Creating the A4 ICT Curriculum

 

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Creating the A4 ICT Curriculum

Posted by PeterT on 15 Jun 2012

Creating the A4 ICT Curriculum

I’m working on the assumption that the ICT PoS will reflect the view of the Royal Society Report on Computing in Schools, which recommended that all pupils should have a broadly based Computing curriculum - the Royal Society explicitly equates Computing with ICT, so they are recommending a broadly based ICT curriculum, which should include elements of IT, Computer Science and Digital Literacy. Pupils should then (at Key Stage 4) have the option to study Computer Science as a specialism.

Working on the assumption that a MUCH thinner PoS is going to be one side of A4 or less, then here is my first bash at what I think it needs to include:

 

 

ICT is about being able to operate effectively as a citizen in the 21st century. It includes aspects of Computer Science, IT and Digital Literacy. Every pupil should:

  • understand how 'information technologies' (e.g. books, internet, TV, computer programs) impact on society (e.g. culture, ways of knowing, meaning making, ways of interacting, changing disciplines and ways of working)
  • be able to safely develop and maintain an effective personal learning network (PLN) - with PLN being defined broadly, so including f2f as well as 'technology mediated' information exchange/knowledge building (and including books as a form of technology) - this would include understanding about digital identities and being able to manage their own digital identities appropriately.
  • be able to effectively investigate an issue using their PLN and drawing on skills in finding and analyzing information (bringing in search and critical appraisal skills, data handling and use of dynamic modeling) - this would bring in elements of IT (choosing and using appropriate tools) and Computer Science (understanding data structures, boolean logic, search strategies, algorithms vs heuristics, etc.)
  • be able to create a balanced interactive re-presentation on an issue that they have investigated, for an intelligent and digitally literate audience (which might include hypermedia, multi-media, dynamic models, and procedural representations) - this brings in the 'making' and creativity elements – as well as elements of IT (choosing and using appropriate tools) and Computer Science (coding, programming)

Improve on that if you can …

Comments

Profile:

Needs to be tied together in a more concrete way

try 4 strands
Digital Literacy
Digital Technology
Digital Authoring
Digital Society

more info here on the hashtag #digitalstudies or here http://digitalstudieswiki.pbworks.com

Profile:

Not bad, although not sure about books as a technology and adding the computer science elements under the area that screams 'PowerPoint' to me is potentially damaging..

Profile:

Thanks Peter, a useful prompt and a good start..I think the more we can engage with teachers to refine this the stronger it will become....

Profile:

I agree with the content and welcome 4 succinct key points which I'm sure we will start to flesh out to provide more guidance for teachers. Perhaps in bullet point 2 broaden out the middle of line 2 to include something along the lines of ... 'through using new technologies to encourage pupils to be explorers, communicators and producers of knowledge'.