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Did you get the flowchart correct?

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Why don't you try creating your own and sharing it with others!

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How did you do?

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Did you get it right?

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Did you get it right?

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Answers to challenge 1 Encryption

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Digital Footprint

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Digital footprint: what is it and why should you care?

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If you or your family live your life online, the chances are you'll have a digital footprint...

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Understand and learn how to draw Flowcharts.

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A is a diagram that represents a set of . Flowcharts normally use standard symbols to represent the different types of instructions. These symbols are used to construct the flowchart and show the step-by-step solution to the problem.

Using flowcharts

Flowcharts can be used to plan out . Planning a program that asks people what the best subject they take is, would look like this as a flowchart:

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Flowcharts - Designing an algorithm - KS3 Computer Science Revision - BBC Bitesize

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A is a diagram that represents a set of . Flowcharts normally use standard symbols to represent the different types of instructions. These symbols are used to construct the flowchart and show the step-by-step solution to the problem. Flowcharts can be used to plan out .

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Understand the computer Misuse Act

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Teach ICT - GCSE ICT - Computer Misuse Act

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Top quality Computer Science resources for KS3, KS4, KS5

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TED Talks Cyber security

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TED Talks are excellent resources if you want to learn from an expert and spark your curiosity. Although they're available on almost any subject imaginable, these speakers and their talks are among the best concerning cybersecurity.

Keren Elazari is an Israel-born independent cybersecurity researcher who has had work featured on CNN, Wired and more.

In addition to the nearly two decades of insights she's given to security firms, organizations and Fortune 500 companies, Elazari has authored books related to her knowledge.

In her TED Talk, Elazari opens by saying she thinks the internet needs hackers, because without the ethical ones who find vulnerabilities and make them public - a practice known in the hacker community as "full disclosure" - people wouldn't be sufficiently motivated to fix those identified issues.

She continues by clarifying that hackers have significant power because of the capabilities at their fingertips and should use it responsibly.

Another point Elazari raises is that hackers can bring people together to raise collective awareness about issues. She uses Anonymous as an example in the talk for that first point, then brings up how even major companies have a complex relationship with hackers and sometimes don't appreciate them, even when they bring flaws to light.

She ends by emphasizing how hackers have positively impacted innovation, civil liberties and internet freedoms because they can't ignore the problems they find - they must either fix them or exploit them.

This TED Talk may make you think a little differently about hackers than you have in the past.

As a cybersecurity researcher specializing in embedded systems reverse engineering, the manipulation of electronic devices and vulnerability analysis, Chris Domas works at the Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, OH.

Domas graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in computer science and joined the Battelle team soon afterward. Due to the high quality of his work in 2013, he received the organization's Emerging Scientist Award and Technical Achievement Award.

In his TED Talk, Domas provides the audience with details about how pattern recognition and reverse engineering help cybersecurity researchers discover things about pieces of binary code. He opens by explaining what binary code is, how it relates to computers and why it broadened his understanding of cybersecurity.

He points out we're in an age of cyberwarfare and that requires not only defending things in the online realm but, sometimes, knowing how to attack the world's evildoers. To emphasize his point, Domas uses the example of a terrorist who wants to use their mobile phone as a remote detonator.

The talk continues by addressing the painstaking but worthwhile task of figuring out how to translate binary information into visual representations so our brains can understand them. Then, it becomes significantly simpler to recognize patterns within binary information.

Beyond the analysis of visual representations of binary code, the next step is to look for similar pieces of information. By using elimination, it becomes possible to find the desired pieces of code, then finally understand how they work with each other. This entire process can happen in a matter of hours, when it would have previously taken months.

This talk fills you in on the often complicated ways cybersecurity experts work to achieve their goals, so it deserves less than 20 minutes of your time.

One thing cybersecurity researcher James Lyne is passionate about is making the topics in the field accessible. He's the founder of cybersecurity research firm Helical Levity, head of research and development at SANS Institute and a global research adviser at Sophos.

His TED Talk reminds people of the typical online activities they perform without second thought, often putting them at risk for attacks by cybercriminals.

He warns that, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of new individual computer viruses that emerge by the day, cybercriminals have made business enterprises out of their dirty deeds, such as by offering services that allow a client to take down a competitor's site.

Lyne demonstrates how easy it is for criminals to insert malware code on a website and sometimes even make it look like something innocent and supposedly helpful, such as anti-virus software. He talks about the creation of fake public Wi-Fi networks and goes over some other ways cybercriminals can quickly take advantage of people.

Lyne concludes by saying we need to keep adding to the cybersecurity talent pool by ensuring graduates have the information they need to understand new types of malware. He also urges everyone to learn best practices against cybercrime and implement them for self-protection purposes.

His easy-to-understand content reveals the specifics on an essential topic in today's heavily connected world.
Author Bio
Kayla Matthews is a productivity and technology journalist with interests in big data, cybersecurity, IoT and other technologies. Aside from her tech blog, Productivity Bytes, you can read more of her work on CloudTweaks, Malwarebytes and IT Security Guru.

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3 TED Talks on Cybersecurity You Should Watch - Stay Safe Online

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Keren Elazari is an Israel-born independent cybersecurity researcher who has had work featured on CNN, Wired and more. In addition to the nearly two decades of insights she's given to security firms, organizations and Fortune 500 companies, Elazari has authored books related to her knowledge.

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Compression for images website link

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Processing power and storage space is very valuable on a computer. To get the best out of both, it can mean that we need to reduce the file size of text, image and audio in order to transfer it more quickly and so that it takes up less storage space.

In addition, large files take a lot longer to or which leads to web pages, songs and videos that take longer to load and play when using the internet.

Any kind of data can be compressed. There are two main types of compression: lossy and lossless.

Lossy compression

Lossy compression removes some of a file's original data in order to reduce the file size. This might mean reducing the numbers of colours in an image or reducing the number of samples in a sound file. This can result in a small loss of quality of an image or sound file.

A popular lossy compression method for images is the , which is why most images on the internet are JPEG images. A popular lossy compression method for sounds is . Once a file has been compressed using lossy compression, the discarded data cannot be retrieved again .

