VCE Informatics Questions and Discussion

[Skumzy]

Would someone be able to explain the similarities and differences between the three acts? (Privacy Act, Privacy and Data Protection Act and Health Records Act)

The main differences I know about are where and to whom they apply to and that the Health Records Act deals predominantly with medical data. However I'm finding it hard to find a distinction between the other two acts as their content seems fairly similar. Thanks!

[madefromrebel1]

Hi, Aaron and the discussion group

First of all just finished my major exams only got 2 left one of them which is informatics, really worried about it. I have few questions about study scores predictions and exam revision. I enjoyed the SAT was really interesting and fun but took long time to finish.. p.s our teacher was new first year teaching year 12, she is now retiring since job is hard. Anyway i always loved IT and want to pursue my career into it. What would i need to get a 40+ study score... my scores were SAC 1 - 80%, SAC 2- 89%, SAT- 32/40. And what would be some good rdbms practice except for playing around with microsoft access and also some work for ERD diagrams.

Thanks

[EdwinJS]

Being the first year of the study design, how is everyone going about exam preparation for Informatics? There's only 1 textbook and only 1 VCAA exam to refer to... anyone?

[Aaron]

Hi, Aaron and the discussion group

First of all just finished my major exams only got 2 left one of them which is informatics, really worried about it. I have few questions about study scores predictions and exam revision. I enjoyed the SAT was really interesting and fun but took long time to finish.. p.s our teacher was new first year teaching year 12, she is now retiring since job is hard. Anyway i always loved IT and want to pursue my career into it. What would i need to get a 40+ study score... my scores were SAC 1 - 80%, SAC 2- 89%, SAT- 32/40. And what would be some good rdbms practice except for playing around with microsoft access and also some work for ERD diagrams.

Thanks

I would aim for an A+. Informatics is a very.. interesting subject. Depends on your cohort etc too. To be safe, get an A+ on the exam. That's probably the best advice I can give you. I averaged upper 90's in SACs, got an A (not an A+) and just got 40. The cohort I was in was extremely weak, I was rank 1 by a long mile. Make sure you nail key concepts like normalisation.. its a subtle point in the study design but believe me when I say year in year out this is a common error (pg. 29 of the study design).

That's awesome that you want to pursue a career in IT. It definitely needs more enthusiastic people like yourself.

Same with you EdwinJS, I would recommend looking at vceit.com by Mark Kelly. Honestly the fundamental concept of Computing hasn't actually changed THAT much. Don't be fooled by the new accreditation period. Go through the key knowledge points in the study design and find content relevant to that. Past exams from old study designs are good, as long as you get the questions that are still relevant in the current study design.

All the best

[madefromrebel1]

I would aim for an A+. Informatics is a very.. interesting subject. Depends on your cohort etc too. To be safe, get an A+ on the exam. That's probably the best advice I can give you. I averaged upper 90's in SACs, got an A (not an A+) and just got 40. The cohort I was in was extremely weak, I was rank 1 by a long mile. Make sure you nail key concepts like normalisation.. its a subtle point in the study design but believe me when I say year in year out this is a common error (pg. 29 of the study design).

That's awesome that you want to pursue a career in IT. It definitely needs more enthusiastic people like yourself.

Same with you EdwinJS, I would recommend looking at vceit.com by Mark Kelly. Honestly the fundamental concept of Computing hasn't actually changed THAT much. Don't be fooled by the new accreditation period. Go through the key knowledge points in the study design and find content relevant to that. Past exams from old study designs are good, as long as you get the questions that are still relevant in the current study design.

All the best

Thanks Aaron for the advice

[Skumzy]

Good luck on the exam tomorrow everyone! For those of you who have this as your final exam: Enjoy finishing VCE and get some well-deserved rest

[Aaron]

Updated thread to reflect a general Q&A thread, rather than a specific 2016 cohort. Post away if you're doing Informatics!

[scanz_]

Updated thread to reflect a general Q&A thread, rather than a specific 2016 cohort. Post away if you're doing Informatics!

