Vision2learn IT Skills Level 2

noelphobic

Started this course recently and wishing I hadn't! I thought I had reasonable IT skills and completed ECDL 1 recently. I expected this course to be harder but not as hard as it is.

I checked with the tutor to see what the pass mark is and it is 100%. :eek: You do get more than one bite at the cherry but even so it is a bit daunting. I've never studied anything that required 100% to pass and I've done everything from very basic courses to a degree (although not in IT).

Has anyone else done this course and how did they find it? If I drop out then they can charge me for the cost of the course (which is otherwise free).

iclayt

Do they charge you if you fail? If you fail you won't get anything, but if you drop out you won't have the qualification either, so why not just give it a go and ask for more support from your tutor if you're struggling.

Andypandyboy

Which areas of the course are you finding hard?

noelphobic

iclayt wrote: »

Do they charge you if you fail? If you fail you won't get anything, but if you drop out you won't have the qualification either, so why not just give it a go and ask for more support from your tutor if you're struggling.

Yes, you're right. I don't think you do have to pay and I get the impression that you will be helped enough to pass. I'm not sure how enforceable the fee is though.

The tutor has asked for students to send her weekly updates of how she's doing so I will let her know I'm struggling. I think she's off for about 3 weeks in September though.

I'm hoping that I will find the Excel module a bit easier though, as I have used Excel quite a lot - hopefully not famous last words!

noelphobic

Andypandyboy wrote: »

Which areas of the course are you finding hard?

I'm on the Word module at the moment and I'm finding that harder than I anticipated. You had to use a template to create a newsletter, using data you were supplied with. I struggled to find the correct template and aren't really happy with it. You then had to make changes to font size, colour etc. That bit was easy enough but it seemed to have been a waste of time to have used a template and then changed everything when you could have just used an ordinary word document.

Also, the theory questions in ECDL 1 were multiple choice and I thought this would be the same, which they're not, and I'm also struggling with them. I breezed through ECDL!

Andypandyboy

Using and adapting templates will be in the citeria, so that is why you have to do that. Level 2 IT qualifications are more evidence based so you have to have evidence of performing the task and usually the vaious stages and then show the end result.

If you are not sure what is being asked (which is not unusual as the questions are often poorly framed) then ask for clarification. Don't rush through it. Is there a deadline or can you do it over as many months as is needed?

LittleVoice

noelphobic wrote: »

I'm on the Word module at the moment and I'm finding that harder than I anticipated. You had to use a template to create a newsletter, using data you were supplied with. I struggled to find the correct template and aren't really happy with it. You then had to make changes to font size, colour etc. That bit was easy enough but it seemed to have been a waste of time to have used a template and then changed everything when you could have just used an ordinary word document.

Also, the theory questions in ECDL 1 were multiple choice and I thought this would be the same, which they're not, and I'm also struggling with them. I breezed through ECDL!

Don't expect the tasks to be anything like the real world.

Also do not try to use your own initiative, just follow what they tell you to do.

You have to act like an automaton.

The 100% is because an automaton doesn't mind doing something over and over again until it perfectly matches what their master wants. A human being in an office could produce something which was acceptable to another reasonable human being (possibly better than that which was envisaged) and be praised for it. In the V2L IT L2 world that is not how it goes.

lisauk82

I have done a few V2L courses in the past and the tutor support has always been very good. If you submit a module that you do not pass they tell you exactly where you have gone wrong and explain it in a better way. You will be fine. Good luck :j

noelphobic

Andypandyboy wrote: »

Using and adapting templates will be in the citeria, so that is why you have to do that. Level 2 IT qualifications are more evidence based so you have to have evidence of performing the task and usually the vaious stages and then show the end result.

If you are not sure what is being asked (which is not unusual as the questions are often poorly framed) then ask for clarification. Don't rush through it. Is there a deadline or can you do it over as many months as is needed?

There's 4 modules and the deadlines are every 4 weeks, but I don't think they're set in stone.

I'm waiting for a cartridge for my printer and when that comes I'm going to print out some of the course material and the assessment instructions, as I think I will find it easier than swapping around between 3 or 4 different windows.

Some of the questions are rather poorly framed indeed. The instructions also say that you mustn't plagiarise, which is ridiculous. When you are asked to describe 2 ways of inputting data, apart from using the keyboard, then the answer is voice recognition or touchscreen software. You can't phrase that differently.

Sncjw

I used a lot of answers in the materials provided for equality and diversity course and I just reworded it like the order of the words and also expand on their info such as describing briefly how voice recognition works. Not expecting a lot but they won't want one word answers. Think of it like answering gcse questions as it is equvilant to that

noelphobic

Sncjw wrote: »

I used a lot of answers in the materials provided for equality and diversity course and I just reworded it like the order of the words and also expand on their info such as describing briefly how voice recognition works. Not expecting a lot but they won't want one word answers. Think of it like answering gcse questions as it is equvilant to that

I can see how that would work for the course you did but some of the questions on IT do only require very short answers, like the one I mentioned. As far as plagiarism is concerned, it's only plagiarism if you don't reference your source anyway.

The tutor has asked us to email her every week to let her know how we are doing so I will email her in the next couple of days and let her know I'm struggling.