Lossless compression

Lossless compression doesn't reduce the quality of the file at all. No data is lost, so lossless compression allows a file to be recreated exactly as it was when originally created.

There are various algorithms for doing this, usually by looking for patterns in the data that are repeated. files are an example of lossless compression.

The space savings of lossless compression are not as good as they are with lossy compression.

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Compression - Representing text, images and sound - KS3 Computer Science Revision - BBC Bitesize

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Learn about how text, images and sound are represented in binary with Bitesize KS3 Computer Science.

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GCSE

CPU and memory

The performance of the CPU is affected by the number of cores, clock speed and memory. There are different types of volatile and non-volatile memory.

Part of

Computer Science

Hardware

Revise

Test

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Motherboard

The motherboard is a circuit board that connects the CPU to the memory and all the other hardware. The CPU sits on the motherboard (also called the logic board).

Buses are circuits on the motherboard that connect the CPU to other components. There are many buses on the motherboard. A bus moves instructions and data around the system. The speed of a bus is measured in megahertz (MHz). The faster the bus, the faster data is communicated. The speed of the motherboard is defined by the bus speed.

Buses are limited by their width in bits. They are usually 8, 16 or 32-bits wide. This tells us how many bits can be sent by the bus at any one time, eg a 32-bit bus can send 32 bits at once.

The bus that connects the CPU to the memory is called the front-side bus (FSB) or system bus. CPU cores share Level 2 and Level 3 cache across the FSB. They will usually connect to Level 2 cache through the back-side bus (BSB). The BSB is much faster than the FSB.

The FSB contains two types of bus:

Address bus - this sends information about where data needs to go by sending an address to the memory. The address bus only sends data in one direction - from the CPU to RAM.

Data bus - this sends data to the memory or receives data from the memory. Data can flow both ways along the data bus.

On small CPUs, the data bus and address bus are sometimes combined into one bus. This is called multiplexing.

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GCSE Subjects

Art and Design

Biology (Single Science)

Business

Chemistry (Single Science)

Combined Science

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Design and Technology

Digital Technology (CCEA)

Drama

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Motherboard - CPU and memory - GCSE Computer Science Revision - BBC Bitesize

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Learn about the CPU and memory and understand how they affect computing performance for GCSE Computer Science.

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Von Neumann architecture is the design upon which many general purpose computers are based. The key elements of Von Neumann architecture are:

data and instructions are both stored in primary

instructions are fetched from memory one at a time and in order (serially)

the decodes and executes an instruction, before cycling around to fetch the next instruction

the cycle continues until no more instructions are available

A processor based on Von Neumann architecture has five special which it uses for processing:

program counter - holds the memory address of the next instruction to be fetched from primary memory

memory address register (MAR) - holds the address of the current instruction that is to be fetched from memory, or the address in memory to which data is to be transferred

memory data register (MDR) - holds the contents found at the address held in the MAR, or data which is to be transferred to primary memory

current instruction register (CIR) - holds the instruction that is currently being decoded and executed

accumulator (ACC) - holds the data being processed and the results of processing

Using the registers and the key elements of the Von Neumann architecture, we can now look at how an instruction is processed in the fetch-decode-execute cycle.

The fetch-decode-execute cycle

The fetch-decode-execute cycle is followed by a processor to process an instruction. The cycle consists of several stages.

The address held in the program counter is copied into the MAR.

The address in the program counter is then incremented (increased) by one. The program counter now holds the address of the next instruction to be fetched.

The processor sends a signal along the to the memory address held in the MAR.

The instruction/data held in that memory address is sent along the data bus to the MDR.

The instruction/data held in the MDR is copied into the CIR.

The instruction/data held in the CIR is decoded and then executed. Results of processing are stored in the ACC.

The cycle then returns to step one.

Depending on the type of instruction, additional steps may be taken:

If the instruction is to transfer data held in the ACC back to primary memory, the intended memory address is copied into the MAR. The data to be transferred is copied into the MDR and then transferred to the specified address using the address bus and data bus.

The executed instruction may require the program to jump to a different place in the program. In this case, the memory address of the new next instruction to be fetched is copied into the program counter. The process then restarts at step one.

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Von Neumann architecture - Systems architecture - OCR - GCSE Computer Science Revision - OCR - BBC Bitesize

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Von Neumann architecture is the design upon which many general purpose computers are based.

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Essay-style questions are worth a lot of marks. Not only do they test knowledge and understanding, but they also assess whether you can apply these successfully in a coherent argument.

This type of question is often based around legal, ethical or environmental issues, and also programming. It usually involves some kind of discussion. For example, a question may ask you to discuss the impact of a new technology, or to discuss why legislation is necessary. Another question might require you to discuss standards in programming and why they should be adhered to.

The examiner will be assessing knowledge, how this relates to the question and how well you can communicate it. You should include relevant technical terms.

The next two pages include two sample questions with ideas about how you might tackle them.

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Tackling essay-style questions - How to tackle essay-style questions - OCR - GCSE Computer Science Revision - OCR - BBC Bitesize

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Essay-style questions are worth a lot of marks. Not only do they test knowledge and understanding, but they also assess whether you can apply these successfully in a coherent argument. This type of question is often based around legal, ethical or environmental issues, and also programming. It usually involves some kind of discussion.

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Activity 2 Resources: Binary Images Resource

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Activity 2 Resources: Binary Images Resource

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Activity 1 Resources: Encryption Resource

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Activity 1 Resources: Encryption Resource

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Who Shot Mr. Burns?

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Understand about our digital footprint

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Create your own flowchart for making a cup of tea!

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Have a go at writing clues to the answers in a cybersecurity crossword.

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Understand the wide range of threats to cyber security.

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Learn key terminology with this images crossword

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Understand and label the parts of a Motherboard.

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Understanding key concepts on how a computer works

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Understanding key words and definitions.

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Activity 2: Representing Images through binary

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Activity 2: Representing Images through binary

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Learn how images can be represented as binary

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Who shot Mr. Burns?

