So what are the key features of Digital Technology?

How do you teach Digital Technology a primary school level?

As students progress through primary school, they incrementally develop their Digital Technology knowledge and skills across three year level bands: F-2, years 3-4, and years 5-6.

Teaching Digital Technology at a primary school level is mostly integrated with other subject areas so that the skills and knowledge in this subject are developed in conjunction with other learning areas.

However, it is important you understand the distinctive knowledge and skills that are important to Digital Technology, as this will enable you to draw out important learning concepts particular to the subject that will be progressively built on over the course of their school life.

Problem solving is a key skill highlighted within Digital Technologies in the Australian Curriculum (2014), with an emphasis on designing, implementing and evaluating digital solutions. Students are taught to create and share information using Digital Technology to support their learning investigations.

As a useful overview, watch this short introductory video on Digital Technologies in the Australian Curriculum (ACARA, 2014).

Consider some of the following questions as you watch:

• Why do we need to ‘future proof’ the curriculum?
• Why are some attitudinal dispositions seen as important in learning Digital Technology skills?
• Why is it important to give student multiple opportunities to experience the subject?

Digital Technologies: An introduction (2014)
<http://bit.ly/1qXTHKD>

So what are the key features of Digital Technology?

According to ACARA (2014), in studying Digital Technologies students use computational thinking and information systems to design and implement digital solutions. To illustrate what this might look like at primary school level, one example activity is for year 2 students to create a multimedia class profile that includes a photo of each student, a personal audio recording and a written message. This activity develops an awareness of digital systems through the use of hardware such as a digital camera, as well as using basic computational thinking to plan, organise and systematically arrange various forms of data on each student.

The broad aim of Digital Technology is for students to:

• Design and manage innovative digital solutions
• Use computational thinking and data collection to create digital solutions
• Confidently use digital systems to transform data into information
• Use protocols safely and ethically
• Develop their awareness of systems thinking and how information system impact on society (ACARA, 2014).