Computing or ICT at A-Level ?

Lokolo

Its all in the name.

ICT - information communication technology.
Its a very broad subject ranging from mobiles to general technology.

Computing is what it says on the tin, Computing.

I did ICT for GCSE (I did it in 3 months, but got a C ) and Computing for A Level (got an A ! woo ! )

If you are a very sciencey and maths person you want Computing, yeh you will find it challenging but you will come out at the end a better person.
ICT isn't as challenging, hence why in other posts, people don't credit it as much.

p.s. you may want to think about whta you wil be dropping (if you are), as, well, in my school, if you did Computing you did it for the whole 2 years.

simmed

Ok, thanks for the amazing replies everyone!

I have had a look at what each course offers - Apparently in I.T. you learn about databases, spreadsheets, interfaces etcetera, which sounds like an extension of the GCSE I.T course.

I'm not particularly worried about coursework, in fact my I.T. GCSE coursework is over 200 pages long at about 3/4 the way through it all. I know that the ICT/Computing exam board is being changed from (maybe AQA) to a Welsh exam board for us.

I think I have been convinced to take computing. More challenging, not simply learning about existing programs. Complimentary to a Maths A-Level. More respected by universities. It also seems to cover your back more if you want to work in computer maintenance.

Thanks again everyone, more thoughts are appreciated!

By the way, I took all 3 sciences, Spanish, Business Studies, Geography, along with the compulsory English Lang, English Lit, Maths, and I.T., and an additional Citizenship course (which is apparently half a GCSE..). I'm thinking of dropping politics (economics/maths/computing sounds like a great combination).

Stubert

simmed wrote: »

I have had a look at what each course offers - Apparently in I.T. you learn about databases, spreadsheets, interfaces etcetera, which sounds like an extension of the GCSE I.T course.

Its exactly the same as GCSE IT! But just a bit more in depth. If you get a good grade at GCSE for it, you're sure fire to get a good grade for it at A-Level.

finbow

I did Computing at A-Level about 4 years ago, covered all the law Data protection act as well as databases etc...as one of the modules in was a bit 'softer'. Since being at uni I have encountered and lived with people who have done both subjects. If you want to get a high grade with minimum effor then I'd recommend I.T. (One of my friends got an A in I.T and knows NOTHING about computers apart from data input). If you want to learn something which is going to be useful to you in your life then go for computing everytime. I learnt everything from how to build a computer to how data travels and also learnt lots of programming. All this gives you a true understanding of how a computer really works not simply the very basics.

Neato

I study both ICT and Computing. Computing is harder in many ways, however if you want to get onto a decent course I'd recommend Computing since ICT is seen as a soft A-Level.

Lokolo

Ouch!

If your Computing board is going to changed to WJEC (the welsh board more than likely) you will be hit in the head.
This is the board I did my Computing A Level in, want to know how big my Computing coursework was? ~300-400. I can only remember my testing, which was 150 odd pages

It will more than likely involve a lot of hard work and end less nights, but its worth it if you like Computers!

Also, a decent website for WJEC Computing and ICT with revision help and informaiton which helps you learn the syallbus:

http://www.theteacher99.btinternet.co.uk/theteacher/newalevel/topics.htm

[Deleted User]

Lokolo - was it 100 pages of screenshots from whitebox testing ?

I work on a rather major IT project.. testing drive me nuts! We have special software for recording test scripts.

robin123_2

I got an A in A level computing last year. The coursework is pretty long and annoying but its not that difficult and you really don't need to be able to program well to do it. I did nearly all of my coursework in Access with a very very small bit of VB. The exam questions are difficult enough but if you revise well enough and go over every past exam paper you can get your hands on its fine.

ICT - The project looks alot longer then the computing one and you also have to do a very lengthy project at AS level whereas with computing its a much shorter project. The exams don't look that difficult but I havn't done it so I can't really comment.

In general I think computing is much more respected degree from Univserities compared to ICT.

Lokolo

ringo_24601 wrote: »

Lokolo - was it 100 pages of screenshots from whitebox testing ?

I work on a rather major IT project.. testing drive me nuts! We have special software for recording test scripts.

Ha yeh it was actually, all the ink I used! Dear me.

[Deleted User]

I guess it should also reflect what you want to do... I work in a London based IT firm, and very few of our staff are programmers. There's about 600 people here (7000 worldwide) and most are deployment - the implementation of the pre-made software into client sites (hospitals). Probably only 60 are 'technical' and require knowledge of UNIX, programming, SQL etc..

You can get hired as one of our deployment staff with fairly minimal IT qualifications (i'm technical and we're a bit more strict).

From what I know of 'the city', being a bit techy does help, especially knowing some VBA. Being very good at maths can get you very good jobs if you want to do finance, however one of the big tasks is making sure you get a 1st or 2:1 (damn my 2:2)