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In this ever changing world of technology, it has never been more important to understand and embrace the new systems and software available to us.  Studying this subject will equip you with vital skills for the twenty-first century.
informationtechnology@sixth.trinitymat.org

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James Lyne demonstrates how easy it is for criminals to insert malware code on a website and sometimes even make it look like something innocent and supposedly helpful, such as anti-virus software.

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James Lyne: Everyday cybercrime -- and what you can do about it

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Great website for coursework software project development.

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4. The System Life Cycle (SLC)
The SYSTEM LIFE CYCLE is a process of stages which occur during the development of a new ICT system.
If organisations follow the stages of the SLC, they should be able to avoid many of the problems mentioned on the previous page.

The SLC consists of the following stages:

Definition

Investigation and analysis

Design

Implementation

Testing

Installation

Documentation

Evaluation

Maintenance

Although all projects should start with the definition stage and end with the maintenance stage, the process is not always completely linear. After completion of one stage, it might be necessary to return to an earlier stage.

challenge see if you can find out one extra fact on this topic that we haven't already told you

Click on this link: Designing new systems

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Teach-ICT A2 Level ICT OCR exam board - The System Life Cycle

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The SYSTEM LIFE CYCLE is a process of stages which occur during the development of a new ICT system. If organisations follow the stages of the SLC, they should be able to avoid many of the problems mentioned on the previous page.

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Want advice on protecting yourself against cyber criminals click link below:

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Your Human Firewall – The Answer to the Cyber Security Problem

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Rob May: Your Human Firewall - The Answer to the Cyber Security Problem

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Personal data is a precious commodity but sometimes we can share too much? Rob thinks we need to develop our human firewall in an age where some much of our lives is online.

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Learn about Encryption the process of encoding data or a message so that it cannot be understood by anyone other than its intended recipient.

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Encryption - Encryption - Edexcel - GCSE Computer Science Revision - Edexcel - BBC Bitesize

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Learn about and revise encryption with this BBC Bitesize GCSE Computer Science Edexcel study guide.

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Half of businesses (50%) and around a third of charities (32%) report having experienced some form of cyber security breach or attack in the last 12 months. This is much higher for medium businesses (70%), large businesses (74%) and high-income charities with £500,000 or more in annual income (66%).

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Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

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The Cyber Security Breaches Survey is a research study for UK cyber resilience, aligning with the National Cyber Strategy. It is primarily used to inform government policy on cyber security, making the UK cyberspace a secure place to do business. The study explores the policies, processes and approach to cyber security, for businesses, charities and educational institutions. It also considers the different cyber attacks and cyber crimes these organisations face, as well as how these organisations are impacted and respond.

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Terrified, excited or just bewildered by artificial intelligence? Here’s what you really need to know

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A simple guide to artificial intelligence from BBC Ideas

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Terrified, excited or just bewildered by artificial intelligence? Here’s what you really need to know. Script by the BBC’s Marc Cieslak.

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While rapid advancements in technology have presented increased opportunities to the UK's tech sector, skills shortages need to be addressed - get a job in IT and be part of one of the nation's key industries

What areas of IT can I work in?

According to CompTIA's State of the Tech Workforce UK report, the tech sector employed just under two million workers in 2021, accounting for 6.3% of the total UK workforce.

In addition, the UK Tech Ecosystem update (June 2022) - a Tech Nation report supported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and the Digital Economy Council - revealed that there's been a huge push to encourage talent to enter the industry, with over two million open vacancies within the past year.

So, if you possess the relevant knowledge and technical skills, you could work in:

applications development

computer forensics

content management

cyber security and risk management

data analysis and analytics

game development

geographical information systems (GIS)

hardware engineering

information management

IT consultancy (business and technical)

IT sales

multimedia programming

software engineering (designing, building, developing and testing)

systems/network management

technical support

telecommunications

web design/development.

For instance, your job may involve creating applications or systems, solving problems with technology, or supporting those who use it. Employers in the IT industry also require graduates to work in their business, marketing, human resources (HR) and finance functions.

Many IT professionals also choose to work outside the sector, such as in the IT departments of retail, finance, manufacturing and public sector organisations.

Who are the main IT graduate employers?

Large and global companies include:

Major telecommunications companies include:

As the sector is fast-moving and dynamic, there are many smaller businesses and tech start-ups that are worth seeking out for entry-level job opportunities. For example, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the IT industry provide a range of specialist services and typically offer consultancy and technical roles.

IT professionals are also employed to work in many other job sectors, including:

Financial services - recruiters such as Barclays, Citigroup, Deloitte, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley are looking for IT graduates to work with the latest technologies. These include jobs with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI), cloud services, virtual reality software development, robotics process automation, user experience (UX) or analytics.

Manufacturing - multinational engineering companies in the oil, pharmaceuticals, automotive and energy industries need IT specialists to work on the processes and technologies that underpin their operations. For instance, aerospace and defence innovator MBDA requires software engineers with programming language skills.

Public sector - local authorities, central government and the National Health Service (NHS) all recruit IT professionals to keep their systems running smoothly, deliver projects and analyse data efficiently so it can be used to make major decisions.

Retail - major online and high street retailers such as Amazon, Tesco, TJX Europe and John Lewis look to technology graduates to develop new systems and apps, while rolling out technological solutions that satisfy their customers' needs.

Consider what you can do with a degree in computer science or information systems.

Explore the range of technical careers on offer at IT graduate jobs.

Where can I find IT jobs in the UK?

Most employers expect you to have gained some technical knowledge of IT, although any relevant work experience or internship would be beneficial as you seek to land your first role.

You can search for graduate jobs in IT or visit the websites of major IT and telecommunications companies to browse job opportunities.

Vacancies for entry-level and graduate jobs can also be found on specialist IT recruitment sites, including:

IT jobs in the public sector can be found on websites such as:

In addition, you can look for IT vacancies on general jobs websites, as employers across all sectors require graduates to fill IT and computing roles in their organisations.

