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Teaching resources

Important: These resources are aligned to the current Victorian Curriculum F-10 (Version 1.0). For resources to support implementation of the revised curriculum, visit the Victorian Curriculum F-10 Version 2.0 website.

The following resources have been developed to support teachers to implement the F–10 Digital Technologies curriculum.

Curriculum planning videos F-6

The following on-demand videos have been developed to support teachers of F–6 with curriculum planning for Digital Technologies.

Planning the Digital Technologies Curriculum F–6

This video provides background to the Digital Technologies Curriculum, with a focus on planning for delivering the curriculum.

Planning the Digital Technologies Curriculum F–6 transcript (docx - 30.11kb)
Planning the Digital Technologies Curriculum F–6 presentation (pdf - 1.28mb)

Teaching and assessing Digital Technologies Curriculum F–6

This video provides background to teaching the Digital Technologies Curriculum, with a focus on assessing the curriculum

Teaching and assessing Digital Technologies Curriculum F–6 transcript (docx - 28.9kb)
Teaching and assessing Digital Technologies Curriculum F–6 presentation (pdf - 772.53kb)

Curriculum planning videos 7-10

The following on-demand videos have been developed to support teachers of 7–10 with curriculum planning for Digital Technologies.

Planning the Digital Technologies Curriculum 7–10

This video provides background to the Digital Technologies Curriculum, with a focus on planning for delivering the curriculum.

Planning the Digital Technologies Curriculum 7–10 transcript (docx - 29.87kb)
Planning the Digital Technologies Curriculum 7–10 presentation (pdf - 936.67kb)

Teaching and assessing Digital Technologies Curriculum 7–10

This video provides background to teaching the Digital Technologies Curriculum, with a focus on assessing the curriculum.

Teaching and assessing Digital Technologies Curriculum 7–10 transcript (docx - 29.34kb)
Teaching and assessing Digital Technologies Curriculum 7–10 presentation (pdf - 920.31kb)

Digital Technologies Levels C and D (Towards Foundation) posters

These two posters – one for Level C (Towards Foundation) and one for Level D (Towards Foundation) – are designed to support teachers in specialist schools with understanding and visualising the Digital Technologies curriculum. Each poster uses clear text and four illustrations to visually represent each of the three content descriptions.

Teachers and schools are encouraged to download, print and display these posters in either A3 or A2 size.

Digital Technologies Curriculum – Levels C and D (Towards Foundation) posters (A3 size)

Digital Technologies Curriculum – Levels C and D (Towards Foundation) posters (A2 size)

A styled text-only Word version of the posters has also been provided:

Digital Technologies Curriculum – Levels C and D (Towards Foundation) posters, text only version

Digital Technologies F–2 posters

These three posters were designed to support teachers implementing the Digital Technologies curriculum in all schools, including specialist schools.

The posters represent each of the Foundation to Level 2 content descriptions using simple descriptions and bright and engaging illustrations – from taking a photo with a tablet device to writing a simple algorithm involving the required steps and decisions for brushing your teeth.

Teachers and schools are encouraged to download, print and display these posters in either A3 or A2 size.

Digital Technologies Curriculum – Foundation to Level 2 posters (A3 size)

Digital Technologies Curriculum – Foundation to Level 2 posters (A2 size)

A styled text-only Word version of the posters has also been provided:

Digital Technologies Curriculum – Foundation to Level 2 posters, text only version

Digital Technologies Curriculum posters

These five posters were designed to support teachers with understanding the Digital Technologies curriculum. Each poster uses clear text and a simple infographics style to visually represent all the strands and content descriptions in a particular curriculum band.

Teachers and schools are encouraged to download, print and display these posters.

Digital Technologies Curriculum - Foundation to Level 2 poster

Digital Technologies Curriculum - Levels 3 and 4 poster

Digital Technologies Curriculum - Levels 5 and 6 poster

Digital Technologies Curriculum - Levels 7 and 8 poster

Digital Technologies Curriculum - Levels 9 and 10 poster

A styled text-only Word version of the poster has also been provided:

Digital Technologies Curriculum - F–10 posters, text only version

Note: These A2-sized posters are best printed at actual size, but to print them at A3 size, simply select ‘Fit to printable area’ or ‘Shrink to fit’ when printing.

