Choosing a suitable project

Learners may choose to solve their problems by either the use of a software applications package and/or by writing their own program(s). The exact method of solution will be the choice of each learner but the teacher will need to ensure that all options have been covered during the course so as to allow the learner maximum flexibility in their choice of solutions. The use of a specific programming language is the responsibility of the school and will be determined by the available resources within the school. However if learners choose to write their own program then the choice of language must allow them to construct their program in a structured modular approach. Previous experience of learners' work indicates that the choice of certain projects, for example games, simple databases, quizzes, word processing and websites that just provide information, make unsuitable projects and are not capable of achieving high marks.

The following list is offered as a suggestion of some suitable projects but it is in no way complete and learners should be actively encouraged to investigate. It should be noted from the list below that the client need not be a business or private company - learners will be assessed on the overall process they have gone through to produce their solution, not on the commercial status of the client.

· Booking systems e.g. Doctor’s/Dentist’s/Hospital appointments, leisure centre facilities, beauty salons etc.

· Seat reservation systems for theatres, cinemas, concerts etc.

· Control systems e.g. greenhouses, air conditioning, lifts, traffic lights etc.

· Management of events e.g. school sports day and timetabling,

· School revision programs e.g. a revision system based around the ‘Pacman’ game or other Computer-Aided Learning (CAL) idea

· Simulations of the physical world e.g. projectile motion and population modelling

· Utilities e.g. encrypting and decrypting messages using a range of cryptographic techniques

Centres should be reminded that the project should be the learner’s own work and so joint projects should not be allowed.

Projects can be executed in a variety of different ways including websites, phone applications and desktop applications. Where possible learners should be allowed to choose and justify the most suitable solution for the problem that they are tackling. It is understandable that in some situations teachers may not feel comfortable supporting certain types of project.

Projects should not involve the use of a database management system (DBMS) on its own, as such systems offer a wide range of software wizards to create tables, forms, queries and code, making assessment of learner understanding difficult. It is perfectly acceptable to use DBMSs to build databases that feed into other learner programming solutions such as websites and applications.