Digital Technology (CCEA)

What is digital data? How is it represented, stored and shared?

The functions of system software and their modes of processing, tasks carried out by utility applications, the role of antivirus software and the importance of regular system updates.

Databases are at the heart of digital technology, making data easy to store, organise and search.

Spreadsheets can help you calculate values from data using various formulae. They can also be used for data modelling and the visual representation of data.

Hardware is the physical components of a computer system. When we connect computers together to share data, software and hardware we create a network.

Networks make computers more powerful, but also more vulnerable to attack. In the era of the internet and cloud computing, what are the threats to data security?

How does life, society and the law react to the evolution of digital technology?

The advent of digital technology has radically affected our lives, but what are the positive and negative aspects of those changes?

Software designers must produce specifications to guide development teams, then they must test the software.

Accessibility and operability across different interfaces are crucial to the development of a successful digital product.

Multimedia applications combine elements like text, images, audio and video and require specific considerations in their design.

Developing the right type and structure of database allows you to store, access, search and output your data to your greatest advantage.

Software testing involves testing a program under various conditions to make sure it works. Even the best programmers make mistakes, so it is important to identify them as soon as possible in the development stage so that errors can be fixed.

How is a product evaluated and user tested, and why? Evaluation and user testing help ensure products meet their original design specification, offer an efficient solution, operate across appropriate platforms and are full and complete.

When creating a digital solution for an end user, you must establish the user requirements and create, evaluate and refine clear design plans.

Once you have designed your solution, you must code your Controlled Assessment website using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).

You must produce a robust test plan for both your website and database solution. Testing should use appropriate test data and be evidenced with screenshots.

Software development and programming paradigms change over time, from imperative programming to high level languages like Python and C++.

What is digital data, and how do computers understand it? How is digital data represented, stored, shared and manipulated?

Digital design demands an understanding of computational thinking, as programming simply tells a computer what to do and how to do it.

Computer programs use data stores to organise the different types of data they contain. Data stores can be either a constant, variable or an array, and contain inputs, outputs, functions, instructions, sequences and more.

In some ways, computer languages are no different to our own. They have strict rules programmers must follow in order to make their programs understood. Mistakes throw up errors, which must be fixed.

Once software has been created, it must be tested under different conditions to make sure it works. This can be achieved with white box, black box, unit, integration and system testing, as well as thorough planning and evaluation.

In this unit, students design, develop and test coded solutions when creating digital systems. Students must use one of the following languages in their completed solution: Python, Java or C#.

Building a solution involves coding in an appropriate high level language, choosing an appropriate Integrated Development Environment (IDE), testing and documenting its development.

Once the development stage is complete you must complete integration, system and acceptance testing on your code and evaluate your solution.