Digital Technologies and ICT posters

These two posters provide visual representations and examples of the components of the Digital Technologies Curriculum and elements of ICT.

The difference between the Victorian Digital Technologies curriculum and ICT F–6 and 7–10 - A3

The A3-sized poster can be downloaded, printed and added to student workbooks or similar.

Computational thinking poster – Digital Technologies and Mathematics

This poster provides a visual representation of the four components of computational thinking in the Digital Technologies and Mathematics curriculums: Decomposition, Pattern Recognition, Abstraction and Algorithms.

Computational thinking in the Victorian Curriculum – A0 size

Computational thinking in the Victorian Curriculum – A3 size

The A3-sized version of the poster can be downloaded, printed and added to student workbooks or similar.

Teachers and schools are also encouraged to download, print and display the A0-sized poster.

The A0-sized poster can be printed on an A3 printer by 'tiling' 3 × 3 A3 pages. To do this, select the appropriate tiling options within the print preferences in Adobe Acrobat or another PDF reader app.

Unpacking content descriptions

The following resources are designed to help teachers become more familiar with the curriculum by 'unpacking' the content descriptions.

Two important aspects of curriculum planning are connecting the intention of the lesson(s) with the appropriate content descriptions and enabling students to demonstrate progress in their learning based upon the achievement standards.

Each of these resources outlines:

  • a suggested focus for lessons
  • sample activities to be undertaken by students.

These resources cover a selection of the content descriptions from each band, not all the content descriptions.

Unpacking Digital Technologies content descriptions, Foundation to Level 2

Unpacking Digital Technologies content descriptions, Levels 3 and 4

Unpacking Digital Technologies content descriptions, Levels 5 and 6

Unpacking_Digital Technologies content descriptions, Levels 7 and 8

Unpacking Digital Technologies content descriptions, Levels 9 and 10

Curriculum planning templates and curriculum area plans

There is no one set way that a school should develop their teaching and learning program. Teachers and schools have the flexibility to create teaching and learning plans that respond to the needs of their students.

The following samples show how a school could conceptualise units of work to cover the content and to assess against the achievement standards in a two-year planning cycle.

These resources contain two parts:

  • Curriculum planning template
    This component demonstrates coverage of the content descriptions in a number of units taught across a two-year planning cycle. Each unit is linked to extracts from the achievement standard and outlines assessment strategies.
  • Curriculum area plan
    This component provides a visual representation of how the Digital Technologies curriculum will be covered across two years, showing the units by topic, the sequencing of the topics, the coverage of the three strands within the Digital Technologies curriculum and the time allocated to each strand and unit.

These two planning components are interrelated. Each provides a different perspective on the teaching and learning program. Both types of plans are important to consider when making decisions about the best way to deliver the curriculum in each school context.

Digital Technologies Foundation to Level 2

Curriculum planning template Foundation–Level 2

Curriculum area plan Foundation–Level 2

Digital Technologies Levels 3 and 4

Curriculum planning template Levels 3–4 

Curriculum area plan Levels 3–4 

Digital Technologies Levels 5 and 6

Curriculum planning template Levels 5–6 

Curriculum area plan Levels 5–6 

Digital Technologies Levels 7 and 8

Curriculum planning template Levels 7–8 

Curriculum area plan Levels 7–8

Digital Technologies  Levels 9 and 10

Curriculum planning template Levels 9–10

Curriculum area plan Levels 9–10


Digital Technology CPT annotated example

Cross-curriculum resources

Linking Digital Technologies and the capabilities

This resource will help teachers and schools identify strong links between Digital Technologies and the capabilities. It will also help teachers design learning activities.

The resource assumes familiarity with the Digital Technologies curriculum. It links aspects of this curriculum with Ethical Capability, Critical and Creative Thinking, and Personal and Social Capability.

