As a part of the Australian Government’s National Innovation and Science Agenda, ACARA has been funded to support the implementation of the Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies in some of Australia’s most disadvantaged schools.
The Digital Technologies in focus (DTiF) project has been designed to encourage whole-school and inter-school collaboration, supported by curriculum officers.
One hundred and sixty schools with a low index of community socio-educational advantage (ICSEA) rating are participating in the project. Since July 2017, leaders and teachers from these schools have been taking part in workshops to help them implement Digital Technologies.
Nine Digital Technologies curriculum officers support clusters of schools, providing expertise to primary and secondary school teachers.
In 2018–20, the Digital Technologies curriculum officers will continue conducting professional learning workshops with teachers and school leaders. These workshops are customised to the specific needs of participating schools, with webinars and online mentoring complementing face-to-face events. Additional workshops have been offered to other schools.
Quick facts:
- 160+ schools
- 2,300+ teachers
- 30,000+ students
- 15 modules offered Australia wide
- 10 project focus clusters
Resources:
- About > Evaluation and reporting:
- Leading Curriculum Change Using an Ecosystem Approach – Digital Technologies in focus: Supporting implementation of Digital Technologies – Evaluation Report
- Planning > Assessment:
- Data sample assessment task Years 3 and 4 (updated)
- Digital Systems sample assessment task Years F to 2
- Digital Systems sample assessment task Years 7 and 8
- Digital Systems sample assessment task Years 9 and 10
- Tutorials:
- Connecting Digital Technologies to Food and Fibre – Smart gardens II
- Connecting Digital Technologies to Food and Fibre – Smart gardens in commercial settings
Professional learning:
- Webinars
- Expert webinars:
- DTiF Staffroom video – Key Concepts – Interactions – DTiF Curriculum Officers, led by Martin Levins, discussion about what to consider when teaching human-to-human interactions and human-to-computer interactions
- DTiF Staffroom video – Key Concepts – Implementation – a primary school perspective – DTiF Curriculum Officer, Sarah Atkins, discusses what to consider when teaching implementation in a primary context.
- DTiF Staffroom video – Key Concepts – Abstraction Part 1 – DTiF Curriculum Officer, Martin Levins explores the definition of abstraction in the Australian Curriculum: Technologies and explains what abstraction looks like in Digital Technologies.
- DTiF Staffroom video – Key Concepts – Abstraction part 2 – DTiF Curriculum Officer, Martin Levins explores how abstraction in Digital Technologies can be taught in conjunction with Mathematics – Measurement and Geometry.
- Expert webinars:
