What training is available for Cambridge Nationals IT?

What training is available for Cambridge Nationals IT (J836)? 31 August 2023

Debbie Williams, Computer Science, IT and Creative iMedia Subject Advisor

Debbie Williams

Whether you are new to teaching our IT courses or are just new to the redeveloped specification there are events to support you this year. In this blog I’ll give a roundup of our professional development courses, all which you can book via our Teach Cambridge website, Train@OCR page or our Events page.

Cambridge Nationals (teaching from September 2022): Essentials for the NEA

This is a mandatory course for all teachers delivering any of our Cambridge National courses. It is a free eLearning course designed to prepare and support you for the delivery of the NEA set assignments. As it covers all Cambridge Nationals, if you do teach more than one you only need to do this course once. It is ideal to do together as part of a department meeting. It is available on demand from Teach Cambridge or Train@OCR.

Cambridge Nationals in IT (J836)

This is our other free eLearning course specifically for the Cambridge National IT qualification. It gives insight into the internal assessment and your responsibilities. It would be ideal to use within a department meeting just before starting the NEA tasks with students. It is available on demand on from Teach Cambridge or Train@OCR.

Starting to teach

This is a free webinar that gives you everything you need to know to get started. It is aimed at IT and non-specialist teachers. It’s great if you are teaching this year as it will signpost you to resources as well as give you an overview of the course structure and assessment requirements.

Ask the Subject Advisor

These free webinars are held regularly throughout the year to give an opportunity for us to share any subject updates we have and for you to ask questions. It’s helpful to us if you send any questions beforehand to vocational.qualifications@ocr.org.uk, but you can also join to listen to other centres queries.

Remember, you don’t have to wait for one of these sessions to ask questions. You can email us anytime and we will do our best to answer you.

Preparing for the NEA: Cambridge Nationals IT J836

This is an online session for new, experienced and non-specialist teachers. It gives you the opportunity to look in depth at the NEA units, building on the eLearning and free courses we already offer.

Sign up for 15 November 2023 10am-4pm
Sign up for 8 December 2023 10am-4pm
Sign up for 7 February 2024 10am-4pm
Sign up for 24 April 2024 10am-4pm

Ask the Moderator

These free webinars are held regularly throughout the year to give you an opportunity to ask questions of a moderator, one of the team of people who look at the sample work you send to us. It’s helpful if you send any questions beforehand to vocational.qualifications@ocr.org.uk, but it’s also great to just join to listen to queries from other centres.

Sign up for 11 October 2023 4pm-5pm
Sign up for 6 December 2023 4pm-5pm
Sign up for 6 March 2024 4pm-5pm
Sign up for 8 May 2024 4pm-5pm

Ask the Examiner

These free webinars give you an opportunity to ask an examiner questions around the R050 terminal exam. These will focus on the preparation for the exam series in January and June. I would attend these sessions to get to grips with how I was going to approach teaching and learning to prepare students for the exam. It’s helpful if you send any questions beforehand to vocational.qualifications@ocr.org.uk.

Enhancing your teaching: Augmented reality delivery and assessment of unit R070

This course is the one for you if you want more support to deliver R070, our Augmented Reality (AR) unit. It will build on the free courses we offer. It gives you an understanding of the delivery and assessment of the unit.

Enhancing your teaching: Developing skills for augmented reality model prototype

This course helps with R070, our AR unit. It will build on the free courses we offer. This session focuses on the AR software development kits (SDKs), and the tools and techniques needed to develop the prototype for the NEA.

Exploring the exam: Cambridge Nationals IT J836 (Webinar)

This is an opportunity to develop your knowledge of the terminal exam R050. It builds on our free events and is a longer session to allow time for a hands-on approach. You will use the candidate exemplars and practice papers to review topic areas. It would be ideal if you could attend together with your colleagues, or it could be something to share afterwards with others in your team.

Network meetings

Don’t forget, we hold regular free online teacher network meetings. You can find out when the next one is on the teacher network page. Alternatively, if you fancy hosting your own network meeting for you and centres local to you, with support from us, either in person or virtually, please email us at ocr.vqit@ocr.org.uk or networks@ocr.org.uk.

If you think there is any additional professional development we could offer, or if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Our contact details are below.

Stay connected

If you have any questions, you can email us at ocr.vqit@ocr.org.uk, call us on 01223 553998 or tweet us @OCR_ICT. You can also sign up to subject updates and and receive information about resources and support.

About the author

Debbie joined the Computing team in September 2022, bringing her knowledge as a teacher and subject leader for IT, Computing and Creative Media. She has over 20 years’ experience of education working in various settings including state schools, private specialist provision, local authority, and as a marker and moderator for exam boards. She has a degree in Technology Management, a PGCE and a Masters in Teaching and Learning.