Wales Β· WJECSyllabus
Digital Technology syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the Wales Digital Technologysyllabus, with a focused answer for each one. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions, and links to related dot points. Written by Claude Opus 4.8, Anthropic's latest AI.
Cyber security
Module overview β- What are the consequences of a cyber attack, and how do organisations recover?Describe the consequences of cyber attacks and data loss for individuals and organisations, and explain how backups and business continuity support recovery.10 min answer β
- How can systems and data be protected against cyber threats?Describe technical and behavioural methods of protecting systems and data, including passwords, firewalls, antivirus, encryption, updates and user training.11 min answer β
- What are the main cyber threats and vulnerabilities, and how do attackers exploit them?Describe the main cyber threats (malware, phishing, social engineering, hacking, denial-of-service) and the vulnerabilities that attackers exploit.11 min answer β
- What laws govern the use of data and computers, and what do they require?Describe the main laws affecting digital technology (data protection, the Computer Misuse Act and copyright law) and explain the duties and offences each defines.11 min answer β
- What is data compression, and how do lossy and lossless methods differ?Explain the purpose of data compression and describe the difference between lossy and lossless compression, including when each is appropriate.9 min answer β
- What are the units of digital storage, and how do you convert and calculate file sizes?State the units used to measure data (bit, byte, KB, MB, GB, TB), convert between them, and calculate and compare file and storage sizes.9 min answer β
- Why do digital systems represent all data in binary, and how do bits and bytes work?Explain why digital systems store and process all data as binary, and describe how bits, nibbles and bytes represent numbers, text and other data.9 min answer β
- How is a digital image represented as binary, and what affects its quality and file size?Describe how bitmap images are represented using pixels and colour depth, and explain how resolution and colour depth affect image quality and file size.10 min answer β
- How is sound converted into binary, and what affects its quality and file size?Describe how analogue sound is sampled to produce digital data, and explain how sample rate and bit depth affect sound quality and file size.10 min answer β
- What are the main types of storage media, and how do you choose the right one?Describe solid-state, magnetic, optical and cloud storage, compare their characteristics, and choose appropriate storage for a given situation.10 min answer β
Digital communications
Module overview β- What methods are used to communicate digitally, and how do you choose between them?Describe the main methods of digital communication (email, messaging, VoIP, video conferencing, social media) and select an appropriate method for a given situation.10 min answer β
- How do you judge whether information found online is reliable?Explain how to evaluate the reliability of online sources and information, considering authority, accuracy, bias, currency and corroboration.9 min answer β
- What is social networking, and what are its benefits and risks?Describe social networking and online collaboration, and evaluate their benefits and risks for individuals and organisations.9 min answer β
Digital technology systems
Module overview β- How do digital devices take input, produce output and connect to other systems?Describe how digital systems interact through input and output devices, and how devices connect to each other to share data and services.10 min answer β
- What hardware is needed to build and connect a network?Identify the main items of network hardware (NIC, switch, router, wireless access point, transmission media) and describe the function of each.10 min answer β
- What is an operating system, and what functions does it perform?Describe the purpose of an operating system and explain its main functions, including managing hardware, memory, files, the user interface and security.9 min answer β
- What is the difference between system software and application software?Distinguish between system software and application software, give examples of each, and describe the role of application software in carrying out user tasks.9 min answer β
- What is the internet, and how is it different from the World Wide Web?Explain what the internet is, how it differs from the World Wide Web, and the roles of IP addresses, DNS and the client-server model.10 min answer β
- What are the stages of the systems development life cycle, and why is it used?Describe the stages of the systems development life cycle (analysis, design, development, testing, implementation and evaluation/maintenance) and explain why a structured process is used.10 min answer β
- What are the main types of network, and what are the benefits and drawbacks of networking?Describe LANs and WANs, wired and wireless connections, and explain the benefits and drawbacks of connecting computers in a network.10 min answer β
- What is utility software, and what tasks does it perform to maintain a system?Describe the purpose of utility software and the function of common utilities such as antivirus, backup, compression and disk maintenance tools.9 min answer β
The impact of digital technology
Module overview β- What are the emerging and evolving digital technologies, and how are they used?Describe emerging and evolving digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, virtual and augmented reality, and explain their uses and impacts.10 min answer β
- What are the ethical, social and environmental impacts of digital technology?Describe the ethical, social and environmental impacts of digital technology, including privacy, the digital divide, e-waste and energy use.11 min answer β
- How has digital technology changed work, business and the way money is made?Describe how digital technology has changed the way people work and how organisations trade and make money, including new business and monetisation models.10 min answer β