Contents

Introduction

Basic

Intermediate

Advanced

Future

Policy

Infrastructure

ICT Skills Tables

So, how to go about modifying the table without ending up with an unstructured mess? One way is to look at the curriculum and the learning strands at each Level and assess what you feel is an appropriate interpretation for your school. For instance the tables do not introduce "discrimination and critical skills" until Y12-13, virtually at the last moment. You may well disagree with this view and wish to introduce this aspect in lower classes. The implication here is that the activity of independant student websurfing for resource information for a project is tied to this strand. Therefore projects which make use of independant student websurfing should be employed only at the stage at which this skill is considered to be appropriate at the school level. Tied to to this is "personal responsibility issues of obeying internet use policy" and so on. Thus there is a network of interrelated factors which dictate to a large extent what is appropriate for a school to undertake as its Policy of ICT curriculum implementation.

Practice and Principles

It is probably clear from the above paragraph that if you got a few science teachers and a few technology teachers into a room to discuss the way ICT should be taught in a school, that blood might flow. This doesn't have to be the case. There are so many practical constraints as to what it is possible to do, that the constraints alone tend to dictate the curriculum objectives at each level.

Formal Instruction or Intergrated Assimilation

This constraint determines a lot of the content of the tables. The Tables do not assume that the school is well ICT-resourced. ICT skills, such as using a simple paint program are not included because they are a fun activity in a Y1 class. Rather the use of a paint program is included at the point at which it is required to meet ICT curriculum objectives within the structure of the knowledge base. For instance, simply learning how to load and save files is not particularly useful until the student is also able to understand the file structure model, file types, parent-child relationships, what directories are and how they are different from files and so on.

Continuity

Core or Specialised

Curriculum Strands

from "The NZ Curriculum Framework"

Y11 <= Level 8 <= Y13 Y10 <= Level 7 <= Y13 Y9 <= Level 6 <= Y13 Y7 <= Level 5 <= Y12 Y5 <= Level 4 <= Y10 Y3 <= Level 3 <= Y8 Y2 <= Level 2 <= Y6 Y1 <= Level 1 <= Y4

The Tables highlight six of the eight curriculum areas: Health, Language, Science, Social Sciences, Technology and The Arts. One may wonder at this selection but it is significant not for the inclusion of these particular areas but more for certain aspects in each area - such as "try out innovative and original ideas" which is something common to the Techonolgy and Arts areas but not so much to Mathematics. Within these Areas particular strands are important, which have relevence at certain levels. These then relate back to the Years illustrated in the above table.

• Language and languages

  • Oral Language-Listening and Speaking

    • Activity - Exploring Language Level 7-8 identify language features in a range of texts and describe, analyse, and evaluate their appropriateness and effects in terms of meaning, purpose, and audience, adapting these features for different situations.

      It is easy to assume that listening and speaking dont have much application on a computer, but there are a number of web projects which deal with spoken language. English On-line has already done a web project amongst schools looking variation in pronounciation. Another possible web-based project would be to look at school slang and examine the values embodied in its use. These projects require some discrimination and critical thinking appropriate to Levels 7 or 8 and Y10-13 and the "exploring language" activity. This is reasonably in step with the ICT technology used in such projects and is not a ground breaking use of the web for the students involved.

      Listening and speaking do not impinge on the skills matrix at present, but new ways are to use computers and the web are being found and it is possible that this area could feature in the skills matrix in the future.

      At present, movies and drama are not effectively available on the web, nor is voice an efficient medium to use on computers or the web. However technological advances mean that both of these media will be available in the next 5 years. This will herald changes in this area.

      Note that the online curriculum document is missing the page for Level 5 and 6 Listening.

  • Written Language-Reading

    • Activity - Processing Information Level 1-8 using appropriate technologies, retrieve, select, and interpret information from a variety of sources, and present accurate and coherent information for a range of purposes, analysing the processes used.

