General Advice for IT Applications

[ell]

General Advice for IT Applications

Before the year starts...

• Grab the study design and copy and paste the key knowledge dot points into a Word document. Use these dot points as headings to put your notes under. I've already copied the dot points for you (see attached file at the bottom) - all you need to do is it fill it throughout the year.
• Find out what programs your school will be using (Excel is a requirement) and learn how to use them well. The ITA examiners tend to ask specific questions concerning the functionality of them (there were quite a few on the 2008 exam) so don't be surprised if you're asked to write a formula for a spreadsheet or a rule for a database. You probably won't have time to learn how to use your set programs during the year, which is why you should use this time now to do so.

During the year...

• ITA SACs are probably the most draining SACs you'll ever do (I'm sure many will agree with me here). They're easy, but there's just so much to do. Don't neglect them though, they contribute 50% to your study score and the tasks required of you in your SACs will be very similar to the questions you'll get on the exam.
• Preparing for SACs: Your textbook should have sample case studies. These are really helpful, and they're all usually the same - some organisation has a problem (too inefficient or ineffective) and you have to develop a solution to fix it. Practice pinpointing the key problems in case studies and you should be fine for the outcomes. The answers are generally the same as well - you just have to mould the answer so that it relates to the case study.
• Add to your notes as you learn new topics in class and read over them regularly (it doesn't have to be everyday, but regular enough so that you won't forget it).
• Familiarise yourself with the IT terminology and in particular how VCAA defines certain words. Grab the VCAA IT Glossary and make sure you are familiar with how they define key terms such as analysis and design as well as potentially ambigious terms such as constraints and capabilities, efficiency and effectiveness etc.
• Also familiarise yourself with the type of questions that will appear on the exams. Go through the past exams/assessment reports and identify the common questions that they ask (e.g. there's always a legal/ethical obligation Q). This might ruin your exam practice later in the year, but I think it's worthwhile to really understand how VCAA words questions and what kind of answers they expect.
• Explore the ITA forum, actively participate in discussions and even read through some old threads.

Mnemonics
Use mnemonics - recalling key information in an exam/SAC is easy when you do.

• Problem solving methodology: ADD T DIE - Analysis, Design, Development, Testing, Documentation, Implementation, Evaluation
• Factors/constraints: TOES - Technical, Operational, Economic, Social
• Electronic validation checks (there are more): FREDS - Format, Range, Existence, Data type, Spell check
• Audience characteristics: GALSEC - Gender, Age, Location, Special needs (disabilities etc), Education level, Culture
• Disaster recovery plan: BERT - Backup, Emergency, Recovery, Test

Exam Advice...

• Use pen (but pencil of course for the MC) and write neatly. Obvious, but it's not worth risking marks just because they can't read your writing.
• For multiple choice - Cross out the wrong answers before you select the correct one. Basic but effective MC technique.
• For short answer - Don't write long, extended answers. Examiners are lazy and will prefer you to write in dot points - generally, if there are X number of marks, you should make X number of points.
• Pretend that the examiner is comptuer/technologically illiterate when writing your answer - you can't run the risk of them not knowing what you're on about. Also, always remember to relate your answer back to the question/particular situation.
• Don't be surprised if you're asked to do a full task - e.g. a whole Gantt chart or a layout design. There was one on the 2008 exam.
• Whenever in doubt with a question, just use your common sense - it'll probably come up with the correct answer.
• You should be aiming to finish the exam with a lot of time to spare. Don't waste it, though - use it to check over your answers, and make sure you've answered every question.
• More advice from Mark Kelly himself: http://www.mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au/vceit/examtips/examtips.htm

Useful links

• VCE IT Lecture Notes by Mark Kelly - This will become your bible
• VCAA IT Study Design (pdf)
• VCAA IT Glossary
• Mr Excel - Excel tutorials and tips
• HowStuffWorks - a suprisingly good resource for ITA

Feel free to add any other points, websites, resources etc. ITA is an easy subject in terms of content, which is why it is easy to neglect it in favour of other subjects. Don't neglect it - it'll pay off in the end (it did for me).

