I went to a meeting for Edinburgh teachers yesterday to give a talk about making games within a Curriculum for Excellence. At least, I thought I was meant to talk about that but it ended up being about an SQA qualification in game design instead. Anyhow, here are the slides (Download Making GamesForresterSchool2ndMarch) for those who might be interested. I am a bit fuzzy on the difference between A Curriculum for Excellence and SQA national qualifications. CfE is meant to be for 3-18, yes? And national qaulifications cover early secondary through to adult learners? And then there are highers and standard grades for 4th - 6th years? So surely there should be a clear progression of skills from primary into secondary, then into standard graqdes and highers? Well apparently not if you look at game design which, as you know, is embedded into CfE in the technology objectives. Because even the early stages in the CfE have game design and implementation built in. And then you get to SQA modules in game design (which I now can't find the link to) which only contain game analysis and game design. No game implementation, mark you. All being well, in a few years there will be kids who learned how to make games in primary school coming through to secondary and taking SQA modules which will let them analyse and design games but not make them for themselves. What? Those learners will not be impressed, me thinks. What kind of a Niagra-Falls dwelling dinosaur wrote the SQA game design objectives which seperate design from implementation?
No wonder students don't sign up for computing courses at university. The secondary school qualifications framework seems to be very effective at putting them off.
Which I guess is why we are working on CfE. Great presentation - and I'll pass on your comments to computing team at SQA - I am assuming you did this on day too - there is a a join up to with National Occupational Standards in this area from E-Skills and Skillset the Sector Skills Councils as well as CfE.
We have been looking at on decline of students doing computing at University and yes school quals are one of range of complex issues. All solvable through postive partnership working.
DM me at Joe.Wilson@sqa.org.uk
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