DiDA

The DiDA (Diploma in Digital Applications) is an optional information and communication technology (ICT) course, usually studied by Key Stage 4 or equivalent school students (aged 14-16) in England and Wales. DiDA was introduced in 2005 (after a pilot starting in 2004) as a creation of the Edexcel examination board. DiDA is notable in that it consists entirely of coursework, completed on-computer; all work relating to the DiDA course is created, stored, assessed and moderated digitally. It was introduced as a replacement to plug the gap in ICT education as GNVQ's were withdrawn.

Course

There are two 'levels' that can be taken. Level 1 is for lower ability pupils (Grades C-G) and Level 2 is for higher ability pupils (Grades A* - C). The course consists of four units. Using ICT is a compulsory unit. The other three units, Multimedia, Graphics and ICT in Enterprise, are optional.

Students who complete the Using ICT module alone receive an Award in Digital Applications (AiDA), which is equivalent to one GCSE or Standard Grade. Those who complete the Using ICT unit and any one of the other three units receive a Certificate in Digital Applications (CiDA), which is equivalent to two GCSEs or Standard Grades. Students who complete all four modules receive the full Diploma in Digital Applications (DiDA), which is equivalent to four GCSEs or Standard Grades. Edexcel recently made it possible for candidates to achieve a Certificate in Digital Applications Plus (CiDA+), equivalent to three GCSEs or Standard Grades, upon completion of Using ICT and another two units. This will come into effect for candidates being assessed in Summer 2007.

Each module is stated to take approximately 30 guided learning hours to complete. Pupils completing any module of the DiDA course do so by reading an online web resource (see external links) and then independently completing a set number of tasks. These tasks, as well as the planning and design work, are presented in an 'eportfolio' to be marked and assessed. Only work presented in the eportfolio and the eportfolio itself is marked. Edexcel maintains an archive of the previous modules (known as Summative Project Briefs, or simply SPBs) online, so candidates have the opportunity to practice working to meet the requirements of the course, and so teachers can practice leading the course.

Levelling & qualifications

In DiDA students can get one of five grades. These are: fail, pass, credit, merit and distinction at both levels one and two.

Adobe Associate Certificates

Students will be eligible to claim Adobe Associate Certificate(s) (formerly known as Macromedia Certificates, before Adobe purchased Macromedia) if they achieve a merit or distinction in the relevant unit at Level 2 and complete the Adobe Associate Certificate tasks, using the relevant Adobe software, as part of the Summative Project Briefs for the following units:

*Web Media using Dreamweaver - Multimedia
*Multimedia using Flash - Multimedia
*Web Graphics using Fireworks - Graphics

This scheme has now been cancelled, leaving many unhappy students without extra qualifications, however an alternative has been provided by Certiport and Edexcel, with much more work.

An alternative to Adobe is the MatchWare DiDA Suite (OpenMind, Mediator 9, ScreenCorder 5) which is endorsed by Edexcel. Students can create ePortfolios and advanced Multimedia projects appropriate for D-201 and D-202.

GCSE ICT (including functional ICT)

On July 16th 2007 Edexcel announced they will be introducing a new pilot GCSE ICT course.

The new GCSE in ICT (including functional ICT) is an alternative to AiDA and consists of two units.Unit 1 covers the three strands of the stand-alone functional skills ICT pilot qualification and contributes 50% of the marks towards the GCSE ICT. Candidates will sit a practical computer-based examination which is externally set and marked. In Unit 2 candidates will plan and undertake a substantial project requiring eight hours of work in a controlled environment. The project brief (a mini SPB) will be supplied by Edexcel. Candidates will present their achievements in an eportfolio which is internally assessed and externally moderated.

On 30th June 2008 Edexcel announced that teaching of the new GCSE ICT qualification will start in 2010.

Criticism

The qualification by teachers is said to be overly hard compared with the GNVQ's it replaces. Many students have found that the course is inappropriate and unnecessarily time consuming, in terms of the time consuming planning required; which forces the candidate to micromanage every part of the project, as a result of this, it takes time away from the core of the project. The ease of the course results in the students feeling that they are being patronised, even though the students already possess the skills required. Despite the skill level required, students participating in the examination have received poor marks compared to what their schools estimate, due to badly specified criteria on the [http://dida.edexcel.org.uk/home/ Edexcel DiDA website] Fact|date=April 2008. Students have had poor marks returned and told that they ought to have done certain things which were clearly no-where on previously provided mark-scheme, and the board have reduced marks based on criteria which contradict the original mark schemeFact|date=April 2008, the SPB contradicts itself in many instances, the mark scheme also changes frequently during the year, which results in confusion for the teachers moderating the subject and the students who are working on the modules, as what they were required to do may not necessarily be relevant in the changes and candidates find that work that they have completed may not be mark obtaining.

When the coursework is assessed has a bias towards the planning, monitoring and the evaluation of the work conducted opposed to the actual computing skills involved in the units. The course focusses skills that suit students who are good at organising, planning, discussing, empathising and team work. It is prejudiced against students who are individualistic risk takers who might be prefer to focus on technical aspects of ICT against endless reporting of how and why they did things. This is unfair, as many students of higher skill levels may actually achieve lower marks than students who are less capable.

There are also concerns that 30 hours, the time set by the exam board to complete each unit, is not enough time limit to complete the work; and issues arise when candidates are unable to create the e-portfolio to a usually unobtainable standard, due to conflicts in marking scheme.

Although the Edexcel exam board claim that their DIDA course will be a success in upper schools around the countryFact|date=April 2008, many schools have received poor feedback from students and parents about the large amount of coursework required for the course.Fact|date=February 2008

Another issue is that although originally the amount of help given by the teacher was taken into account in the marking, this was changed just prior to the November 2007 deadline. This left a lot of students who had not received any help with less marks, as they hit less of the points in the mark scheme. This change greatly favoured those of lower skill levels, as even if the teacher had helped greatly, the student still received high marks.

There are also concernsWho|date=April 2008 that colleges and sixth forms do not accept DIDA as a recognised qualification. This includes Amersham and Wycombe College in Buckinghamshire and Manchester Grammar School. http://www.amersham.ac.uk/index.cfm?page=371

References

External links

* [http://dida.edexcel.org.uk/ Edexcel: DiDA]
* [http://www1.edexcel.org.uk/dida-0906-d201/html/SPB201Index.htm DiDA SPB (Using ICT from 2006)]
* [http://www1.edexcel.org.uk/dida-0906-d202/html/SPB202Index.htm DiDA SPB (Multimedia from 2006)]
* [http://www1.edexcel.org.uk/dida-0906-d203/html/SPB203Index.htm DiDA SPB (Graphics from 2006)]
* [http://www1.edexcel.org.uk/dida-0906-d204/html/SPB204Index.htm DiDA SPB (ICT in Enterprise from 2006)]
* [http://www.chalkface.com/products/ICT/DIDA/ DiDA ePortfolio-builder]
* [http://www.didacourse.com Website dedicated to the DiDA course]
* [http://dida.edexcel.org.uk/VirtualContent/87674/Adobe_Associate_Certification.pdf Requirements for Adobe certification]