Note: It is a school decision as to which capabilities are linked to which learning area(s). To help support these decisions, this resource provides general advice on teaching and assessment, as well as specific illustrative advice related to Digital Technologies.

Why link learning in Digital Technologies to a capability?

The knowledge and skills learnt through the capabilities are highly transferable across learning areas and are applicable throughout schooling and in later life.

The capabilities support Digital Technologies in developing student knowledge and skills to design, create, manage and evaluate sustainable and innovative digital solutions to meet and redefine current and future needs.

Identifying a strong link between a capability and Digital Technologies supports learning in both curriculum areas. There is strong justification to link a learning area and a capability in instances where:

  • knowledge and skills taught in a capability would deepen students’ understanding of particular knowledge and skills in the learning area
  • the learning area would provide context, background knowledge and other skills for the development of the capability.

How do we find strong links between Digital Technologies and the capabilities?

Look for broad links at the strand or sub-strand levels

Looking over each capabilities curriculum, we begin to see broad links between the strands in different capabilities and in aspects of various strands in the Digital Technologies curriculum.

Linking the Critical and Creative Thinking strands to Digital Technologies

Critical and Creative Thinking consists of three interrelated strands. The table below provides an overview of each strand and how it links to Digital Technologies.

Questions and Possibilities

Explore the nature of questioning and a range of processes and techniques to develop ideas

Digital Technologies and Critical and Creative Thinking mutually support students to …

pose effective questions and generate creative and innovative ideas

Reasoning

Explore how to compose, analyse and evaluate arguments and reasoning

Digital Technologies and Critical and Creative Thinking mutually support students to …

undertake computational thinking, for example, organise data logically and avoid reasoning errors; and argue for the most suitable digital solutions

Meta-Cognition

Explore the use of strategies to understand, manage and reflect on thinking, problem-solving and learning processes

Digital Technologies and Critical and Creative Thinking mutually support students to …

manage their learning, thinking and problem-solving to make informed, evidence-based decisions in response to a need

Linking the Ethical Capability strands to Digital Technologies

Ethical Capability consists of two interrelated strands. The table below provides an overview of each strand and how it links to Digital Technologies.

Understanding Concepts

Understanding and applying key concepts and ideas concerned with ethical issues, outcomes, principles and values

Digital Technologies and Ethical Capability mutually support students to …

identify ethical considerations related to managing, planning, creating, evaluating and communicating ideas and information

Decision Making and Actions

Understanding ways to respond to ethical problems and factors and challenges that influence ethical decision-making and action, and applying this understanding to different contexts

Digital Technologies and Ethical Capability mutually support students to …

respond to ethical considerations when managing, planning, creating, evaluating and communicating ideas and information

Linking the Personal and Social Capability strands to Digital Technologies

Personal and Social Capability consists of two interrelated strands. The table below provides an overview of each strand and its broad links to Digital Technologies.

Self-Awareness and Management

Develop the knowledge and skills to regulate, manage and monitor their emotions and interpret and assess their personal characteristics in the context of development of resilience

Digital Technologies and Personal and Social Capability mutually support students to …

develop knowledge and skills to work independently and show initiative

Social Awareness and Management

Learn to participate in positive, safe and respectful relationships; critique societal constructs and discrimination; and negotiate with others and work collaboratively

Digital Technologies and Personal and Social Capability mutually support students to …

develop skills for collaborative problem-solving and respectful communications

 

Identify strong links in the content descriptions

Asking the following questions can be a first step in identifying strong links:

  • Which of the learning area content descriptions reflect concepts or other knowledge and skills in a capability?
  • Would explicit teaching and learning related to the identified link support progress towards the achievement standards for the learning area and/or capability?

The example in the table below identifies a link between a Levels 5 and 6 Digital Technologies content description and two Levels 5 and 6 Personal and Social Capability content descriptions. The identified link is between planning and creating online collaborative projects (Digital Technologies) and the characteristics of effective teams and respectful relationships (Personal and Social Capability).

