Welcome to the ICT Department Webpage
We are very proud of our Maths and Computing specialist status, and how we can use this to develop the ICT teaching and learning of: our students; students in our extended ‘family of schools’; and of local residents.
The focus of the department is to ensure that every student can develop his or her capability and awareness of Information and Communication Technology. We consider it is important that every student is ICT literate and able to use a computer as a medium for:
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communication and presentation of information through multimedia;
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data handling;
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modelling and control ; and
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to access information through the Internet.
In addition, it is important for students to learn about the many applications of computer technology and its impact upon people's lives.
Students in Year 7 follow the progressive ‘L2L’ (Learn to Learn) course. This new initiative gives students a thorough grounding in the use of ICT, as well as learning skills that can used throughout their time at Greenshaw, such as the advanced use of mind mapping.
In Year 8, ICT is taught in a cross-curricular carousel, through ICT combined with Mathematics, English and Design Technology.
In Year 9 students start the new AIDA (Award in Digital Applications) course, which is part of the DIDA (Diploma in Digital Applications) which gives students the skills required to tackle the SPB (Summative Project Brief) which is assessed in Year 9. The AIDA is worth one full GCSE.
This accelerated curriculum continues in Year 10 for all students, with the multi-media based CIDA (Certificate in Digital Applications) which is also worth one full GCSE. DIDA is the new suite of qualifications run at the school. This allows students to gain one, two or four (if taken as an option) GCSE equivalents in various areas of ICT related specialism such as Multimedia, Graphics (Design Technology) and Enterprise (Business Studies). The assessment of the course is based completely on an SPB for each unit. Students complete an e-portfolio in response to the SPB which is published by the examination board.
In the Sixth Form, we offer a wide range of ICT courses that cater for all levels of ability and specialism. Along with the AS & A Level in ICT, we also have vocational ICT courses, such as the new OCR National and the Applied AS & A Level. We have also achieved the specialist status of becoming an ‘ Oracle Academy’, with fully certified instructors. We currently offer an Oracle programming course, in the highly sought-after industry level Structured Query Language (SQL).
Facilities and Resources
Information and Communications Technology is used throughout the curriculum. Specialist teachers provide support to other departments where required and also provide training for other members of staff. Our ICT resources now include over 450 networked computer suites, an increasing number of electronic white boards, plus a large number of networked computers in many departments across the school. Every classroom has a networked computer as part of the electronic registration system.
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