Computer Science Essentials, Unit 12, Lesson 5 of 5

Extended answers

GCSE Computer Science, Ethical, legal and environmental impacts, 25 minutes

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How 8-mark extended answers are marked, and how to plan a discussion of the ethical, legal, cultural, privacy and environmental impacts of a technology.

What you will learn

  • Explain how levels of response are marked
  • Plan a balanced discussion of the impacts of a technology
  • Apply the law and environmental points to a scenario
  • Reach a justified conclusion

How an 8-mark answer is marked

Longer 8-mark questions are marked by levels of response, not by counting points.

The marker reads the whole answer and decides which level it fits, then where in that level.

  • Level 3 (7 to 8 marks): thorough, accurate knowledge applied to the situation throughout. Both sides are discussed and developed, and the conclusion follows from the points made.
  • Level 2 (4 to 6 marks): sound knowledge, mostly applied to the situation, with some discussion, but it may be one-sided or the conclusion may not be supported.
  • Level 1 (1 to 3 marks): basic knowledge with little link to the situation. Points are listed rather than explained.

A list of correct facts with no link to the scenario stays in Level 1, however long it is. Every point should say what it means for this organisation or this device.

The questions here are written by Brainlag in the OCR style for practice. None is taken from an exam.

The rest of this lesson and its 7 practice questions are locked.

In this lesson

  1. How an 8-mark answer is marked
  2. Plan before you write
  3. Try it: Write a full answer

7 practice questions, marked as you go; about 25 minutes in all.

Key terms

Levels of response, Applied to the situation

In this unit: Ethical, legal and environmental impacts

Privacy, fairness, jobs and the digital divide; the Data Protection Act, Computer Misuse Act and copyright; open source and proprietary licences; the energy and e-waste behind our devices; and the questions raised by wearables, implants, self-driving cars, AI and robots, with patents, trademarks and licences.

All of Ethical, legal and environmental impacts