Once a strong link is identified, a learning activity can be designed that enables progression towards the appropriate Digital Technologies achievement standard as well as the appropriate capability achievement standard (again, see the example below). This may involve incorporating other relevant content descriptions to create a sequence of learning.

Example: Linking a Levels 5 and 6 Digital Technologies content description and two Levels 5 and 6 Personal and Social Capability content descriptions

This table includes selected content descriptions and an achievement standard extract for both Digital Technologies, Levels 5 and 6, and Personal and Social Capability, Levels 5 and 6, plus linking notes and an activity idea.
 Digital Technologies, Levels 5 and 6Linking notes and activity ideaPersonal and Social Capability, Levels 5 and 6

Content descriptions

Plan, create and communicate ideas, information and online collaborative projects, applying agreed ethical, social and technical protocols (VCDTDI029)

Can both Personal and Social Capability and Digital Technologies help students collaborate and communicate using agreed protocols? Yes. Personal and Social Capability can help students understand the characteristics of respectful relationships, which will inform agreed protocols, and that collaboration involves undertaking particular roles. Digital Technologies provides a context for collaboration, and the construction and application of specific roles and protocols.

Students are introduced to the characteristics of respectful relationships and apply their understanding to develop and protocols for a collaboration project online. They develop descriptions of team roles suited to this project and evaluate their contributions using the agreed protocols as part of the evaluation.

Describe the characteristics of respectful relationships and suggest ways that respectful relationships can be achieved (VCPSCSO031)

Identify the characteristics of an effective team and develop descriptions for particular roles including leadership, and describe both their own and their team’s performance when undertaking various roles (VCPSCSO032)

Achievement
standard extract

By the end of Level 6, students … manage the creation and communication of ideas, information and digital projects collaboratively using validated data and agreed protocols.

By the end of Level 6, students … identify characteristics of respectful relationships. They contribute to groups and teams suggesting improvements for methods used in group projects and investigations.

 

How do we assess the capabilities?

Student understanding of a capability’s knowledge and skills is assessed against the achievement standards of the capability. The key to formative and summative assessment is explicit teaching of the discrete knowledge and skills underpinning the capability’s content descriptions in such a way that students are supported to progress towards the targeted achievement standard. Explicit teaching builds shared understanding of knowledge and skills, which provides a foundation for setting transparent expectations of what should be shown in student work and for feedback.

For general advice on teaching and assessment and transfer of learning, see General resources for the capabilities.

Examples of learning activities that link Digital Technologies and the capabilities

All examples are illustrative only and assume familiarity with the Digital Technologies curriculum.

Foundation to Level 2 (Critical and Creative Thinking)

Learning activity idea: As part of a series of lessons involving creating a digital solution, students follow, describe and represent a sequence of steps and decisions needed to solve simple problems, including considering the meaning of words associated with sequencing steps and decisions and developing ways of representing these words. 

This activity would strengthen learning in both Digital Technologies and Critical and Creative Thinking through developing understanding that in sequencing steps and decisions the meaning of the words involved should be carefully considered and as precise as possible (see Critical and Creative Thinking content description VCCCTM007).

Levels 3 and 4 (Personal and Social Capability)

Learning activity idea: As part of a sequence of lessons on developing simple solutions as visual programs, students are introduced to strategies for resolving errors. They reflect on how it is common to encounter problems when creating a visual program, and that these strategies can assist them in persevering with developing their visual program or when developing programs similar to theirs.

This activity would strengthen learning in both Digital Technologies and Personal and Social Capability through fostering a positive attitude to persistence and introducing strategies to support persistence in the context of developing a visual program (see Personal and Social Capability content description VCPSCSE018).

Levels 5 and 6 (Ethical Capability)

Learning activity idea: As part of a sequence of lessons on creating a digital solution, students explain how well their proposed solution meets current and future individual, community and sustainability needs. To support the development of their explanations, they are guided to explain which ethical principles their solution is consistent with, for example linking sustainability criteria to an ethical principle such as ‘do no harm’ to enable a deeper explanation of how the solution meets needs.

