Find and select information
This page gives a basic summary of the skills you must demonstrate for the Find and Select Information component of the ICT Functional Skills qualification.
Please note these are not full explanations, just basic guidance to help students understand the level of skills required. For the full explanation you should see the QCA Functional Skills standards (PDF) although please note this is not really written for students. Please speak to your teacher for a fuller explanation.
Entry Level
Learners can:recognise sources of information
- recognise sources of information
select and use appropriate sources of ICT-based and other forms of information
information point, poster, newspaper, conversation, TV, web page, radio, text message, book, picture, map,
conversation, CD, DVD, website, podcast, web log
- find appropriate information from an ICT-based source (using appropriate facilities)
text message, voicemail, on-screen information, menu, contents list, index, follow links, forward and back
use ICT to search for and select information that matches given requirements
- use internet sources of information
enter a web address, use a search engine, use bookmarks, follow links - use appropriate search techniques to find required information
contents list, index, find or search tool - select and use information that matches given requirements
write down, copy and paste, capture images, download audio or video files
Level 1
select and use a variety of sources of information independently to meet needs
- select and use appropriate sources of ICT-based and other forms of information
newspapers, books, images, maps, conversations, CDs, DVDs, text messages, podcasts, web logs, web-based reference sites - recognise copyright constraints on the use of information
music downloads, acknowledgement of sources, avoiding plagiarism
access, search for, select and use ICT-based information and evaluate its fitness for purpose
- access, navigate and search internet sources of information purposefully and effectively
enter a web address, use a search engine, browse, save and use bookmarks - use appropriate search techniques to locate and select relevant information
search criteria, quotation marks, search within results, relational operators, find or search tool - use information from a variety of sources and evaluate its match to requirements and fitness for purpose
recognise intention and authority of provider, currency of the information, relevance, bias
Level 2
select and use a variety of sources of information independently for a complex task- select and use appropriate sources of ICT-based and other forms of information which match requirements
newspapers, books, images, maps, conversations, CDs, DVDs, text messages, podcasts, web logs, web-based reference sites - recognise copyright and other constraints on the use of information
music downloads, acknowledgement of sources, avoiding plagiarism, provisions of the Data Protection Act
- access, navigate and search internet sources of information purposefully and effectively
enter a web address, use a search engine, browse, save and use bookmarks - use appropriate search techniques and design queries to locate and select relevant information
multiple search criteria, quotation marks, search within results, relational operators, logical operators, find or search tool including wildcards - use discrimination in selecting information that matches requirements from a variety of sources and evaluate fitness for purpose
recognise intention and authority of provider, currency of the information, relevance, bias
Please note in places we have copied directly from the standards. This is necessary to prevent ambiguity and we acknowledge the copyright of the QCA
Find and select information