Another option is to find an IT apprenticeship, as you'll be able to learn on the job while studying towards a recognised certification.

How do I apply for IT roles?

An IT CV, also known as a technical CV, can be used to apply for roles such as web developer, IT consultant, software tester or applications developer.

Include an introductory paragraph that mentions your technical expertise and experience and incorporate a 'key skills' heading that allows for more detail when discussing technical competencies.

While you might be tempted to showcase all your technical abilities at once, ensure that you highlight relevant skills first and foremost. You should also bear in mind that the document will need to be understood by non-technical people such as HR managers.

Use this CV template to focus on your:

ability to maintain existing software applications and develop new ones

experience of applying technical standards, theories and techniques

problem-solving capabilities

communication skills.

What about technology graduate schemes?

Many major companies run graduate schemes focusing on IT and technology. These are structured training programmes for new and recent graduates, usually lasting between one and two years.

Companies offering IT and technology graduate schemes include:

Visit the recruitment websites of large businesses to find more opportunities. You can also search for IT graduate schemes.

Explore graduate schemes in more detail.

What's it like working in IT?

Graduates entering the IT industry in the UK can expect:

An average starting salary - according to High Fliers' The Graduate Market in 2023 report, starting salaries for technology jobs with organisations featuring in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers are £27,500.

Long working hours - employers tend to emphasise completing a task or project over maintaining standard 9am-5pm office hours.

Opportunities to work abroad - many large IT companies have branches or subsidiaries in other countries.

The chance to be self-employed - it's not unusual for graduates to go freelance, work as a contractor or even start their own companies.

A constantly changing industry - as new technologies and software are developed, it's important to keep your skills up to date to remain at the top of your profession.

To find out more about salaries and working conditions for specific roles, explore our IT job profiles.

What are the IT skills shortages?

Representing over 800 member organisations, industry trade association techUK has highlighted the need for the UK's growing digital skills gaps to be addressed to remain at the forefront of innovation and research and development (R&D).

Nimmi Patel, techUK's skills and diversity programme manager, explains, 'The UK's tech sector is growing at 2.5 times the rate of the rest of the economy creating exciting jobs that require a range of skills and talent - but the UK is still facing a major digital skills shortage. To effectively prepare our workforce in an ever-changing digital economy, we need to inspire and support people into digital roles.

'There are a number of vocational and academic pathways that can provide people with the right technical skills to flourish in the industry, but the IT industry needs more than developers and programmers,' adds Nimmi.

Indeed, TechNation's Jobs & Skills Report 2021 showed that while the number of advertised tech jobs had risen by over a third (42%), many employers were unable to fill these vacancies.

The top in-demand skills included those associated with data science and IT system architecture. Statistics, AI, analytics and machine learning skills were highly valued for the former, with business and data management and Amazon AWS the most sought-after for the latter.

What are the IT industry trends?

In its IT Leaders 2021 report, BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, assessed the capabilities, skills and ethics required by IT organisations in the near-term future. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the findings showed how reliant organisations are on their IT function.

Operational efficiencies (59%), business transformation and organisational change (55%), and remote and distributed working (48%) were among the top priorities for these firms.

Driven by the advancements in digital technologies and the need to remain secure, the report revealed how respondents had made cyber security and cloud their main technological priorities.

Other priorities included business process automation, Agile methods, big data, IT governance (legislative changes), AI, compliance, the as-a-service model (for example, SaaS, PaaS, IaaS), mobile/apps, the internet of things and 5G.

The manipulation of data is a skill that cannot be overlooked, especially with the rise in awareness of the data scientist role.

There are other considerations too. For example, the effect that current or incoming legislation will have on work, such as GDPR-related roles. This would have an implication for big data professionals, who would require skills in AWS, Python, Hadoop, Spark, Cloudera, MongoDB, Hive, Tableau and Java.

The Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) has highlighted how the entertainment sector, which incorporates, music, video and games, is set to hit £10billion in UK sales in 2022 - as it enjoys its ninth successive year of growth. This means that careers in the media, music and video gaming industries are also viable routes for technology graduates.

Find out more

Written by Daniel Higginbotham, Editor

Prospects · October 2022

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If you're considering working in the fast-growing digital tech sector, explore the range of IT careers on offer and find out about the industry's key issues.

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Follow us on Twitter @tah6thform

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Do you have a question about the Academy, our curriculum offer or anything else about your future post-16 education? Or do you have a question about the 'Reading Materials', 'Resources' or 'Challenges' that subjects have set for you in their curriculum area of this Padlet.
Please ask by submitting this Microsoft Form, we are here to support you.

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Ofsted, 2021

Leaders and governors foster a culture of exceptionally high expectations for students' academic success

Ofsted, 2021

Students enjoy their lessons, which are taught by skilled, enthusiastic and knowledgeable teachers

You're treated as an individual... Everything is geared towards getting you ready for life and the staff really help prepare you for your exams

Ofsted, 2021

Leaders and staff create an exceptionally safe and welcoming culture

Ofsted, 2021

Students participate in an extensive range of activities and projects that develop their confidence and broaden their interests

Ofsted, 2021

There exists an ambitious curriculum that equips students exceptionally well with the knowledge and skills that they need to progress

Ofsted, 2021

Students thrive in the academy's calm and harmonious environment

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Trinity Sixth Form Academy - Outstanding Sixth Form in Halifax

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Ofsted, 2021 Leaders and governors foster a culture of exceptionally high expectations for students' academic success Ofsted, 2021 Students enjoy their lessons, which are taught by skilled, enthusiastic and knowledgeable teachers You're treated as an individual...

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Did you get the flowchart correct?

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Why don't you try creating your own and sharing it with others!

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How did you do?

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Did you get it right?

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Did you get it right?

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Answers to challenge 1 Encryption

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Digital Footprint

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Digital footprint: what is it and why should you care?

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If you or your family live your life online, the chances are you'll have a digital footprint...

# data[].attributes.body
Understand and learn how to draw Flowcharts.

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A is a diagram that represents a set of . Flowcharts normally use standard symbols to represent the different types of instructions. These symbols are used to construct the flowchart and show the step-by-step solution to the problem.

