Why am I finding ICT so difficult?

Hello. I'm actually taking applied ICT double OCR now and am really not enjoying it.

As my last post stated, I'm having great difficulties with the questions. I rarely think on the lines of the examiner and talk about something else. I want to follow up with this.

For example, I said there were millions of things that would cause a computer to slow down. Now some troll said that it was because I didn't know any. That's rubbish. Now that I am taking the course, I can probably talk.

Some smartass said that it was obviously defragging. Well, hey, no it isn't these days. NTFS is pretty fragmentation-resistant. It would have to be over a massive duration to actually effect and lots of files. I doubt Annabel installs many games.

It's more likely to be an amassing of temporary files, temporary internet files, cookies, malware and too much trash running in the background.

This frustrates me when classmates manage to pass exams when they have absolutely no real indepth computer knowledge. The competancy of my classmates with software is suboptimal and I am frequently queried for help. I don't get how I am answering questions so incorrectly when all my answers are technically correct.

Our teachers are incompetent. We rarely know what we are supposed to be doing. We are rarely told what is coursework and what is classwork. Teachers misuse terminology frequently and when you make a valid comment they will treat you like you're not 100% correct using dismissive language. It's like being called incorrect because you were not on the same track of thought. I made an experiment and I stopped helping friends with software issues - like the buggy quirks of Word for example. My friends started struggling.

For an assignment, My friends used powerpoint to create their websites and I Dreamweaver. Now, dreamweaver's flaws aside, PowerPoint really is not the right tool for making web sites. How can they get more marks than me for it? Their slides are vomit inducing colour wise while my website is clean and works in all browsers. There's also the fact I had to help them by combing through the mess of HTML that powerpoint generates to make it function like a normal website.

Does anybody share my pain?

For the record, I wanted to do COMPUTING which is arguably more about computer architecture and less of the secretarial work. Unfortunately it required a B in GCSE maths which I lack. It turned out that the class was cancelled because too few people chose it.

One question I remember that hurts is:
What is a network?
My response was: connected computers that communicate.
By all stretches of the imagination this is absolutely correct.
I got half a mark. Outraged, I asked why; I didn't mention how they were connected: through cables.

Gah.

Somehow I managed to get an A in GCSE ICT but that's only because we actually got to use pseudocode and a silly "database" Access.

Reply 1

.Theory

12

vKiDv

Our teachers are incompetent. We rarely know what we are supposed to be doing. We are rarely told what is coursework and what is classwork. Teachers misuse terminology frequently and when you make a valid comment they will treat you like you're not 100% correct using dismissive language. It's like being called incorrect because you were not on the same track of thought. I made an experiment and I stopped helping friends with software issues - like the buggy quirks of Word for example. My friends started to struggle.

meh, I know how you feel. Yet I just did some research on what we had to do - and bam, I got 1 off full marks. Granted, this is at GCSE level.

As for answering the questions, go into as much depth as possible. That's what seems to get you the marks.

I hope I can find a place that offers computing :s-smilie:

I don't wanna do ICT for A Levels, sounds boring :frown:

Reply 2

iis

Yeah, you sound like me, though I think I did a different exam board.

My ICT class at AS was huge - about 40 people at the start of the year, which translates to only a few minutes of teacher time. Really couldn't be arsed with all the theory stuff, I can't remember anything technical, all I can remember is doodling on some Powerpoint printout of why working from home helps disabled people.

Ah the coursework. Some hotel booking system. I didn't know Visual Basic, but me and my friend taught ourselves it and created some pretty nifty spreadsheets. Everyone else was struggling to figure out =SUM(). My teacher said he'd give me full marks for my implementation (even he didn't know how to program, not even VB), but that was only 20% (I think) of the coursework grade. I really couldn't get the other areas, I'd right every conceivable thing I could think of about why I was using Excel and be told I didn't have enough information. It was just too pointless and I quit before the end of the year. Think I got a C and an E in my two exams, or might by an E and a U, can't remember. I'm doing an CompSci degree, everywhere I applied too though maths grades more important, didnt even need ICT.

Anyway replaced it with English Lit this year, and got an A in my Jan exam. English is good because you can write about pretty much anything you like and get good marks if you argue your case well, there's no trying to figure out the examiner's bizarre mark schemes.

Reply 3

supernova2

11

The mark schemes are very similar year on year. Write what the examiners want to sea and you'll get pretty good marks.

Reply 4

uni_Boy

I totally understand you! THe people who write the coursework and exam questions are probably 90 year olds who've never touched a computer.
It always frustrates me how stupid it is.
One example is last year we had one question about the aims goals and objectives of the Problem, and the aims goals and objectives of the solution. HOW THE ***** can a problem have aims? I got good marks on it even though I know I wrote crap.

My teachers dont know ANYTHING!! Honestly, and I swear by this, our teacher didnt know how to use a couple of the programs we had to use for the coursework and I had to teach her so she could teach other pupils.

This year were doing project management and LITERALLY half teh marks are for evaluations. How stupid is that?
Also, the the whole coursework could have been done, and you vould get full marks without using a computer once...how is that IT??

Lastly, because they dont understand anything other pupils are getting higher marks for parts which is REALY frustrating for me. Because I know its the teacher that doesnt understand how to mark it. Also they get higher marks when I've taught them mostly what to do, and then they've gone and done other parts wrong.
Fortunately I dont think our teacher would let us make a site in powerpoint though...thats just hilarious.