This activity would strengthen learning in both Digital Technologies and Ethical Capability through introducing general underpinning knowledge and skills related to evaluating digital solutions against community and sustainability needs, and providing an opportunity for students to apply this knowledge and skill to develop an explanation (see Ethical Capability content description VCECU010).

Levels 7 and 8 (Critical and Creative Thinking)

Learning activity idea: As part of a sequence of lessons on creating a digital solution, students design the user experience of a digital system, generating, evaluating and communicating alternative designs, including considering how criteria are selected and then used in this process. They are guided to develop an understanding of how criteria are used for the purpose of developing a range of solutions that are all suitable, and how the criteria can then be used to argue for and against each of the developed solutions to reach a conclusion on which is the most suitable.

This activity would strengthen learning in both Digital Technologies and Critical and Creative Thinking through introducing underpinning knowledge and skills related to evaluation of alternative designs for  digital systems in general, and through providing an opportunity to apply this to develop an argument for the most suitable design (see Critical and Creative Thinking content descriptions VCCCTR039 and VCCCTM042).

Levels 9 and 10 (Ethical Capability)

Learning activity idea: As part of a sequence of lessons on managing and collaboratively creating interactive solutions for sharing ideas and information online, students discuss how to take into account social contexts and legal responsibilities, including the distinction between what is ethical and what is legal (for example, if it is not illegal, does this make it acceptable to do?).

This activity would strengthen learning in both Digital Technologies and Ethical Capability through strengthening understanding of the relationship between social contexts and legal responsibilities, and through providing an opportunity for students to apply their knowledge and skills (see Ethical Capability content description VCECU021).


 

For more resources to support the teaching of all four capabilities, see the individual capability resources webpages and General resources for the capabilities

External resources

The following external links are for teacher reference purposes. They do not constitute VCAA endorsement of the views or materials contained on these sites.

External links

Coding across the curriculum
This extensive report, conducted by the Computer Science Education Research Group, University of Adelaide, reviews the availability of current resources to support the implementation of the Digital Technologies curriculum. Each resource is reviewed on the basis of required entry, whether technology is required, the relevant topic, the audience (teacher or student) and the band.

Computational Thinking Course for Educators
This free resource, developed by Google, is aimed at secondary teachers. It focuses on the essential elements of computational thinking and includes a video on computational thinking.

CS Unplugged secondary
CS Unplugged is an online, free collection of learning activities that teach the fundamental principles of Computer Science. While this extensive resource has not been written specifically for the Digital Technologies curriculum, the majority of activities are relevant to the different levels of Digital Technologies.

Computational thinking: A guide for teachers
This resource is suitable for both primary and secondary teachers. It provides an insight into computational thinking, which is the cornerstone of the Digital Technologies curriculum. It is written to support the Computing curriculum in the UK, but the concepts are equally applicable to the Victorian Curriculum.

Computational Thinking: computer science for fun
This UK resource explains in very practical terms the essence of computational thinking. Much of the content relates directly to the Digital Technologies curriculum and is suitable for both primary and secondary teachers.

Computer Science for Fun
This UK resource is designed for teaching computational thinking. It is an extensive resource including presentation slides, learning activities and notes. 

Computer Science Field Guide
This New Zealand resource, designed for secondary students, provides a range of activities that align with the Digital Technologies curriculum. Tim Bell, one of the authors of CS Unplugged is an author of this resource. A teacher version is also available.

Australian Curriculum lessons
This resource includes some lesson plans and resources to support coding in the Digital Technologies curriculum. The content descriptions in both the Australian Curriculum and Victorian Curriculum version are the same for these levels. There is also a lesson that incorporates content from both English and Digital Technologies

Growing up Digital
This extensive resource published by DET focuses on a range of social and technical protocols associated with the use of digital technologies. It includes links to downloadable classroom activities, videos, interactive learning modules and advice sheets.