Using flowcharts

Flowcharts can be used to plan out . Planning a program that asks people what the best subject they take is, would look like this as a flowchart:

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Flowcharts - Designing an algorithm - KS3 Computer Science Revision - BBC Bitesize

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A is a diagram that represents a set of . Flowcharts normally use standard symbols to represent the different types of instructions. These symbols are used to construct the flowchart and show the step-by-step solution to the problem. Flowcharts can be used to plan out .

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Understand the computer Misuse Act

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Teach ICT - GCSE ICT - Computer Misuse Act

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Top quality Computer Science resources for KS3, KS4, KS5

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TED Talks Cyber security

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TED Talks are excellent resources if you want to learn from an expert and spark your curiosity. Although they're available on almost any subject imaginable, these speakers and their talks are among the best concerning cybersecurity.

Keren Elazari is an Israel-born independent cybersecurity researcher who has had work featured on CNN, Wired and more.

In addition to the nearly two decades of insights she's given to security firms, organizations and Fortune 500 companies, Elazari has authored books related to her knowledge.

In her TED Talk, Elazari opens by saying she thinks the internet needs hackers, because without the ethical ones who find vulnerabilities and make them public - a practice known in the hacker community as "full disclosure" - people wouldn't be sufficiently motivated to fix those identified issues.

She continues by clarifying that hackers have significant power because of the capabilities at their fingertips and should use it responsibly.

Another point Elazari raises is that hackers can bring people together to raise collective awareness about issues. She uses Anonymous as an example in the talk for that first point, then brings up how even major companies have a complex relationship with hackers and sometimes don't appreciate them, even when they bring flaws to light.

She ends by emphasizing how hackers have positively impacted innovation, civil liberties and internet freedoms because they can't ignore the problems they find - they must either fix them or exploit them.

This TED Talk may make you think a little differently about hackers than you have in the past.

As a cybersecurity researcher specializing in embedded systems reverse engineering, the manipulation of electronic devices and vulnerability analysis, Chris Domas works at the Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, OH.

Domas graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in computer science and joined the Battelle team soon afterward. Due to the high quality of his work in 2013, he received the organization's Emerging Scientist Award and Technical Achievement Award.

In his TED Talk, Domas provides the audience with details about how pattern recognition and reverse engineering help cybersecurity researchers discover things about pieces of binary code. He opens by explaining what binary code is, how it relates to computers and why it broadened his understanding of cybersecurity.

He points out we're in an age of cyberwarfare and that requires not only defending things in the online realm but, sometimes, knowing how to attack the world's evildoers. To emphasize his point, Domas uses the example of a terrorist who wants to use their mobile phone as a remote detonator.

The talk continues by addressing the painstaking but worthwhile task of figuring out how to translate binary information into visual representations so our brains can understand them. Then, it becomes significantly simpler to recognize patterns within binary information.

Beyond the analysis of visual representations of binary code, the next step is to look for similar pieces of information. By using elimination, it becomes possible to find the desired pieces of code, then finally understand how they work with each other. This entire process can happen in a matter of hours, when it would have previously taken months.

This talk fills you in on the often complicated ways cybersecurity experts work to achieve their goals, so it deserves less than 20 minutes of your time.

One thing cybersecurity researcher James Lyne is passionate about is making the topics in the field accessible. He's the founder of cybersecurity research firm Helical Levity, head of research and development at SANS Institute and a global research adviser at Sophos.

His TED Talk reminds people of the typical online activities they perform without second thought, often putting them at risk for attacks by cybercriminals.

He warns that, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of new individual computer viruses that emerge by the day, cybercriminals have made business enterprises out of their dirty deeds, such as by offering services that allow a client to take down a competitor's site.

Lyne demonstrates how easy it is for criminals to insert malware code on a website and sometimes even make it look like something innocent and supposedly helpful, such as anti-virus software. He talks about the creation of fake public Wi-Fi networks and goes over some other ways cybercriminals can quickly take advantage of people.

Lyne concludes by saying we need to keep adding to the cybersecurity talent pool by ensuring graduates have the information they need to understand new types of malware. He also urges everyone to learn best practices against cybercrime and implement them for self-protection purposes.

His easy-to-understand content reveals the specifics on an essential topic in today's heavily connected world.
Author Bio
Kayla Matthews is a productivity and technology journalist with interests in big data, cybersecurity, IoT and other technologies. Aside from her tech blog, Productivity Bytes, you can read more of her work on CloudTweaks, Malwarebytes and IT Security Guru.

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3 TED Talks on Cybersecurity You Should Watch - Stay Safe Online

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Keren Elazari is an Israel-born independent cybersecurity researcher who has had work featured on CNN, Wired and more. In addition to the nearly two decades of insights she's given to security firms, organizations and Fortune 500 companies, Elazari has authored books related to her knowledge.

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Compression for images website link

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Processing power and storage space is very valuable on a computer. To get the best out of both, it can mean that we need to reduce the file size of text, image and audio in order to transfer it more quickly and so that it takes up less storage space.

In addition, large files take a lot longer to or which leads to web pages, songs and videos that take longer to load and play when using the internet.

Any kind of data can be compressed. There are two main types of compression: lossy and lossless.

Lossy compression

Lossy compression removes some of a file's original data in order to reduce the file size. This might mean reducing the numbers of colours in an image or reducing the number of samples in a sound file. This can result in a small loss of quality of an image or sound file.

A popular lossy compression method for images is the , which is why most images on the internet are JPEG images. A popular lossy compression method for sounds is . Once a file has been compressed using lossy compression, the discarded data cannot be retrieved again .

Lossless compression

Lossless compression doesn't reduce the quality of the file at all. No data is lost, so lossless compression allows a file to be recreated exactly as it was when originally created.

There are various algorithms for doing this, usually by looking for patterns in the data that are repeated. files are an example of lossless compression.

The space savings of lossless compression are not as good as they are with lossy compression.

