tbh I doubt he'll get into uni with a btec.
BTEC Computer Studies rant..
- Thread starter edscdk
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tbh I doubt he'll get into uni with a btec.
I did. Got a 1st and now in a management position within 9 months of starting a grad scheme, earning at least 20k more than any of my fellow class mates who did A levels.
Associate
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They're good enough to get you onto a degree course of a similar subject at most universities. I finished my BTEC in Computing a few months ago, got triple Distinction, and am now doing a BSc in Computer Science.
Soldato
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Why not?
Soldato
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Rubbish course is rubbish, shocker...
I did this course about6 years ago now and it was a good course. I think it depends on what staff are teaching it tho tbh. I had 4 different teachers for the different aspects of the course. At the time it involved hardware/low level programming, basic programming/html, IT in bussiness and something else I cant remember. I dont think it is the collage that are doing this as the collage have to follow the couses prospecus, I know some of it is open to interpretation but I dont know to what degree this is
I know how you must feel about this. I'm in my second year of BTEC IT as currently doing the games module. When I enrolled at my college I initially went for computing, learning how to program and such. My friend was doing the BTEC and so I changed courses as it offered me more options. I was told that we covered everything from, databases, to programming, hardware, website building and networks. There are other modules which I wasn't told about too.
I covered the hardware module last year and it was pathetic, they got 2 old crappy pcs out, told us which parts were which, then told us to swap ram, hdd, and graphics card from one machine into the other and the same for the other machine. So far no luck with the networking side of things either. Not sure whats going on but I have complained no end to my college about it.
My tutors are pretty much the same too, they turn up, tell us what we need to be doing then leave us to it, if we ask about it we get the same thing your son gets.
Oh and the best module of all is the other one I'm doing right now which is more of a business thing. All about project managing. When I asked where the 'IT' part came into all this they said to me, well you will be creating the website.
Rubbish course? Did you do it?
I did a BTEC National in Computer Studies and to be fair it was rubbish. Despite a 16 year career in IT I can comprehensively say I learnt nothing relevant to any job I have had, apart from maybe the 'rlogin' command to play funny noises on other people's Sun workstations. However I doubt if A-levels at the time would have been any more relevant.
Mind you we're talking 1991-1993 here.
Mind you we're talking 1991-1993 here.
the college does not write the standards. The exam board does.
What course did he enrol on? Reason I ask is if it is IT Practitioners then they isn't a game design module available in any of the pathways of that qualification. Games Design comes under the Nat Dip Media Production.
Caporegime
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This is how the majority of courses at this level are handled. Particuarly regarding the information given. As for the games design module, blame the kids who play the XBOX all day and then have an idealized view of what Game Design actually involves. I'm on a 2nd BTEC course. My first was a BTEC HND in Computing which included networking, programming etc. The one I'm in now is Multimedia which has Games Design as part of the course. Surprisingly, one of the modules I like the least.
The coursework is actually fairly easy though. They seem to accept everything copy and pasted straight from Wikipedia but I've been trying to do mine from what I know already as much as possible.
ofc the troll didnt lol
while we're here... what is A level computing like?
I just saw it as... 16 year olds coming out of GCSE, you cant teach anything too advanced because...
1. tutors would be LOST
2. kids wouldnt have a clue
I just did it, got it out the way while studying a LOT for myself...
Seemed to be the case in my experience. I enrolled on the BTEC National in Computer Studies in 1998. The out of date computer system that were introduced to on day 1 had the alarm bells ringing. Windows 3.1! Turned out they were supposed to be starting on Windows NT at the start of the year but instead of upgrading the terminals to run it they decided to use a thin client system so they could dig out their old 386s etc to use. Except the system never worked.
Some of the modules of the course just seemed to bare no relation to what the course was supposed to be about. For example one module was called Quantitative Methods. Basically it was GCSE foundation level maths. Another module was Communication Studies. Great, I thought. Data communication/networking etc. Nope. We spent the entire time examining print ads.
In the entire first year we got to actually look inside a computer once, and that was a non functioning 286. At the start of the course they had around 60 people enrol. By the end of the first year so many people had dropped out (of which I was one) that they were running the course at a financial loss.
Associate
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Edexcel gives them the modules and criteria, but I believe it's down to the college to form assignments out of it all.
My lecturers were good and I think the course was definitely worthwhile. I guess some people just get unlucky with BTECs?
Caporegime
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AFAIK, the examining board sets the assignments as well.
yeah all assignments were from edexcel, atleast in my college.