Information Technology

Unpacking the 2012 PAT

Donovan — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 08:29:51 +0000

The theme presented for the Information Technology Practical Assessment Task (PAT) for 2012 had some learners groaning about a boring theme. There are, however, opportunities for creative programs within the theme if one starts digging a little deeper. In fact many opportunities exist for “advanced” programming if one starts adding notable features.

Scenario

The learner is expected to write a program that could be used as an information system by the staff and/or visitors at any nature-oriented tourist attraction in South Africa

Ideas

A topical issue at present is the problem of poaching so there is scope for software which will aid the discovery of poachers so that they can be dealt with. A program could plot on a map, all data of poaching to date in a particular area and attempt to highlight hot spots and times when poaching may occur. The program could notify rangers of possible poaching attempts.

A botanical gardens scenario could see a program displaying images and detailed information of plants within areas of a botanical garden. The program could also include a game for correct guessing of plant types or names making the experience of identifying plants more interesting.

The outdoor nature of the theme also provides the opportunity for a mobile component of the program. With the Java Mobile Development Kit (Java ME) it is just as easy to develop an application for a Java enabled device as it is to create a desktop Java program. An “advanced” program could use the network sockets to connect a mobile version of the application to the desktop application in order to retrieve data and images from the Microsoft Access database. This idea could be taken to almost any application developed within this scenario.

2012 Grade 12 Practical Assessment Task

Donovan — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 09:42:42 +0000

The 2012 Grade 12 PAT appeared on the Eastern Cape Exams Website on 29 October at www.ecexams.co.za/2011AssInstructions.htm. This is the earliest we’ve seen the Information Technology PAT released for the following year which certainly helps in planning for your learners’ projects next year. The PAT is available here.

Update 11/11/11: The DBE has now listed all PATs officially on their website at http://www.education.gov.za/Curriculum/PATS/PATS2012/tabid/681/Default.aspx

Web Design in Grade 10

Donovan — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:33:21 +0000

With the new CAPS implementation from 2012 for Information Technology, we see the introduction of web design into the curriculum. This is a very pleasing move as there is a shift in industry to move many applications online because the ease of cross-platform use as well as the advantages of having content in the “cloud” for security and backup reasons.

A new page introducing web design and HTML is available here to introduce your learners to the principles of web design.

Quick Guide to Creating an Object

Donovan — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:35:38 +0000

One of the most important concepts in Information Technology is the ability of a learner to understand and create an object class.

Creating an object is a simple procedure if you are familiar with the basic requirements. Following the steps below to successfully create any object class.

Create a public class and then place your attributes at the top of the class – remember to make them private as you only want them to be accessed from within the class.
Create a default constructor and parameterised constructor with parameters for your attributes.
Create a get (accessor) method for each attribute.
Create a set (mutator) method for each attribute with checks and error checking if necessary.
Create a toString() method that returns a string representation of all the attributes (data) of the object. If sample output is provided ensure that your toString output matches it.

Netbeans 7.0.1 Released

Donovan — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 10:07:31 +0000

Netbeans 7.0.1 has been available for a short time offering some bug fixes on their 7.0 release.

http://netbeans.org