Digital Technologies and Hangarau Matihiko curriculum content
The new content is about teaching our tamariki and young people how digital technologies work, and how they can use that knowledge to solve problems.
Two new areas in the Technology Learning area of the New Zealand Curriculum
Computational Thinking for Digital Technologies
Students will develop an understanding of computer science principals that underlie all digital technologies. They’ll learn core programming concepts so that they can become creators of digital technology, not just users.
Designing and Developing Digital Outcomes
Learning how to design quality, fit for purpose, digital solutions.
Two new tupuranga in the Hangarau Wāhanga Ako of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa
Te Whakaaro Rorohiko (Computational thinking)
Includes using te reo Māori to express problems, formulate solutions and solve them using algorithms, programme and data representation.
Tangata me te Rorohiko (People and Computers)
Includes designing and developing digital outcomes while considering their role and responsibility as digital citizens.
Your child will benefit from having these future thinking skills.
What will change for my child?
The inclusion of digital technologies learning is being introduced to all students from Year 1 to Year 13. Students will be able to specialise in this area from Year 11 to Year 13. NCEA Level 1 achievement standards will be available for use from 2018. Levels 2 and 3 will be made available from 2019.
This change ensures that all students get these experiences, to prepare them for a world where digital skills are increasingly valuable to the economy and wider society. Many teachers and kaiako, schools, kura and Kāhui Ako are already making digital technologies learning part of their teaching programmes.
Introducing progress outcomes
To ensure that our learners have rich learning experiences in Digital Technologies the curriculum must provide clear and accessible expectations for what students will learn.
Progress Outcomes clearly describe the significant steps learners take as they progress in Digital Technologies from school entry to the end of Year 13.
For example, when learning about programming, Progress Outcomes identify that students start learning these skills first through giving simple instructions. Later Progress Outcomes describe how this learning increases over time. As a students' learning progresses, they would then display the skills needed to develop software of program robots.
How can you be involved?
Support your child to learn all that they can about the new digital technologies content. Help your children understand that digital technologies gives them the tools; but they still need to know how to work together, communicate, lead, make ethical decisions and plan in order to succeed.
We encourage you to speak with your school or kura, or Board of Trustees about how they are integrating the Digital Technologies & Hangarau Matihiko curriculum content into their teaching and learning programmes.
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