GNVQ ICT

Hello and welcome to Horbury ICT department's GNVQ web site.

What is a GNVQ?

GNVQ stands for General National Vocational Qualification. It is quite a new qualification that was introduced to give students the chance to study for a certificate whilst learning skills that you can actually use when you get a job.

Are GNVQs different to GCSE's?

You can study GNVQs at three different levels:-

• Foundation - equivalent to 4 GCSE's at G-D grade
• Intermediate - equivalent to 4 GCSE's A-C grade for full GNVQ (Units 1,2,3 and three other units) , 2 GCSE A-C grade for Units 1,2 and 3 only.
• Advanced - equivalent to 2 'A' levels

Horbury School is offering GNVQ ICT at Foundation and Intermediate level.

How do the courses work?

GNVQs are made up of units or modules. Everybody must do three compulsary units, as well as a preparatory unit

Preparatory Unit

This unit teaches you the basics of good computer use, which you may already be familiar with. Topics include:-

• How to organise your work files using folders, sensible names and good strategies
• How not to lose work because of sloppy practices
• How to organise your workload so that you meet deadlines and maximise your grades
• Checking that your work does not infringe any copyright laws or data protection legislation
• Good working practices such as how to sit at a computer, when to take a break, etc.

Unit 1 - Presenting Information

Unit 1 investigates how information can be presented effectively including:-

• How to use a template to ensure a consistent style of presentation
• Using a house style to present documents in a corporate style
• Standard documents such as memos, business letters and agendas
• Using computerised correction tools to make sure documents are free from spelling and grammatical mistakes
• Different types of information and the best way to display them
• Document layout, and the technical terms to describe a page layout

Unit 2 - Handling Information

This unit looks at how information is handled and diferent ways that information can be processed in order to summarise and collate data.

You will learn how to use a range of information processing programs such as databases and spreadsheets to design information systems that meet the requirements of the end users.

This unit is assessed through your portfolio work. Throughout your GNVQ course, you will build a portfolio file of evidence that can be used to support your studies. This is a very substantial file and some of the work will be used do directly assess your GNVQ course.

Topics in this unit include:-

• Advantages of a computerised database
• Information systems design
• Advanced Spreadsheet Methods

Unit 3 - Hardware and Software

This unit looks at how computers work in terms of the hardware (what you can touch) and software (what you can see on the screen). You will be taught:-

• How to understand specifications of hardware and software.
• How to select an ICT system and configure it to meet the needs of the users
• How to write a program to improve efficient use of applications software
• How to use hyperlinks to join documents
• Understand and develop good practice in your use of ICT

In order to do this you will learn about:-

• Input devices
• Processing devices
• Storage devices
• Output devices
• Operstaing system softaware
• Applications software
• Programming languages, including basic HTML
• Setting up and configuring a computer system

This unit is also assessed through your portfolio (see unit 2)

The following units are part of the optional (extra units), and are a required part of the intermediate course (4 GCSE option)

Unit 4 - Design Project