Information and Digital Technology 2025 HSC exam pack

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 extended response answer booklet 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 HSC content 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 providing a diagram
• use the space provided and the mark allocation as a guide for answering the question. 

Question 16

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify two distinct benefits that are clearly related to cloud storage, for example, accessibility and scalability (a)
• describe the main purpose of the ScamWatch website as an online resource to refer to if you are scammed (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• recognising the focus of the question by stating the advantages of cloud storage (a)
• demonstrating understanding of the role of the different sources of government information on current online security threats (b).

Question 17

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate how two features would enhance the user experience, for example, using dropdown boxes to reduce the number of keystrokes (a)
• write about enhancing the user experience in their response (a)
• extract the input data, the steps for processing and the result from the question and display it in the correct format for an IPO diagram (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• explaining how the feature improves the user experience, for example, display images as thumbnails for faster webpage loading times (a)
• drawing a diagram in the correct format as asked for in the question (b)
• practising breaking down program requirements to develop an input-process-output (IPO) diagram (b).

Question 18

In better responses, students were able to:

• outline a progression of emergency response steps before the need to evacuate, for example, ensuring people move away from the affected computer to avoid injury, and turning off the power (a)
• identify human factors that lead to hazards in the workplace, for example, fatigue and inadequate training, and then explain strategies to be implemented (b)
• separate the purpose of safety tags and the purpose of lockout devices, and outline how they connect to safe work procedures and practices (c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• ensuring their response applies to the scenario given, for example, unplugging the power source when there are sparks from a workstation, rather than evacuating the building (a)
• providing some contextual information as part of their response, for example, stating a human factor that could contribute to hazards and then explaining the strategies to minimise hazards (b)
• addressing how each safe work tool is used separately to ensure safety in the workplace (c).

Question 19

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide similarities and differences of two distinct methods for obtaining feedback (a)
• distinguish between qualitative and quantitative feedback methods (a,b)
• provide depth to their answer by describing different types of sources and the challenges of combining those sources. For example, different types of data sources take different formats which can make it difficult to standardise and compare information (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• including the differences when doing a comparison to show understanding (a)
• demonstrating understanding of what the question is asking, for example, providing two challenges (b).

Question 20

In better responses, students were able to:

• distinguish between floating point and an integer (a)
• relate how floating point is needed for the logic of the program in the scenario to work more accurately (a)
• provide a definition or example of a library module and outline an advantage and a disadvantage (b)
• draw a flowchart using the correct symbols (c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• demonstrating understanding of the different data types, their purpose and when they are used in programming (a)
• demonstrating understanding of using library modules to gain firsthand knowledge of when, why and how they are used when programming (b)
• breaking down program requirements to develop a flowchart (c)
• using the correct flowcharting symbols and adhering to the rules of the control structures, for example a binary selection should have one input and two output flow lines (c).

Question 21

In better responses, students were able to:

• describe how to protect the privacy of employee data, for example, by encrypting the data (a)
• give clear descriptions of how each creative thinking technique works in the creation of new ideas (b)
• describe multiple methods and tools and explain how these would help when working with other companies overseas (c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing more depth to their answers (a)
• using different types of creative thinking tools, such as ‘brainstorming and mind map’ as opposed to ‘mind map and concept map’ which are both conceptualising tools (b)
• connecting how the tools will help the companies to work effectively and not just listing the tools. For example, scheduling regular video conferencing meetings allows face-to-face interaction and ongoing communication (c).

Question 22

In better responses, students were able to:

• discuss each of the three actions with each of the three stakeholders
• provide both positive impacts and negative impacts to the business, to the staff and to the customers
• use specific ICT terminology correctly
• provide detailed examples of the impact, for example, isolating the system will impact the customers as they will not be able to make purchases, staff will not be able to log on and complete their work, and the business will lose out on potential sales and revenue.

Areas for students to improve include:

• planning their response by breaking down the question
• making sure they have read the entire stimulus and understood the content, that is, the actions are isolate, document and communicate, not the cyber attack
• expanding their answer by justifying each statement made.