Project Briefs (SPBs), one during Year 10 and the other during Year 11. If you do not complete the SPB in the given year, you will have to start an entirely new project, it is not easy to resubmit work. It is therefore important that all the work you complete for the SPB is your very best work whether it be in Year 10 or Year 11. By the end of Year 10 you will have achieved half of your final GCSE grade.

Skills building and practice for the first unit D201 Using ICT will be done from September to the end of Novermber of Year 10. Your teacher will give you individual deadlines for each of the activities. Work on the actual SPB from Edexcel will start at the beginning of December until Easter. Once your work has been internally assessed (marked by your teacher), it will then be submitted via an e-portfolio (a web based interactive portfolio of your work) for checking by exam board moderators

Having completed three AS units - The Information Age, The Digital Economy and The Knowledge Worker in Year 12 you now need to complete three A2 units in Year 13.

In Year 13 you will complete two compulsory and one optional unit, these are as follows:

UNIT 11 - Using Spreadsheet Software (internally assessed optional unit)

UNIT 8 - Managing ICT Projects (internally assessed compulsory unit)

UNIT 7 - Using Database Software (externally assessed compulsory unit)

The Applied GCE course offers three units in Year 12 for the Edexcel Advanced Subsidiary GCE in Applied ICT (Single Award) and a further three units in Year 13 for the Edexcel Advanced GCE in Applied ICT.

In Year 12 all three units are compulsory and are as follows:

UNIT 1 - The Information Age (internally assessed unit)

UNIT 2 - The Digital Economy (internally assessed unit)

UNIT 3 - The Knowledge Worker (externally assessed unit)

The GCE in Applied ICT has been designed to provide a broad educational basis for further education or for moving into employment within the ICT sector. This is achieved by ensuring that learners develop the general skills, knowledge and understanding needed within the sector.

All Edexcel GCE qualifications in Applied ICT are designed to give you broad skills, knowledge and understanding of the ICT sector. In particular, they will encourage you to develop:

• a broad range of ICT skills and knowledge of the uses of ICT in vocational contexts, as a basis for progression into further learning in ICT-related fields, including progression from AS to A2
• knowledge and understanding of the components, functions and applications of information systems within a range of organisations
• an understanding of the main principles of solving problems using ICT and development of the skills necessary to apply this understanding.

In addition, Advanced GCE specifications encourage you to:

• apply your knowledge and understanding of ICT and use skills (eg planning, research, evaluation, problem solving) in vocational contexts
• develop an understanding of the impact of information systems on organisations’ personnel, policies and practices
• develop project management skills and an understanding of the need to work with others.

End-users and practitioners
The AS GCE (3-unit) qualification provides an opportunity for you to develop further as ICT end-users. End-users are those who use ICT, typically desktop applications, on a daily basis in a work role to enhance personal productivity, facilitate communication, enable collaborative working etc.

In addition, the Advanced GCE qualification provides a foundation for development towards practitioner competence. ICT practitioners are those working in an ICT role either in an IT organisation or in the IT department of a non-IT organisation. Each unit also has either an end-user or a practitioner focus. This is reflected in the type of evidence that you are required to produce. Practitioner-focused units require you to demonstrate your ability to work with clients and end-users and produce products or services for someone else to use. In contrast, user-focused units assume that you are using ICT for your own purposes and are not necessarily using ICT to produce something for someone else to use.

Progression
This qualification supports progression into further education, training or employment. Appropriate further education might be:
• a BTEC Higher National in Computing
• a BTEC Foundation Degree in Computing
• a degree in computing, IT or related fields