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Compression - Representing text, images and sound - KS3 Computer Science Revision - BBC Bitesize

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Learn about how text, images and sound are represented in binary with Bitesize KS3 Computer Science.

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GCSE

CPU and memory

The performance of the CPU is affected by the number of cores, clock speed and memory. There are different types of volatile and non-volatile memory.

Part of

Computer Science

Hardware

Revise

Test

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Motherboard

The motherboard is a circuit board that connects the CPU to the memory and all the other hardware. The CPU sits on the motherboard (also called the logic board).

Buses are circuits on the motherboard that connect the CPU to other components. There are many buses on the motherboard. A bus moves instructions and data around the system. The speed of a bus is measured in megahertz (MHz). The faster the bus, the faster data is communicated. The speed of the motherboard is defined by the bus speed.

Buses are limited by their width in bits. They are usually 8, 16 or 32-bits wide. This tells us how many bits can be sent by the bus at any one time, eg a 32-bit bus can send 32 bits at once.

The bus that connects the CPU to the memory is called the front-side bus (FSB) or system bus. CPU cores share Level 2 and Level 3 cache across the FSB. They will usually connect to Level 2 cache through the back-side bus (BSB). The BSB is much faster than the FSB.

The FSB contains two types of bus:

Address bus - this sends information about where data needs to go by sending an address to the memory. The address bus only sends data in one direction - from the CPU to RAM.

Data bus - this sends data to the memory or receives data from the memory. Data can flow both ways along the data bus.

On small CPUs, the data bus and address bus are sometimes combined into one bus. This is called multiplexing.

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GCSE Subjects

Art and Design

Biology (Single Science)

Business

Chemistry (Single Science)

Combined Science

Computer Science

Design and Technology

Digital Technology (CCEA)

Drama

English Language

English Literature

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Geography

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Home Economics: Food and Nutrition (CCEA)

Hospitality (CCEA)

ICT

Irish – Learners (CCEA)

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Maths Numeracy (WJEC)

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Motherboard - CPU and memory - GCSE Computer Science Revision - BBC Bitesize

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Learn about the CPU and memory and understand how they affect computing performance for GCSE Computer Science.

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Von Neumann architecture is the design upon which many general purpose computers are based. The key elements of Von Neumann architecture are:

data and instructions are both stored in primary

instructions are fetched from memory one at a time and in order (serially)

the decodes and executes an instruction, before cycling around to fetch the next instruction

the cycle continues until no more instructions are available

A processor based on Von Neumann architecture has five special which it uses for processing:

program counter - holds the memory address of the next instruction to be fetched from primary memory

memory address register (MAR) - holds the address of the current instruction that is to be fetched from memory, or the address in memory to which data is to be transferred

memory data register (MDR) - holds the contents found at the address held in the MAR, or data which is to be transferred to primary memory

current instruction register (CIR) - holds the instruction that is currently being decoded and executed

accumulator (ACC) - holds the data being processed and the results of processing

Using the registers and the key elements of the Von Neumann architecture, we can now look at how an instruction is processed in the fetch-decode-execute cycle.

The fetch-decode-execute cycle

The fetch-decode-execute cycle is followed by a processor to process an instruction. The cycle consists of several stages.

The address held in the program counter is copied into the MAR.

The address in the program counter is then incremented (increased) by one. The program counter now holds the address of the next instruction to be fetched.

The processor sends a signal along the to the memory address held in the MAR.

The instruction/data held in that memory address is sent along the data bus to the MDR.

The instruction/data held in the MDR is copied into the CIR.

The instruction/data held in the CIR is decoded and then executed. Results of processing are stored in the ACC.

The cycle then returns to step one.

Depending on the type of instruction, additional steps may be taken:

If the instruction is to transfer data held in the ACC back to primary memory, the intended memory address is copied into the MAR. The data to be transferred is copied into the MDR and then transferred to the specified address using the address bus and data bus.

The executed instruction may require the program to jump to a different place in the program. In this case, the memory address of the new next instruction to be fetched is copied into the program counter. The process then restarts at step one.

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Von Neumann architecture - Systems architecture - OCR - GCSE Computer Science Revision - OCR - BBC Bitesize

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Von Neumann architecture is the design upon which many general purpose computers are based.

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Essay-style questions are worth a lot of marks. Not only do they test knowledge and understanding, but they also assess whether you can apply these successfully in a coherent argument.

This type of question is often based around legal, ethical or environmental issues, and also programming. It usually involves some kind of discussion. For example, a question may ask you to discuss the impact of a new technology, or to discuss why legislation is necessary. Another question might require you to discuss standards in programming and why they should be adhered to.

The examiner will be assessing knowledge, how this relates to the question and how well you can communicate it. You should include relevant technical terms.

The next two pages include two sample questions with ideas about how you might tackle them.

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Tackling essay-style questions - How to tackle essay-style questions - OCR - GCSE Computer Science Revision - OCR - BBC Bitesize

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Essay-style questions are worth a lot of marks. Not only do they test knowledge and understanding, but they also assess whether you can apply these successfully in a coherent argument. This type of question is often based around legal, ethical or environmental issues, and also programming. It usually involves some kind of discussion.

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Activity 2 Resources: Binary Images Resource

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Activity 2 Resources: Binary Images Resource

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Activity 1 Resources: Encryption Resource

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Activity 1 Resources: Encryption Resource

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Who Shot Mr. Burns?

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Understand about our digital footprint

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Create your own flowchart for making a cup of tea!

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Have a go at writing clues to the answers in a cybersecurity crossword.

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Understand the wide range of threats to cyber security.

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Learn key terminology with this images crossword

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Understand and label the parts of a Motherboard.

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Understanding key concepts on how a computer works

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Understanding key words and definitions.

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Activity 2: Representing Images through binary

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Activity 2: Representing Images through binary

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Learn how images can be represented as binary

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Who shot Mr. Burns?

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Half of businesses (50%) and around a third of charities (32%) report having experienced some form of cyber security breach or attack in the last 12 months. This is much higher for medium businesses (70%), large businesses (74%) and high-income charities with £500,000 or more in annual income (66%).