Sorry for my rant...just wanted to say I understand you. A- Teachers are *****E and B-the people who write the questions are stupid. And I'm not just saying all because I got a bad mark or something...in fact i got a double A last year and hoping to get AB this year.
It's easy to get high marks...its just annoying because you know your wasting your time and writing crap.

By the way if I dont get the right grades for UNI I am 110% sure I will complain against OCR, and I'll make sure none of the teachers will be teaching as of next year.
One my teachers has already been complained about this year (you had to see my teacher...she was crapping herself :smile:

), AND there's a member of staff who doesnt teach me but knows our situation very well....so hopefully it will be easy to prove my point.

This is one of the reason why i dislike A level ICT...

For our exam, our teacher would read out practise questions and the class would go over them.

Then we would answer and most of the responses would be...

"erm, yes, that's right... but it's not on the mark scheme, so wouldn't get you any marks"

HANG ON A MINUTE.... correct = 0 marks... well **** ME :rolleyes:

Terrible how things have to be based around a markscheme...

I feel for you,... but it's just a matter of knowing what they want you to say... hopefully one day someone will wise up to this and it'll change.

But OP if you want any help on specific questions etc, feel free to ask/make new threads and i'll do my best to help :yy:

All the best :smile:

Reply 6

Sammy.B!

I started ICT in college having not done anything at GCSE in ICT.
I found the ICT1 paper silly, because i just couldn't get the answers which they were looking for. But apart from that after doing loads of past papers i managed A in ICT5 both A's in my CWK and 2 B's in the other exams. I agree about the teachers though, i've had a supply since spetember, and that really hasn't helped. I do reccommend the past papers though, more than anything else.

I hate questions like:

How to maintain the physical security of data.
.....Lock the computer in a room and have swipe cards..Hmmm

Reply 7

dd1989

11

Making websites in word...? Wtf lol.

Reply 8

bubassi

im coming upto the end of a2 and thank **** for it. ict "lessons" were all "exam orientated" to help us get best marks, but wait surely the best way to get good marks is to have in depth knowledge of the subject so you can answer ANY question not just some rehashed questions clearly copied from the 2004 exam. and when you confront the teacher you get *******ed for having an opinion on her teaching methods and treats you like a 10 year old. im 18 ffs :mad:

and i could teach the class better than you are doing now.

i had to contend with in my 6th form years are exam paper whores :mad:

and yes men as "class mates" who couldnt give two monkeys about their grades :s-smilie:

whoops went on bit of a rant :rolleyes:

bubassi

im coming upto the end of a2 and thank **** for it. ict "lessons" were all "exam orientated" to help us get best marks, but wait surely the best way to get good marks is to have in depth knowledge of the subject so you can answer ANY question not just some rehashed questions clearly copied from the 2004 exam. and when you confront the teacher you get *******ed for having an opinion on her teaching methods and treats you like a 10 year old. im 18 ffs :mad:

and i could teach the class better than you are doing now.

i had to contend with in my 6th form years are exam paper whores :mad:

and yes men as "class mates" who couldnt give two monkeys about their grades :s-smilie:

whoops went on bit of a rant :rolleyes:

Yikes... ALL exam orientated, that can't be good for increasing a students knowledge of ICT. In such a subject hands on is so important.

What sort of things did they teach for it?

With our coursework we learnt some pretty useful thinks (granted, not in that much depth, but still, it helped immensly) including html codeing, complex excel equations and database design.

Did you still learn these sorts of things? or was it more like...erm, what we did (we only have 1/3 exam) which was something like "ICT and Society".

Very wishy washey and generally awful. OCR's fault IMO... oh, also what was the exam board?

Reply 10

bubassi

<CJ>

Yikes... ALL exam orientated, that can't be good for increasing a students knowledge of ICT. In such a subject hands on is so important.

What sort of things did they teach for it?

With our coursework we learnt some pretty useful thinks (granted, not in that much depth, but still, it helped immensly) including html codeing, complex excel equations and database design.

Did you still learn these sorts of things? or was it more like...erm, what we did (we only have 1/3 exam) which was something like "ICT and Society".

Very wishy washey and generally awful. OCR's fault IMO... oh, also what was the exam board?

my exam board is OCR, they have taught us nothing on HTML, database coding or advance excel coding. unless they think making a flat file databse on access is enough :s-smilie:

i pretty much have to study website design /creation and other essential hardware and software knowledge on my own(via the net), but it depresses me how much the teacher actually knows herself. you knwo youre in trouble when the teacher asks for help more than the students ask her :rolleyes:

Reply 11

dd1989

11

I got a C and D in this years courseworks for the exact same reason, my IT knowledge far supasses any one else in the class, and I seriously thought I was wasting my time so i didn't bother trying. Last year I got 100% in coursework without even thinking about it, but A2 wasn't managed very well, and it made me lose all interest.

Reply 12

Sammy.B!

I agree!
I wouldn't know how to use a computer that much yet i'm still doing good in it?

It bores me to pieces, what a really, really bad subject choice! Ah well, it'll all be over in 16 days :biggrin:

Thankgod.

Reply 13

andy_1989

I did AS OCR Applied ICT and hated it, we had the crappest teacher who just kept telling us how grade our work is and we all ended up with just Cs. I was doing A2 ICT up till about April then dropped it because we had soooo much coursework to do it was impossible. Our teacher gives no guidance or assistance, in unit 9 which is externally moderated he marked us at As/Bs which were downgraded to Ds/Es. I hate ICT as it is the vaguest subject with no clear definition of what you actually have to do. The rest of the class somehow finished their coursework projects but it was all so rushed.

Reply 14

greatpotter

you should try computing... it's harder

Why am I finding ICT so difficult?

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