I'm doing Informatics this year. Hopefully people use this thread this year as much if not more than last year. I swear I think I saw a digital tumbleweed blow by.

If any one is doing Informatics this year, please reply so we can all support each other!!

[Aaron]

I'm doing Informatics this year. Hopefully people use this thread this year as much if not more than last year. I swear I think I saw a digital tumbleweed blow by.

If any one is doing Informatics this year, please reply so we can all support each other!!

Thanks for posting scanz_! Informatics and VCE Computing in general tend to be quiet-ish on ATAR Notes, as they aren't really *that* popular among AN users. In saying that, we do get a few hits every so often. Especially when you get given the survey task to complete (Informatics 2017: Post your SAT surveys here)!

Post if you have any questions - maybe start off with a discussion about what you expect from Informatics as a subject? Cheers

[JO101]

That is great to hear JO101! Please come back and let us know what you think of the exam when you do it. Cheers!

It was good...40+ SS. Mark Kelly helps

[Aaron]

It was good...40+ SS. Mark Kelly helps

Indeed Congratulations on your 40+

[JordanM-VCE]

It was good...40+ SS. Mark Kelly helps

My teacher put a photo of Mark Kelly photoshopped as jesus up on the classroom wall we used the website so much.

[scanz_]

My teacher put a photo of Mark Kelly photoshopped as jesus up on the classroom wall we used the website so much.

Unfortunately it seems that Mark Kelly is giving up on Informatics...   

Read the 21st of February entry at his website:  http://vceit.com/wp/newsblog/

[Aaron]

Unfortunately it seems that Mark Kelly is giving up on Informatics...   

Read the 21st of February entry at his website:  http://vceit.com/wp/newsblog/

He is so right though. It is dry. Computing in general is dry. Algorithmics is the only breath of fresh air going around, and only 12 schools statewide offer it. I recently completed a Bachelor's degree in IT and the course content taught is somewhat distanced from what is actually taught at university level now. I really hope for the sake of Computing's future that the entire SD & Informatics courses are completely rewritten and dragged back into line with what university and industry expects. It feels old, it is old. This is the VCAA's fault - so schools can't really be blamed for VCE content.

You really have to ask yourself why enrolment numbers are low..... some reasons:
* Dry content
* Penalised for taking the subject (via scaling and moderation)
* IT/Computing is perceived as 'difficult', much like the perception of maths to the regular student.
* Lack of emphasis on computing/coding/even STEM in the junior/middle years (7-10). It really puzzles me why some form of IT is not compulsory at year 7 & 8, just like english & maths are. Giving students an iPad and saying they've addressed IT (instead of actually running classes) in those years is just not right.

[scanz_]

He is so right though. It is dry. Computing in general is dry. Algorithmics is the only breath of fresh air going around, and only 12 schools statewide offer it. I recently completed a Bachelor's degree in IT and the course content taught is somewhat distanced from what is actually taught at university level now. I really hope for the sake of Computing's future that the entire SD & Informatics courses are completely rewritten and dragged back into line with what university and industry expects. It feels old, it is old. This is the VCAA's fault - so schools can't really be blamed for VCE content.

You really have to ask yourself why enrolment numbers are low..... some reasons:
* Dry content
* Penalised for taking the subject (via scaling and moderation)
* IT/Computing is perceived as 'difficult', much like the perception of maths to the regular student.
* Lack of emphasis on computing/coding/even STEM in the junior/middle years (7-10). It really puzzles me why some form of IT is not compulsory at year 7 & 8, just like english & maths are. Giving students an iPad and saying they've addressed IT (instead of actually running classes) in those years is just not right.

I completely agree with you.
VCAA desperately needs to overhaul the entire VCE Computing course.
It is a bit annoying though, as Computing seems to be one of VCAA's lower priority subjects.
Maybe if they paid a little attention to the course, they would see how badly this course needs to be rewritten.
Hopefully, with the change of the high school curriculum, it will mean that VCAA does pay attention to this potentially amazing subject (if they make coding compulsory in Year 7)