Overview

1. Information and Communication Technology in the Australian CurriculumJulie KingSenior Project Officer, Technologies

2. Overview • The work of ACARA • The Australian Curriculum • ICT in the Australian Curriculum • ICT capability • Digital Technologies

3. Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority

4. Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) • ACARA’s mission is to develop a world class national curriculum and national assessment and reporting programs for the common goal of delivering better outcomes so all young Australians become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens.

5. Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) ACARA is responsible for: • a national curriculum from Foundation to Year 12 in specified learning areas • a national assessment program aligned to the national curriculum that measures students’ progress • a national data collection and reporting program.

6. Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) • ACARA commenced its work on 1 June 2009 • COAG (Council of Australian Governments) decided an independent body was needed • Independent Statutory Authority under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 • SCSEEC (Standing Council on School Education and Early Childhood) is responsible for setting ACARA’s work program through a charter

7. ACARA Board ACARA Board • 13 member board • Appointed by and reports to SCSEEC • Chair – Prof Barry McGaw • Deputy Chair – Tony Mackay

8. The Australian Curriculum

9. Learning for life Australian governments committed to working in collaboration to promote equity and excellence in Australian schooling, with school sectors supporting all young Australians to become • successful learners • confident and creative individuals • active and informed citizens.

10. The Australian Curriculum • Sets out what all students are to be taught (content) and what students are typically able to understand and able to do (achievement standards). • Affirms the central importance of discipline-based knowledge and skills as well as general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities. • Acknowledges that classroom teachers are best placed to organise learning for students; they will make decisions about the pedagogical approach intended to achieve the best learning outcomes. A curriculum for all young Australians A world-class curriculum for the 21st century

11. Dimensions of the Australian Curriculum • Learning areas • English • Mathematics • Science • Humanities and social sciences – history, geography, business and economics, civics and citizenship • Arts • Languages • Health and physical education • Technologies • General capabilities • Literacy • Numeracy • Information and communication technology capability • Critical and creative thinking • Personal and social capability • Ethical behaviour • Intercultural understanding • Cross-curriculum priorities • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures • Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia • Sustainability

12. Shape of the Australian Curriculum v3.0 • Referenced to the Melbourne Declaration. • Provides a context for the current Foundation to Year 10 Australian Curriculum and guides the next stage of curriculum development. • Describes what has been agreed about the structure and development of the Australian Curriculum. • www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/curriculum.html

13. Australian Curriculum Development The Curriculum Development Processoutlines four stages in the development of the Australian Curriculum: • Curriculum shaping • Curriculum writing • Implementation • Evaluation and review.

14. Development of the learning areas Australian Curriculum development timelines

15. ICT in the Australian Curriculum

16. ICT in the Australian Curriculum Information and Communication Technology is represented in the Australian Curriculum in two ways: • ICT Capability ‒ one of seven general capabilities – broad skills addressed across all learning areas • Specialised knowledge and skills in the Technologies learning area (writing phase has commenced)

17. General Capabilities • Addressed through the learning areas • Identified where they • are developed or applied in content descriptions • offer opportunities to add depth and richness to student learning in content elaborations • More strongly represented in some strands than others • Identification of general capabilities in content descriptions is indicative

18. General Capabilities Literacy Numeracy ICT capability Critical and creative thinking Personal and social capability Ethical behaviour Intercultural understanding

19. ICT capability • Students develop ICT capability as they learn to use ICT effectively and appropriately to access, create and communicate information and ideas, solve problems and work collaboratively in all learning areas at school, and in their lives beyond school.

20. The elements of ICT capability

21. Extension of learning continua • Learning continua extended • Literacy and Numeracy – end Foundation • The rest, including ICT capability, end Foundation, Year 4, Year 8 • Worked with 20 schools to collect student data on assessment tasks • Teacher surveys • Targeted consultation

22. General capabilities online http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/

23. ICT capability in English: Year 2

24. ICT capability in Science: Year 6

25. ICT capability in History: Year 8

26. ICT in the Technologies learning area Digital Technologies is designed to assist students to become confident developers of information solutions by applying computational thinking skills • Digital technologies knowledge and understanding • Digital technologies processes and production skills

27. ICT in the Technologies learning area ‒ Shaping Phase

28. Australian Curriculum: Technologies writing process

29. Technologies Shape paper Australian Curriculum: Technologies is designed for all students in Australian schools Outlines a proposal for the curriculum design of the Technologies area Provides a contemporary, conceptual direction for Technologies Proposes core learning Foundation to 8 in Design and Technologies and Digital Technologies with elective subjects from Year 9

30. Subjects and strands

31. Digital Technologies • provides students with the knowledge, understanding and skills to safely and ethically use digital technologies to create and interact with digital information and systems for specific purposes and/or audiences.

32. Digital Technologies curriculum will enable students to: • pursue specialist knowledge in the field of digital technologies • precisely define problems • identify the steps and processes required to create solutions • realise solutions through the application of computational thinking and the use of information systems. It will also contribute to students developing a set of critical thinking skills and ICT capability.

33. Australian Curriculum website and aligned resources

34. AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM ONLINE

35. Australian Curriculum aligned resources • Resources aligned with the Australian Curriculum • Efficient discovery of existing digital resources • Curriculum metadata (including ScOT terms) to allow an accurate connection to resources • Available through Scootle • To become available through local portals

37. Australian Curriculum aligned resources

38. Getting involved • Subscribe to ACARA update: The ACARA Update is an e-newsletter that highlights ACARA’s activities. The update is sent periodically. To receive the ACARA Update subscribe here: http://www.acara.edu.au/news_media/subscribe.html

39. Contact Julie King, Senior Project Officer, Technologies Email: julie.king@acara.edu.au