[Flaming_Arrow]

great work ell!

[kurrymuncher]

Thanks ell, your a legend

[danieltennis]

GODSPEED ELL

[xox.happy1.xox]

Wow... I've never done IT: Applications, but still wow. You've put lots of effort into it! Well done, ell.

[danieltennis]

Hey Ell,
do you have the link to the study design?
Thanks

[ell]

Hey Ell,
do you have the link to the study design?
Thanks

I added a link to it on the original post.

[danieltennis]

Hey Ell,
do you have the link to the study design?
Thanks

Thanks

I added link to it on the original post.

Thanks

[Athomas]

Great advice.
I would like to add: Sacs are important. Don't disregard them like I did! haha.

[cobby]

Thanks a lot ell, really didnt know how to tackle i.t apps, your a legend!!

[methodsboy]

Thanks. This should get me 45+

[jsimmo]

Here are my notes that I uploaded to the site: http://notes.vcenotes.com/?step=downloader&download=190

The only advice I can give is;

• Keep on top of your SACs! Do a lot of documentation and don't spend so much time on the actual information product (it's only worth a small proportion)!!
• You need to try and be 'pumped' up about the course - you can get pretty bored in an IT:A class - try to be energized and full of enthusiasm - otherwise, you will just get too lazy and use the computers to do unproductive stuff!
• Make mind maps - just familiarise yourself with all the concepts and ideas - learn acronyms (they help a lot).

Great thread ELL! 

[ell]

Here are my notes that I uploaded to the site: Unit 3/4 IT:A Notes

The only advice I can give is;

• Keep on top of your SACs! Do a lot of documentation and don't spend so much time on the actual information product (it's only worth a small proportion)!!
• You need to try and be 'pumped' up about the course - you can get pretty bored in an IT:A class - try to be energized and full of enthusiasm - otherwise, you will just get too lazy and use the computers to do unproductive stuff!
• Make mind maps - just familiarise yourself with all the concepts and ideas - learn acronyms (they help a lot).

Great thread ELL! 

Good points! I especially agree with the first - it's very easy to get distracted with developing the solution and forget about the documentation which is where it really counts.

I'd also like to add that Mark Kelly has added state averages to his post-mortem. A particularly interesting statistic is that the state average for a simple spreadsheet formula question was 0.15 / 1 (15%), while the average for another formula question (the VLOOKUP one) was 0.05 / 1 (5%) - make sure you're in that minority (i.e learn your formulas)!

[danieltennis]

Thanks ELL and Jsimmo

Jsimmo: can you check that link again? It's not working for me. Thank you

[excal]

I might add that you are expected to be able to use Excel - the exam is not technology neutral on this count (you are expected to know and apply Excel formulas as candidates did this year).

Regarding databases, the exam is supposedly technology-neutral (but not your SACs), but you'll find that there tends to be an Access-bias in the wording of the questions. In any case, you will be expected to know the theories behind database design and apply them.

For those who are keen on getting started during the summer holidays on the more technical areas of IT:A, here are some texts I would suggest hunting down:

- Parsons, Oja, Ageloff & Carey, New Perspectives on Microsoft Office Excel 2003, Comprehensive (New Perspectives (Paperback Course Technology)) 2nd Edition (Paperback)
- Adamski and Finnegan, New Perspectives on Microsoft Office Access 2003, Comprehensive (New Perspectives (Paperback Course Technology)) 2nd Edition (Paperback)

These are university-level texts, but I found them to be very easy to read (even though I never personally used them, Glockmeister derived plenty of use from them), probably because they were designed to prepare candidates for the Microsoft Office Specialist certification and thus needed to be somewhat accessible. You obviously won't need all the content, so it would be prudent if you asked your teacher what areas of both technologies you will cover (or do the lot for enrichment).