Information and Digital Technology 2022 HSC exam pack (archive)

Students should:

• read the question carefully to ensure that they do not miss important components of the question
• have a clear understanding of key words in the question and recognise the intent of the question and its requirements
• use the first page of the answer booklet for an extended response to develop a plan to assist in the logical sequencing of information
• engage with what the question is asking rather than presenting a pre-prepared response
• relate to the question throughout the response rather than just at the beginning
• ensure each extended response answer is completed in a separate writing booklet
• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the examinable units of competency from the syllabus
• communicate ideas and information using relevant workplace examples and industry terms
• be prepared to address a range of industry issues
• demonstrate knowledge of employability skills relevant to various situations
• include relevant annotations when including a diagram.

Question 21

In better responses, students were able to:

• describe a number of different skills, for example, ‘technical’ or communication, teamwork, problem solving skills
• provide the characteristic and features of the skill
• use industry terminology relevant to the skill being described.

Areas for students to improve include:

• including a description of the skill
• being logical and relating to the scenario
• understanding the key term used in the question.

Question 22

In better responses, students were able to:

• recommend a range of strategies such as using an alternate keyboard/workstation to isolate the cause
• describe the steps involved in each strategy in a logical way, using industry terminology.

Areas for students to improve include:

• including more than one strategy in their response
• demonstrating understanding of the troubleshooting process by accounting for the expected result or outcome of each step so that the issue can be identified.

Question 23

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify relevant considerations and describe the consequences of particular decisions when selecting a software system (a)
• provide examples to support the response using industry terminology (a)
• outline steps in a logical sequence to provide a holistically complete operating system installation process (b)
• use industry terminology such as BIOS, boot disk, ISO, formatting/partitioning (b)
• include sourcing the medium, changing boot order, optimising the system, updating backing up, restoring data and updating software (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• using relevant and current industry examples to demonstrate the importance of the identified considerations (a)
• providing a detailed response identifying potential issues that could arise if not completed correctly (b)
• providing a response that sequentially describes the steps from start to finish (b).

Question 24

In better responses, students were able to:

• show the importance of a delivery platform and how it relates to an animation sequence
• show a clear purpose of a delivery platform
• provide practical examples of delivery platforms such as social media.

Areas for students to improve include:

• ensuring that a purpose of a delivery platform is clearly outlined, for example, to convey a message.

Question 25

In better responses, students were able to:

• define rendering and relate it to an image size, depth, height and colour (a)
• describe the use of audio in an animation, for example, to set the mood (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• using practical examples and industry terms to illustrate their answer (a)
• relating the answer to audio elements, such as, sound effects, speech synchronisation and soundtrack (b).

Question 26

In better responses, students were able to:

• clearly articulate the reason for the large file size (a)
• reference audio, animations, file size, height, width and depth (a)
• define and explain the principles of staging and appeal, giving relevant examples, such as the placement of digital assets (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• using practical examples in the response (a)
• explaining both staging and appeal (b)
• providing relevant examples of staging and appeal (b).

In better responses, students were able to:

• use an example to describe acceleration/deceleration (a)
• define key frames and use an example to show a practical use of key frames (b)
• explain both design specification and technical requirements in relation to an animated sequence product brief they have worked on (c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• linking an example back to the animation sequence (a)
• relating to an authoring tool and using industry terminology available in the authoring tool to explain how key frames were used (b)
• providing examples of design specification and technical requirements related to an animated sequence production brief (c).

Question 24

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide a description of the motherboard, relating it to the purpose
• use industry standard terminology.

Areas for students to improve include:

• ensuring responses address all aspects of the question by providing details of the purpose of the motherboard.

Question 25

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify and outline a problem relating to the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) in a home office network, for example, speed of internet connection (a)
• connect the issue/problem and the impact of this on a home office network (a)
• name and describe an internal storage device (b)
• identify the types of data or information that may require internal storage (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing characteristics of VoIP and associated issues (a)
• providing examples of an internal storage device, such as a Solid-State Drive (SSD) (b)
• providing detail in their response (b)
• focusing on the internal storage rather than comparing to external storage (b).

