Mr. Damon's première IB
ITGS

Graduating Class of 2011

This page is to inform you of your homework, exam revision and any other information you will need.  The assignments will be listed in reverse chronological order so that the most recent work will be on top of the list.  When it says "To Do for Week 2", that means that what is listed must be completed for the second lesson.  

(See below the box for homework)

To Do Every Week:

• Have a look at technology news on TV, in newspapers or on some of the sites listed above, notably the NPR Technology News podcasts.  Keep up-to-date on how information technology is being used to help businesses, hospitals, governments, schools, or the entertainment industry.  This will help you in your essay writing and class discussions because you will have a wide variety of real-life examples and you will build a collection of news items and vocabulary words

Revision for the Bac Blanc Week in February 2010:

• All of Section 1:
  • All the social and ethical issues
  • Be sure to know the definitions given in the very beginning of the IB Programme Guide for ITGS - in the section called "Nature of the Subject", definitions are given for information technology, social impact, ethical considerations and what an information system is.
  • Also, the section called "Methodologies for analysing social impact and ethical considerations" on page 10 has examples of the key questions we have been asking when we look at an IT problem in a social context (such as "What are the advantages and disadvantages for the stakeholders?").  You should use these questions as models for how to write your answers on exams - it's the kind of thing to put on your scrap paper when you start thinking about your answers. 
• The following sections of Topic 2:
  • 2.1.1 Systems fundamentals
  • 2.1.2 Networks
  • 2.2.1 Software fundamentals
  • some parts of section 2.2.2 Databases and spreadsheets - although we have not gone through the IT vocabulary, we have touched on a number of issues which are raised concerning databases. 

  Remember, when you study, always follow this order:

  1. start with the IB Programme Guide for ITGS to see what the assessment statements are (i.e. "evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of software..")
  2. use the guide to help you grasp the difference between each command term (define, identify, describe, outline, explain, evaluate...)
  3. refer to any class notes you have
  4. double check that you have memorized all the IT vocabulary terms (this is what the flash cards are for) - you should know them in both directions:  word to definition and definition to word. 

Have a look at my compositions groupées revision guide.  It contains suggestions for successful revision and test-taking skills. 
 

To Do for Friday 29 January 2010:

• Logbooks will be colleced and checked for Criterion G (see pink box below). 

Project Work

Here is what you should be working on now for your Internal Assessment Project work:

• By now, you should already have a client who has a need for an IT solution
• You should be following the checklist which is printed in the log book for Criterion G
• This first criterion deals with the problem, not the solution.  You should be meeting with your client to find out how the current situation works and what is wrong with it (see the questions on the checklist to know what you should be saying in the logbook).
• Although you probably have a solution in mind, please do not talk about it yet.  Only use the term "IT solution".  So if your client says, "I think a web site would help raise awareness of my association," you write in your logbook under Criterion G that "the client thinks an IT solution would help raise awareness of her associaion."

Deadline:  Friday 29th of January - logbooks will be collected in class and checked to see if you have answered all the questions in the checklist under Criterion G.  Note that students participating in the HMUN need to pass their logbooks in earlier - for example, in class on Friday the 22nd or at the beginning of the following week (see my schedule to see where you can find me).

Revision for the Bac Blanc practice exams in November 2008:

• All of Section 1:
  • All the social and ethical issues
  • Be sure to know the definitions given in the very beginning of the IB Programme Guide for ITGS - in the section called "Nature of the Subject", definitions are given for information technology, social impact, ethical considerations and what an information system is.
  • Also, the section called "Methodologies for analysing social impact and ethical considerations" has examples of the key questions we have been asking when we look at an IT problem in a social context (such as "What are the advantages and disadvantages for the stakeholders?"). 
• The following sections of Topic 2:
  • 2.1.1 Systems fundamentals
  • 2.2.1 Software fundamentals (we will do this after the vacation)
• The Analysis Triangle - be sure to be familar with this way of analyzing ITGS issues in their proper context. 

Remember, when you study, always follow this order:

1. start with the IB Programme Guide for ITGS to see what the assessment statements are (i.e. "evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of software..")
2. use the guide to help you grasp the difference between each command term (define, identify, describe, outline, explain, evaluate...)
3. refer to any class notes you have
4. double check that you have memorized all the IT vocabulary terms (this is what flash cards are for) - you should have a few dozen by now and you should know them in both directions:  word to definition and definition to word. 

Have a look at my compositions groupées revision guide.  It contains suggestions for successful revision and test-taking skills. 
 

At the beginning of the year:

• Be sure you have iTunes on your computer and subscribe to the two podcasts at the top of this page.  Contact me by email if it does not work - see my How to Contact Mr. Damon page. 
• You will need an ITGS notebook, binder or folder.  It is up to you to decide how you want to organize your papers.  There will be notes, photocopies, homeworks and quizzes to keep organized. 
• Each student should have a USB thumb drive.  Be sure your name is on the outside somewhere.  We need to know whose is whose.  Also, if you lose it, we know who to return it to.  If you are buying a new one, I do not recommend the U3 Smart drives in class.  For the moment, they are not compatible with Mac or Vista.  Also, 2 or 4 Gb is enough - do not spend more than 25€ for this.

   

• Copy onto your USB drive the IB Programme Guide for ITGS.  You should also have the Academic Honesty guide and the Extended Essay guide on the USB drive.  I recommend that you create a folder for each subject.

© A.W. Damon 2010