Essential IT Skills Level 1
Essential IT Skills Level 1 leads to a Level 1 ITQ Award / Certificate in IT User Skills (QCF). This qualification is on the Qualification Credit Framework (QCF).
- Course details
- How long does it take?
- Course delivery and assessment
- About the qualification
- The computer kit needed
- How much does it cost?
- What do I do now?
Course details
Essential IT Skills Level 1 is suitable for KS3 year 9 students and KS4 year 10 and 11 students. The units are flexible and can be combined to create a Level 1 Award or Certificate qualification, depending on the needs of the individual learner. They are also suitable for use in Foundation Learning Personalised Learning Programmes and in KS4 Engagement Programmes.
Benefits for schools include:
- Accreditation for work learners may already be doing.
- Flexible online study – learners can complete the units at school or at home.
- Studying online puts the learners in control and provides an alternative to classroom teaching.
Each ITQ unit has a credit value. Learners will need to build up 9 credit values to achieve a Level 1 Award in IT User Skills (QCF) and 13 credit values to achieve a Level 1 ITQ Certificate in IT User Skills (QCF). The units and their individual credit values are summarised below.
The following units are available for study on Essential IT Skills Level 1:
| Level 1 ITQ Award/Certificate in IT User Skills (QCF) | Credit values Level 1 |
|---|---|
| Mandatory unit | |
| Improving productivity using IT | 3 |
| Optional units | |
| Using email | 2 |
| Spreadsheet software | 3 |
| Word processing software | 3 |
| Database software | 3 |
| Presentation software | 3 |
| IT User Fundamentals | 3 |
| IT Communication Fundamentals | 2 |
| Using the Internet | 3 |
Mandatory unit:
Improving productivity using IT
This unit is all about using IT tools to complete tasks more efficiently and really improve your work. Pupils will learn lots of useful skills including:
- Planning an IT task
- Choosing software programmes
- Reviewing their work.
Optional units:
Using email
This unit covers all the essentials of using email. Learners will find out how to:
- Create and send email messages
- Use ‘netiquette’ to get the most out of email
- Use the email address book
- Do more with email.
Spreadsheet software
In this unit learners will discover lots of practical skills about creating and using spreadsheets and getting the most from their spreadsheet software. They will find out how to:
- Use spreadsheet software
- Create and use functions and formulae
- Create graphs and charts
- Format their spreadsheets.
Word processing software
This unit shows learners how to get the most out of their word processing application, using a wide range of tools and techniques to produce professional looking documents. Learners will find out about:
- Creating a new document
- Entering text, numbers and symbols
- Inserting image files and using tables
- Formatting documents.
Database software
This unit will help pupils to discover more about databases. It is ideal if they want to find out more about modification of simple databases, creating queries and building reports. They will learn how to:
- Set up a database
- Enter data accurately
- Create records in their database
- Do more with their data
- Create and print reports.
Presentation software
In this unit learners will learn lots of useful skills to enable them to create professional presentations. Pupils will discover how to:
- Create a new presentation
- Use a design template
- Control their presentation
- Finish their presentation.
IT User Fundamentals
This unit helps pupils to understand the basics of using IT systems safely and securely, and to use appropriate skills and techniques to operate IT systems for a range of activities. Pupils will learn how to:
- Use IT systems for different needs
- Manage filing systems and retrieve information from these systems
- Maintain an IT system and troubleshoot IT problems.
IT Communication Fundamentals
In this unit pupils will learn the basics of communicating online via email and other Internet-based mediums. The following subjects are covered:
- Using email accounts to organise and plan activities
- Accessing different types of information/media via the Internet
- Using search engines.
Using the Internet
With this unit pupils will discover how to connect to the Internet and navigate browsers effectively to search for and find information. Pupils will cover the following topics:
- Getting online
- Change settings to improve browser performance
- Browsing the web and searching for information.
How long does it take?
Each Essential IT Skills Level 1 unit requires approximately 10-20 hours of study time. Learners can flexibly study at their own pace, depending upon the time made available for their studies.
Course delivery and assessment
The course is offered online with vision2learn – an innovative web-based learning system, which you and your pupils can access via PC from school or home. The online course contains all of the learning content needed to meet the assessment requirements of the course, as well as activities to enable your pupils to practise their skills and test their learning, receiving additional help and support from you as you are always just a click away.
About the qualification
Studying Essential IT Skills Level 1 leads to a Level 1 ITQ Award / Certificate in IT User Skills (QCF), which helps your pupils to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of this subject.
In order to successfully achieve a qualification, your pupils will need to complete a series of Assessments as they work through each session of the course. You will assess these and they will build up to form each pupil’s portfolio of evidence of learning. An Award or Certificate will be awarded on satisfactory submission of evidence of learning.
The computer kit needed
- An Internet enabled PC running Microsoft Windows operating system
- Web browser – Internet Explorer 8.0; Firefox 8.0 (or later); Google Chrome 15.0 (or later)
- Session cookies should be enabled
- JavaScript should be enabled
- Microsoft Word or similar word processing package
- Microsoft Excel or similar spreadsheet package
- Microsoft Access or similar database package
- Microsoft PowerPoint or similar presentation package
- Microsoft Outlook or similar email package
- Acrobat Reader. click here to download
- Flash player 9.0 or later. click here to download
How much does it cost?
Three payment options are available please see our Vision2learn fees, features/benefits and leasing options for further details.
Our partner schools use core AWPU funding to fund courses for their 14-19 year olds. Leasing options are available too.
What do I do now?
For further information on vision2learn for schools and how it could contribute towards your achievement targets please contact:
Jonathan Ovenden on 07730 402653 or email: jonathan.ovenden@creatingcareers.com.
Or
Andrea Wadham on 07983 621095 or email: andrea.wadham@creatingcareers.com.