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Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

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The Cyber Security Breaches Survey is a research study for UK cyber resilience, aligning with the National Cyber Strategy. It is primarily used to inform government policy on cyber security, making the UK cyberspace a secure place to do business. The study explores the policies, processes and approach to cyber security, for businesses, charities and educational institutions. It also considers the different cyber attacks and cyber crimes these organisations face, as well as how these organisations are impacted and respond.

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Terrified, excited or just bewildered by artificial intelligence? Here’s what you really need to know

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A simple guide to artificial intelligence from BBC Ideas

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Terrified, excited or just bewildered by artificial intelligence? Here’s what you really need to know. Script by the BBC’s Marc Cieslak.

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Great website for coursework software project development.

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4. The System Life Cycle (SLC)
The SYSTEM LIFE CYCLE is a process of stages which occur during the development of a new ICT system.
If organisations follow the stages of the SLC, they should be able to avoid many of the problems mentioned on the previous page.

The SLC consists of the following stages:

Definition

Investigation and analysis

Design

Implementation

Testing

Installation

Documentation

Evaluation

Maintenance

Although all projects should start with the definition stage and end with the maintenance stage, the process is not always completely linear. After completion of one stage, it might be necessary to return to an earlier stage.

challenge see if you can find out one extra fact on this topic that we haven't already told you

Click on this link: Designing new systems

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Teach-ICT A2 Level ICT OCR exam board - The System Life Cycle

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The SYSTEM LIFE CYCLE is a process of stages which occur during the development of a new ICT system. If organisations follow the stages of the SLC, they should be able to avoid many of the problems mentioned on the previous page.

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James Lyne demonstrates how easy it is for criminals to insert malware code on a website and sometimes even make it look like something innocent and supposedly helpful, such as anti-virus software.

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James Lyne: Everyday cybercrime -- and what you can do about it

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Want advice on protecting yourself against cyber criminals click link below:

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Your Human Firewall – The Answer to the Cyber Security Problem

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Rob May: Your Human Firewall - The Answer to the Cyber Security Problem

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Personal data is a precious commodity but sometimes we can share too much? Rob thinks we need to develop our human firewall in an age where some much of our lives is online.

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Learn about Encryption the process of encoding data or a message so that it cannot be understood by anyone other than its intended recipient.

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Encryption - Encryption - Edexcel - GCSE Computer Science Revision - Edexcel - BBC Bitesize

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Learn about and revise encryption with this BBC Bitesize GCSE Computer Science Edexcel study guide.

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Please feel free to browse through some of the topics of Unit 1 that you will be learning in September.

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While rapid advancements in technology have presented increased opportunities to the UK's tech sector, skills shortages need to be addressed - get a job in IT and be part of one of the nation's key industries

What areas of IT can I work in?

According to CompTIA's State of the Tech Workforce UK report, the tech sector employed just under two million workers in 2021, accounting for 6.3% of the total UK workforce.

In addition, the UK Tech Ecosystem update (June 2022) - a Tech Nation report supported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and the Digital Economy Council - revealed that there's been a huge push to encourage talent to enter the industry, with over two million open vacancies within the past year.

So, if you possess the relevant knowledge and technical skills, you could work in:

applications development

computer forensics

content management

cyber security and risk management

data analysis and analytics

game development

geographical information systems (GIS)

hardware engineering

information management

IT consultancy (business and technical)

IT sales

multimedia programming

software engineering (designing, building, developing and testing)

systems/network management

technical support

telecommunications

web design/development.

For instance, your job may involve creating applications or systems, solving problems with technology, or supporting those who use it. Employers in the IT industry also require graduates to work in their business, marketing, human resources (HR) and finance functions.

Many IT professionals also choose to work outside the sector, such as in the IT departments of retail, finance, manufacturing and public sector organisations.

Who are the main IT graduate employers?

Large and global companies include:

Major telecommunications companies include:

As the sector is fast-moving and dynamic, there are many smaller businesses and tech start-ups that are worth seeking out for entry-level job opportunities. For example, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the IT industry provide a range of specialist services and typically offer consultancy and technical roles.

IT professionals are also employed to work in many other job sectors, including:

Financial services - recruiters such as Barclays, Citigroup, Deloitte, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley are looking for IT graduates to work with the latest technologies. These include jobs with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI), cloud services, virtual reality software development, robotics process automation, user experience (UX) or analytics.

Manufacturing - multinational engineering companies in the oil, pharmaceuticals, automotive and energy industries need IT specialists to work on the processes and technologies that underpin their operations. For instance, aerospace and defence innovator MBDA requires software engineers with programming language skills.

Public sector - local authorities, central government and the National Health Service (NHS) all recruit IT professionals to keep their systems running smoothly, deliver projects and analyse data efficiently so it can be used to make major decisions.

Retail - major online and high street retailers such as Amazon, Tesco, TJX Europe and John Lewis look to technology graduates to develop new systems and apps, while rolling out technological solutions that satisfy their customers' needs.

Consider what you can do with a degree in computer science or information systems.

Explore the range of technical careers on offer at IT graduate jobs.

Where can I find IT jobs in the UK?

Most employers expect you to have gained some technical knowledge of IT, although any relevant work experience or internship would be beneficial as you seek to land your first role.

You can search for graduate jobs in IT or visit the websites of major IT and telecommunications companies to browse job opportunities.

Vacancies for entry-level and graduate jobs can also be found on specialist IT recruitment sites, including:

IT jobs in the public sector can be found on websites such as:

In addition, you can look for IT vacancies on general jobs websites, as employers across all sectors require graduates to fill IT and computing roles in their organisations.

Another option is to find an IT apprenticeship, as you'll be able to learn on the job while studying towards a recognised certification.

How do I apply for IT roles?

An IT CV, also known as a technical CV, can be used to apply for roles such as web developer, IT consultant, software tester or applications developer.

Include an introductory paragraph that mentions your technical expertise and experience and incorporate a 'key skills' heading that allows for more detail when discussing technical competencies.

