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Head of Department |
Mr N Ferguson (Principal Teacher) |
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Staff |
Miss L Russell (Senior Teacher) Miss E Cameron |
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The Computing Studies Department isfully equipped with student work-stations, printers and otherperipherals. All equipment is networked to make all resourcesavailable to all students. This network is connected to a widerschool network to give access to a range of shared information.
In all courses there is emphasis on preparing pupils for thecontact they will have with computers and other technologicalequipment in their future and all hardware and software in thedepartment is of a standard to attain this through "hands-on"experience.
We start with an introductory problem solving course in whichpupils are encouraged to use the computer to design their ownsolution to a series of graded problems. Solutions will involve theuse of word processing, database and graphics packages. The programswe use are the same throughout the school and of a similar level tothose found in the business and commercial world.
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What is Computing Studies ?
Computing Studies is the study of how computers work, what type oftasks they carry out and how they are used in business and industry.
What happens in a Standard grade course ?
Standard grade is a two year course with a final award being madein S4 at Credit, General or Foundation level.
The computing course consists of three main areas of study.
What topics are covered ?
The course is divided these sections.
What equipment is used ?
Each computing classroom has 20 pupil workstations, a laserprinter and colour inkjet printer.
There is also a range of other hardware devices in the departmentsuch as CD-Rom drives, digital cameras, video cameras, scanner andmodems.
The computers used are Apple Macintosh PowerPC computers.
A variety of software is used including ClarisWorks, ClarisDraw,HyperCard, Think Pascal and Netscape.
All practical work is done individually, although sometimes groupwork is encouraged.
What happens at the end of the course ?
At the end of fourth year pupils will sit a national exam inStandard Grade Computing Studies at Credit, General or Foundationlevel.
This will test them on
The school will assess pupils on
This means each pupil will have to complete a folder of practicalwork and project work.
An overall grade is awarded from these three elements by theScottish Examination Board.
What career prospects are there ?
Most jobs use computers in some way.
These include jobs in:
Other jobs where computers are used are:
There are also jobs in the computing industry itself.
These jobs require special computing qualifications.
What can I do after fourth year ?
If you want to continue your education in Computing you can go onto study Higher Computing Studies and CSYS.
Alternatively you can study one of the many computing modulesoffered by the department leading to Scotvec qualifications.
These modules include :
Expert Systems
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Higher Computing Studies
Scotvec Modules
What is Higher Computing Studies ?
Higher Grade Computing Studies is a challenging, academic coursewhich is recognised by Universities and Colleges for entrance. Thiscourse will enable students to develop skills of Analysis and Design,Problem Solving and Knowledge Representation within a computingcontext.
It is an ideal platform for those who wish to go on to aUniversity or College course or to take up a career in Computing.
Each computing classroom has 20 pupil workstations, a laserprinter and colour inkjet printer.
There is also a range of other hardware devices in the departmentsuch as CD-Rom drives, digital cameras, video cameras, scanner andmodems.
The computers used are Apple Macintosh PowerPC computers.
A variety of software is used including ClarisWorks, ClarisDraw,HyperCard, Think Pascal , Netscape, Primex and Prolog
All practical work is done individually, although sometimes groupwork is encouraged.
How is the course structured ?
30% of the marks in Higher Computing Studies is from internalassessment. 15% is awarded for an investigation and 15% forprogramming tasks.
The course is divided into several sections.
Standard Grade Computing 1 or 2 (exceptionally grade 3).
A crash course is available under certain circumstances.
If you want to continue your education in Computing you can go onto study for CSYS.
Alternatively you can study one or more of the many computingmodules offered by the department leading to Scotvec qualifications.
Grade - Module
Preferred Entry Requirements - No special qualifications
Aims/Content:
The aim of this Module is to introduce students to theskills needed in storing, processing and presenting simpleinformation using a computer. It can be an introduction to computerhardware and software including application packages such asspreadsheet or database programs. On completion of the course youwill be able to perform basic operations on a microcomputer system.
Introduction to Computer Applications
Grade - Module
Preferred Entry Requirements - No special qualifications
Aims/Content:
This module introduces the student to a range ofapplication packages and their use within commercial and businessenvironments. The aim is to make the student aware of the types ofpackages available and the type of problem which can be tackled bythe use of a particular application. The applications studied areWord Processing, Spreadsheet, Database Management, Communications,Graphics, Desk Top Publishing and Integrated Packages.
Grade - Module
Preferred Entry Requirements - SG 4 Computing Studies orprevious relevant modules
Aims/Content:
To introduce students to the hardware and softwareassociated with Desk Top Publishing. The Module covers the basicskills and techniques necessary to produce simple publications. Thecourse will consist of learning PageMaker on the Apple Macintosh butbasic design theory and techniques will also be taught
Assessment is through a number of practical exercises and shortanswer questions.
Computer Applications (Design)
Grade - Module
Preferred Entry Requirements - SG 4 Computing Studies orprevious relevant modules
Aims/Content:
To enable students to set up and use correctlycommercially available computer aided design packages to solveproblems the student might expect to find in a work environment. Forthe majority of the time the student will be using the computer withonly a brief demonstration by the teacher.
Introduction to Computer Programming (Pascal)
Grade - Module
Preferred Entry Requirements - Standard Grade 3 ComputingStudies, Standard Grade 3 Maths or English, previous relevant modulesor by arrangement.
Aims/Content:
To introduce the student to a computer programminglanguage in a problem solving environment. The student should learnto apply a recognised problem solving technique, to manage programfiles and to produce tested code in the programming language Pascal.
Introduction to Expert Systems
Grade - Module
Preferred Entry Requirements - Standard Grade 3 ComputingStudies, previous relevant modules or by arrangement.
Aims/Content:
This module is designed to give the student experienceof using expert systems. An expert system is a computer program whichcontains specialist knowledge, and can offer advice and explanationin a way similar to a human expert. Expert systems are becoming morewidely used in business and industry for advice, classification,diagnostic and planning systems.
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