Software Development

[anon101]

Hey guys,
I'm planning to do Software Development next year (2019) and didn't do IT for the first half of this year.
So I was wondering what I should do to get like a 50 study score here.
I know I missed unit 1, however, I myself am a fairly decent programmer (I myself normally program in JavaFX, however, my school insists on teaching VB, even though none of the students like the language).
I haven't yet learnt anything about networking really, but how bad would missing unit 1 be? Can I still get a high score (like 45+)?
Also, would you guys have any tips on how I should study networking in like 1-2 weeks for my end of year exam this year?
Are there any resources for SoftDev available? Like summary notes going through all the necessary concepts
Thanks for your help guys!!!

[Aaron]

Hello,

Honestly, there AREN'T that many resources available for Computing subjects in general. http://vceit.com/ would be your best bet in terms of reliable resources.

Missing Unit 1 won't impact you, if at all. It's not one of those subjects that heavily relies on Unit 1 and 2 to do well in.

VB is a terrible language, I agree. Your school should be adopting Python, really. It ticks all the boxes in terms of easiness to learn, object oriented (satisfies the requirements of SD) and is freely available/cross-platform. JavaFX on the other hand, is not that easy. But kudos for understanding it, it sounds like you'll do super well.

In terms of scoring 45+, it's absolutely possible to do this. You have a natural interest in the area given your experience - I can tell, so that definitely will help your situation greatly.

Programming itself is only half of SD - you have to bite your lip through a ton of dry theory (e.g. problem solving methodology application) as well. Enjoy

Cheers!

[anon101]

Thanks for your advice Aaron,
I agree Python is a great beginner first language (it was mine, and I suggested it to my teacher who says he just can't really be bothered collecting new material for teaching it to students, even though our school used to do Python for softdev a while ago (although none of our current IT teachers want to teach SoftDev next year (so will probably get a new teacher )).
Where can I find out about the other topics which aren't programming? I tried VCEIT, but it doesn't seem to have everything does it?

[Aaron]

Sounds like your school is going through a Computing mid-life crisis. I really hope you get somebody who is energetic and wants to teach it. It's a great subject when taught properly.

Where can I find out about the other topics which aren't programming?

Well, the study design would be a good place to start. That will tell you what the course covers.
https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/vce/computing/ComputingSD-2016.pdf
Page 40 and beyond.

In terms of resources available... like I said, not much available. There's quite a bit of overlap with Informatics and SD so you might wanna check out that section on VCEIT too (e.g. Problem solving methodology is a common overlap).

I reckon you should've had a crack at Algorithmics. You'd probably enjoy that more given your already strong programming background.

[anon101]

Thank's dude,
I'll make sure to check the VCEIT page out in more detail soon!!!
Yeah, I definitely want to have a great, energetic SoftDev teacher next year

[Aaron]

Thank's dude,
I'll make sure to check the VCEIT page out in more detail soon!!!
Yeah, I definitely want to have a great, energetic SoftDev teacher next year

Even go through the study design, find key topics (e.g. unified modelling language - also known as UML.. very popular for design phase) and doing a simple google search. Like, it's extra work for you but given the heavy reliance on programming etc in SD, if you want a 45+ then this is what you'll need to do.

Textbooks are cool and all, but jeez IT is so applied a textbook just doesn't satisfy that need.