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NewsIndependent evaluates Student coursewareCaitlin Davies of the Independent published an article on 13th January 2005 evaluating the new ECDL for Students courseware. "Aston Swann and its [ECDL for Education] course materials are accredited by the Government initiative Curriculum On-Line, which enables schools to use "e-learning credits" to purchase the teaching package. The student course has been piloted at Cowes High School in the Isle of Wight, and its ICT co-coordinator, Russell Dale, is impressed. He claims that because the [ECDL for Students] course is purely skills based, students become a lot more computer-literate than on the GCSE programme. The introduction of the ECDL was the brainchild of the school's new headteacher. He wanted a more vocational curriculum and decided to cut out GSCE and Key Stage 3 IT. As a result, the school needed something to replace them. "The head's view is that IT should be a tool across the curriculum, not a subject in its own right," says Dale. Last September the school "jumped in with both feet first" and piloted the course with all its Year 9 and Year 10 students. As a seven-module course, the ECDL takes [up to] three years to complete. There is very little coursework... Dale admits there were some concerns about whether post-16 students taking IT courses would have the necessary experience. But he says in practice the course exceeded expectations. "The students love it. They are motivated, they are learning loads of skills and they are turned on by it." Link to case study |