While you might be tempted to showcase all your technical abilities at once, ensure that you highlight relevant skills first and foremost. You should also bear in mind that the document will need to be understood by non-technical people such as HR managers.

Use this CV template to focus on your:

ability to maintain existing software applications and develop new ones

experience of applying technical standards, theories and techniques

problem-solving capabilities

communication skills.

What about technology graduate schemes?

Many major companies run graduate schemes focusing on IT and technology. These are structured training programmes for new and recent graduates, usually lasting between one and two years.

Companies offering IT and technology graduate schemes include:

Visit the recruitment websites of large businesses to find more opportunities. You can also search for IT graduate schemes.

Explore graduate schemes in more detail.

What's it like working in IT?

Graduates entering the IT industry in the UK can expect:

An average starting salary - according to High Fliers' The Graduate Market in 2023 report, starting salaries for technology jobs with organisations featuring in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers are £27,500.

Long working hours - employers tend to emphasise completing a task or project over maintaining standard 9am-5pm office hours.

Opportunities to work abroad - many large IT companies have branches or subsidiaries in other countries.

The chance to be self-employed - it's not unusual for graduates to go freelance, work as a contractor or even start their own companies.

A constantly changing industry - as new technologies and software are developed, it's important to keep your skills up to date to remain at the top of your profession.

To find out more about salaries and working conditions for specific roles, explore our IT job profiles.

What are the IT skills shortages?

Representing over 800 member organisations, industry trade association techUK has highlighted the need for the UK's growing digital skills gaps to be addressed to remain at the forefront of innovation and research and development (R&D).

Nimmi Patel, techUK's skills and diversity programme manager, explains, 'The UK's tech sector is growing at 2.5 times the rate of the rest of the economy creating exciting jobs that require a range of skills and talent - but the UK is still facing a major digital skills shortage. To effectively prepare our workforce in an ever-changing digital economy, we need to inspire and support people into digital roles.

'There are a number of vocational and academic pathways that can provide people with the right technical skills to flourish in the industry, but the IT industry needs more than developers and programmers,' adds Nimmi.

Indeed, TechNation's Jobs & Skills Report 2021 showed that while the number of advertised tech jobs had risen by over a third (42%), many employers were unable to fill these vacancies.

The top in-demand skills included those associated with data science and IT system architecture. Statistics, AI, analytics and machine learning skills were highly valued for the former, with business and data management and Amazon AWS the most sought-after for the latter.

What are the IT industry trends?

In its IT Leaders 2021 report, BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, assessed the capabilities, skills and ethics required by IT organisations in the near-term future. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the findings showed how reliant organisations are on their IT function.

Operational efficiencies (59%), business transformation and organisational change (55%), and remote and distributed working (48%) were among the top priorities for these firms.

Driven by the advancements in digital technologies and the need to remain secure, the report revealed how respondents had made cyber security and cloud their main technological priorities.

Other priorities included business process automation, Agile methods, big data, IT governance (legislative changes), AI, compliance, the as-a-service model (for example, SaaS, PaaS, IaaS), mobile/apps, the internet of things and 5G.

The manipulation of data is a skill that cannot be overlooked, especially with the rise in awareness of the data scientist role.

There are other considerations too. For example, the effect that current or incoming legislation will have on work, such as GDPR-related roles. This would have an implication for big data professionals, who would require skills in AWS, Python, Hadoop, Spark, Cloudera, MongoDB, Hive, Tableau and Java.

The Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) has highlighted how the entertainment sector, which incorporates, music, video and games, is set to hit £10billion in UK sales in 2022 - as it enjoys its ninth successive year of growth. This means that careers in the media, music and video gaming industries are also viable routes for technology graduates.

Find out more

Written by Daniel Higginbotham, Editor

Prospects · October 2022

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If you're considering working in the fast-growing digital tech sector, explore the range of IT careers on offer and find out about the industry's key issues.

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Coursework Unit

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Coursework Unit

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Cyber security

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Global information

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IT Curriculum map and intent NEW 2024-2025

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Fundamentals of IT

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Follow us on Twitter @tah6thform

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Do you have a question about the Academy, our curriculum offer or anything else about your future post-16 education? Or do you have a question about the 'Reading Materials', 'Resources' or 'Challenges' that subjects have set for you in their curriculum area of this Padlet.
Please ask by submitting this Microsoft Form, we are here to support you.

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Email: contactus@sixth.trinitymat.org

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Ofsted, 2021

Leaders and governors foster a culture of exceptionally high expectations for students' academic success

Ofsted, 2021

Students enjoy their lessons, which are taught by skilled, enthusiastic and knowledgeable teachers

You're treated as an individual... Everything is geared towards getting you ready for life and the staff really help prepare you for your exams

Ofsted, 2021

Leaders and staff create an exceptionally safe and welcoming culture

Ofsted, 2021

Students participate in an extensive range of activities and projects that develop their confidence and broaden their interests

Ofsted, 2021

There exists an ambitious curriculum that equips students exceptionally well with the knowledge and skills that they need to progress

Ofsted, 2021

Students thrive in the academy's calm and harmonious environment

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Trinity Sixth Form Academy - Outstanding Sixth Form in Halifax

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Ofsted, 2021 Leaders and governors foster a culture of exceptionally high expectations for students' academic success Ofsted, 2021 Students enjoy their lessons, which are taught by skilled, enthusiastic and knowledgeable teachers You're treated as an individual...

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OCR Cambridge Technicals         Units covered!

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OCR Cambridge Technicals         Units covered!

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2 Coursework Units​

Unit 9 – Product Development
Software Booking system (Yr12)​

Unit 11 – Systems analysis and design – Software Booking system (Yr12)

3 Exam Units

Unit 1 – Fundamentals of IT (Yr12)​

Unit 2 – Global Information (Yr13)​

Unit 3 – Cybersecurity (Yr13)​

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In this ever changing world of technology, it has never been more important to understand and embrace the new systems and software available to us.  Studying this subject will equip you with vital skills for the twenty-first century.
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