Information Technology Center

Updated: April, 2020

Preparing for an SBA

---Your Questions Answered ----

About the IT SBA

All Information Technology students MUST submit an SBA to pass your exam.
Let me restate that in mathematical terms. No SBA = FAIL

Comprende?

The Information Technoloygy SBA contributes up to 33.33% of your final SBA score so please take it very seriously. Many subjects now require students to complete an SBA (English Language and Mathematics included) and while that has advantages to students it also puts the student who procrastinate at the risk of being completely overwhelmed if he or she leaves tasks to be done at the very last moment. Starting an SBA from as early as Term one in form four can reduce the workload in form five significantly.

What should I know before I begin an SBA?

Have a working knowledge of a wordprocessing application like MS Word and a spreadsheet application like Excel. Study the basics about a database like MS Access. You should be able to write a simple algorithm before attempting the programming portion of the SBA.

Project Selection

Your IT teacher chooses the project and gives instructions and deadline dates. Here are some suggestions :

  • Student records in a public school
  • Student records in a private school ( payments for courses must be included )
  • Patients Records in a Private Hospital, Nursing Home or Geriatric Home
  • Patients Records in the office of a dentist or General Practitioner
  • Guests Records in a Guest House or Hotel
  • Book Records and Member Records in a Library Management Database
  • Clients Records in a Lawyer's Office
  • Simple Stock Control for a Stationery Store
  • Computerize a Video Club/ DVD Store
  • Member Record System for a Sports Club or Other Non-profit organization

Can I work in a Group?

Students may discuss a project among themselves and share information but each student must submit his own work. IT SBAs are not intended to be a group project.

Do I need to Research?

Research always helps. Read about your project before actually working on it. For example, if your project is about a library then research how a library really works. You may even interview a librarian for assistance.

After I receive instructions from my teacher what do I do next?

You need to understand the scope of your project. You will be working with limited time so you should focus on the main aspects first. If you are unsure about any aspect do not hesitate to ask you instructor for assistance. Read the requirements several times before you begin to actually work on it.

What should I focus on?

When working on your database focus on table design or table structure. When working on programming focus on writing accurate algorithms. When working on the spreadsheet learn to use basic functions including the IF function. You should be able to cut and paste and create a simple table using a word processor. Read about the mail merge feature before starting to work on your wordprocessing task.

Now What Should I do next?

Having collected written instructions from your teacher, study it and ensure you understand exactly what is required. Work on your SBA regularly. Don't procrastinate.

What do I submit to my tutor?

Deadlines will be given to you. Note them and try your best not to miss any. The simplest task is to design a coversheet. Perhaps you could like to start with that. The main details for your coversheet are :

  1. Year of examination
  2. Name of your school
  3. Subject Name
  4. Your full name
  5. Your candidate number
  6. Name of project
  7. Name of teacher

Make it attractive but keep it simple.

Meeting Deadlines

Managing the development process is important. Many students wait too long before they start working on projects. Remember you may have to do more than one SBA so the earlier you can start the better.

It is very important to meet given guidelines. Instructors do assist students but if students do not meet deadlines then Instructors may be unable to grant students extra time to correct basic flaws like selecting the incorrect data-type for a field in a table. In such cases projects tend to be at a level that can best be described as mediocre. Students must meet deadlines if they hope to gain high marks. Aim for the sky not just the top of the trees.

CSEC Requirements

The maximum amount of marks you will get for each section is twenty marks except for the problem solving and programming section which carries thirty marks. That is twenty marks maximum for Wordprocessing, twenty marks maximum for Spreadsheet and twenty marks maximum for your database. Problem solving/ programming carries thirty marks. You are likely to spend most of your time on it.

Wordprocessing

Creating a Newsletter along with a mail merge document provide students with an excellent opportunity to demonstrate their technical knowhow with the application of choice. Microsoft Word is the most popular application for this exercise but students are not restricted to this wordprocessing application.

Web Page Design

Plan and create a website with hyperlinks and at least one external link. Include a logo depicting the concept of the project. The content of the website must be related to a subject addressed in your newsletter. Ensure all content is up-to-date and the website is user friendly. Information on the history of any aspect of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival could be considered. Please do not plagiarize material from any source. The use of HTML code is not required but can be used. Use of a word processor or a free online web service like wix.com is recommended.

Spreadsheet

Include in your spreadsheet the popular functions such as sum(), maximum(), min(), average() and If(). Creating a suitable graph or two to visually display any trends will enhance your worksheet. Microsoft Excel is well suited to this task.

Database

Focus on an appropriate table design for each table in your database. Only three tables are required. Use data validation for appropriate fields and sort all queries. Well designed and well formatted reports will improve your score.

Programming

Focus on algorithms and flowcharts before source code. Keep your procedures short. Test and debug as you write source code. Keep code simple.

The programming and problem solving section of the SBA can be divided into five activities :

  1. Problem Definition - Clearly define the problem you are solving
  2. Writing an algorithm - Use flow chart and or psudocode
  3. Writing source code - Use a high level language such as pascal
  4. Test and debug source code
  5. Documentation of program

Backing-up your files

Finally make back-up copies of your work as you go along. If your SBA is saved on only one flash drive then keep extra copies of all your files on a hard drive somewhere (on your home computer for example ) weekly or immediately after you have made significant changes. Remember to back-up all your files. Remember that flash drives may be easily misplaced or stolen so be extra careful with your SBA files.