In the EUCIP IT Administrator Fundamentals exam the students had a chance to experience the exam situations and the method of testing. In Hungary multiple answer tests are hardly ever used in really important exams. Therefore, our students were happy to take this type of exam since the correct answer was provided too and it was easier for them to spot. Without the possible answer the students could not have answered the questions.  During the school year not all the material was covered that popped up in the ITAF exam. The syllabus of the candidates who participated in the courses and the syllabus of our school did not overlap entirely with that of the ITAF exam so a couple of topics would have come up a later time. On the other hand, the syllabus covered the major topics so it did not present difficulties.

I-T Shape partner meeting

The meeting took place in Budapest with the participation of five partner institutions to discuss the tasks regarding the project.  In the first part of the meeting the deadlines were reviewed. The institutions gave an account of their activities concerning the project. Most of them emphasized the preparation of students and revising the contents of the materials. First, the textbooks were analyzed and then revised.  The three modules come as follows: Build, Operate, Plan. Most of the work was done by the IT-Study. The Plan module contains the economic and business competencies and knowledge.  This knowledge is critical for an excellent IT professional. Due to the efforts of the IT-Study one chapter of compilation of study material is available to assist students with their preparations. Later, printed material will be ready at hand but it takes a lot of work and assistance is needed from all the partner institutions.  Prompted by the suggestion of project coordinator, Mária Hartyányi, a compilation of a textbook was discussed. The textbook will be finished by September. The Operate module occurs in several parts of the Hungarian vocational training, for example networking and the basics of information technology. This is the reason why most students will take the exam in this module.  The students have been learning about these topics for years and they feel confident in the fields of planning and developing. The material contains four to five year-old, dated terms and tools so new terminologies should be used. The partner school stated that they had started the preparation of students and it is still in progress.

Exam preparations

Rules and requirements were discussed at the meeting. Possible dates had been arranged for the exams. The first arranged exam date was to be in April, the second date, in May, the third to be in September. By the last date candidates will be supplied with a well structured study-aid. The tests will start with 2 hours difference i.e. the first start will at 9 a.m., the second at 11.a.m. and the last at 1 p.m. Candidates taking their exams in English will be provided with some extra time to complete the modules. Each test consists of forty five questions with an acceptable passing grade being sixty percent. Teachers and candidates are excited by the challenge this program represents.

The use of E-Learning in the EUCIP Core training

As mentioned in the previous newsletter, the objective of this international program is to introduce of a competitive IT knowledge-learning certificate into the Hungarian educational system. As IT is considered to be a quickly developing science, a learning/teaching method, to be applied, must be flexible and able to react to changes in a profitable, sustainable way. The current method for IT education in Hungary, that of book based education, is insufficient to the rapid changes found in the field; the answer to this is found in E-learning where current events and methodology can reach students quickly if opportunities are taken advantage of. The main method of instituting such criteria is the creation and maintenance of a webpage. To pass the exam successfully students need more knowledge than are available in the current curriculum’s resources. Within the framework of the EUCIP project, only registered students are allowed to access study-materials; it also provides students with opportunity for self-checking since the test does not just determine if an answer is correct or not, but students can check where the mistakes were made- being provided with statistics. Both the study material and the tests are available in English thus preparing the students for the international requirements and providing them with an even more profitable knowledge base. A further help in the study material is that the essential terms are highlighted. Next, to be presented is a description of the framework of the project along with a couple of setting options in the test. The tests have a time-limit so the students’ knowledge can be evaluated with more precision. The trials can be paused at any time and students can review what questions have been already answered. If they want to continue the test they can choose from the questions using a table or a column format. There is an option to set the time limit in the test setting menu. During the next trial the answers may be displayed in different order, also different user groups have different access options regarding the editing and settings of the questions. The students’ results are displayed in a summary table providing us with a full picture of the students’ achievements in comparison. In conclusion, the IT-Study created an excellent e-learning system guaranteeing success for those who are interested in new learning methods.

The issue 7. edited by Molnár Zsolt & Kis Ágnes teachers of Galamb József Agricultural Vocational School. You can read more about it here:

Newsletter issue 7.