Question 26

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify that client approval is required prior to installation and explain the reasons (a)
• explain the consequences of not getting client approval, for example, the cost of delivering a network not suited to the client’s needs (a)
• provide details which describe each of the hardware components of a wired network (b)
• communicate the relationship between each of the components (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• explaining rather than providing an outline (a)
• using industry standard terminology (a)
• describing the hardware, for example, a router and how this needs to be considered in the design (a)
• having a deep understanding of the hardware required in a wired network (b)
• focusing on the question rather than outlining the benefits of wireless networks
• providing depth and detail (b).

In better responses, students were able to:

• define SOHO network and describe the issues of security, data theft, hacking, malware and viruses (a)
• use correct industry terminology referring to the scenario (a)
• demonstrate knowledge of access privileges and user rights in a shared network environment (a)
• give reasons why they recommended the actions to protect the customer details (b)
• recommend a number of actions and relate the recommendations to the scenario (b)
• use industry terminology such as firewall, folder permissions, privileges, groups, data and network security (b)
• demonstrate understanding of using backups in a SOHO network (c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• using correct industry terminology in responses (a, b)
• describing the issue identified in detail (a)
• relating it to the scenario of the SOHO network (a)
• supporting the recommendation with reasons (b)
• providing more than one action (b)
• relating it to the scenario of the SOHO network (b)
• understanding the role of backups (c).

Question 24

In better responses, students were able to:

• outline purposes relating to commercial software packages, for example, financial cost, packaging, ready-to-use work tool
• provide an example of a commercial software package, such as Office 365.

Areas for students to improve include:

• using an example to make the connection with commercial software packages
• providing information related to the purpose of commercial software packages other than naming multiple applications within a package
• using industry terminology and providing correct names for software packages.

Question 25

In better responses, students were able to:

• use an example of provide a benefit of naming convention (a)
• provide a step-by-step procedure of how to use this sort function in word-processing (b)
• provide context on how to sort text within word processing by using an example (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• identifying a file-naming convention and linking it to the benefit (a)
• describing the sort method correctly and using examples to illustrate understanding (b)
• including the different types of sorting methods within the sort function, for example, alphabetical, numerical, paragraph, headings or fields (b).

Question 26

In better responses, students were able to:

• link client needs directly to the design of a web page (a)
• use an example to provide different solutions to client needs related to design of a web page (a)
• link security features related to protection of the user and website (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• using an example to explain client needs (a)
• linking the client needs to the question, for example, the layout and content of a web page (a)
• referring to the features included in the screenshot (b).

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide reasons about the importance of site maps, links to blueprints, visual, links between pages, reference to style sheets, version testing and navigation (a)
• describe aspects of testing and why it is important for website performance (b)
• describe sources of support, for example, vendor booklets/ operation manual, online forums and troubleshooting functions (c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• linking the use of site maps to navigation in a website (a)
• providing relevant examples in the response (b)
• providing an explanation rather than an outline of sources of support (c).

In better responses, students were able to:

• articulate a workplace issue for each of the three components of the question, for example, Work Health and Safety (WHS) – not knowing the emergency procedures for evacuation, networks – unable to log on, relationships – levels of authority, to whom to escalate issues
• propose possible solutions to each of the identified issues
• give examples, solve the issues and provide further actions or suggestions
• address networking as the IT environment
• use relevant examples in supporting each of the components addressed
• use correct industry standard terms throughout
• appropriately use legislation, acts and agencies when addressing the components of the question
• organise their response to reflect an in-depth awareness of organisational structures.

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing an example with solutions, such as, WHS emergency procedures and reading the signage near the exits
• demonstrating an understanding of networking, for example, security, login, virus, maintenance and connectivity
• demonstrating knowledge of workplace relationships, for example, levels of authority, who to escalate WHS issues or networking issues
• identifying a variety of possible immediate solutions, rather than repeating ‘refer to supervisor’.