      This objective asks the student to consider different media, which can include computer media, in the delivery and presentation of information in its more general sense. This together with the similar activity in the writing section, is explored using the mulitmedia explorations of "myth and fairytale" from as early as Level 1. This activity can introduce children to cameras, digital and video, voice recording and other media technologies. The visual language section also includes other physical media such as costume, and dramatic expression (posture, gesture, movement and facial expression). which inform writing and give it rich expressive content.

    • Activity - Exploring Language Level 1-8 using appropriate terminology, describe, discuss, analyse, and apply the distinctive conventions, structures, and language features of a range of texts and explain how they suit the topic and purpose.

      This refers explicitly to a range of "texts" but includes text presented on computer media, contemporary, avant garde, experimental or new computer oriented genres. This objective is less significant with respect to ICT objectives, and one might assume it is appropriate to Level7-8 ICT-wise, but diamante poetry is a computer verse form appropriate to Level1-2. We are only just starting to explore the development of language on computer media and the effect that the web will have on language, but we already notice trends, such as the use of personal, more phonetic, spelling to communiate attitude.

    • Activity - Critical Thinking Level 7-8 interpret, evaluate, and produce written texts, identifying and discussing their language and literary qualities and relating them to personal, social, cultural, political, and historical contexts

      This is a specifically Level7-8 activity due to its emphasis on social, cultural and political contexts. Much contemporary material appears on the web first. The web is now the place where current thoughts in social, cultural and political development are thrashed out. Level 7 does allow critical thinking to be addressed at Y10 in progressive schools. This acitivy implies that this is the earliest point at which free student access to the web should be provided in the context of course work. A co-requisite to this is the issue of personal responsibility in the Health Area, and the adoption of "Computer and Internet Use Policies" by the student.

  • Written Language - Writing

    • Objective - Expressive Writing - Level 2 write regularly and spontaneously to record personal experiences and observations

      email is an excellent medium for regular and spontaneous communication of personal experiences and observations. However email is not a good medium for maintaining a record and so is restricted to Level 2.

    • Objective - Expressive Writing - Level 3-8 write regularly and with ease to express personal responses to different experiences and to record observations and ideas

      The word "record" is usually used to mean "write down and keep as part of a cumulative body of observations". Writing a diary in a book does not reach much of an audience, but writing a journal on a webpage does! This is an important activity where ICT can bring huge benefits. Prerequisites for this activity are that the student knows the basics of computer use, the file system, simple HTML, simple text editor.

    • Objective - Transactional Writing - Level 5-8 write coherent, logical instructions, explanations, and factual accounts, and express and argue a point of view, linking main and supporting ideas, and structuring material in appropriate styles in a range of authentic contexts

      This is the point at which writing instructions, analysing and structuring ideas permits practical application in writing simple algorithms and programs. Computer programs provide an acid test as to whether written instructions are coherent and logical. A typical simple program would be a message board added to a students webjournal as described in the Intermediate Chapter. This suggests that students may learn programming as early as Y7 which certainly matches intuitive notions.

    • Activity - Processing Information Level 1-8 see Reading above.

    • Activity - Exploring Language Level 1-8 see Reading .

    • Objective - Poetic Writing Level 7-8 write on a variety of topics, shaping, editing, and reworking texts to investigate and explore ideas imaginatively in a wide range of genres, using the conventions of writing securely, and integrating techniques with purpose.

      The phrase "integrating techniques" implies that more than just text is to be written. Graphs, tables, diagrams and illustrations may be included in the text. This is the stage at which Desktop Publishing becomes a practical reality. It implies that the ICT student knows how to create these objects with ICT tools such as database, spreadsheet, painter etc.

    • Activity - Critical Thinking Level 7-8 see Reading above.

  • Visual Language -Viewing

    The Curriculum statement does not say what visual language is. This really does need to be clarified or all sorts of confusion will ensue. Confusion has already occured and has already become entranched in the first draft of the National Essessment Standards. The Web Design exercise in the English section is actually an exercise in graphic design for a Poster to promote a book, transposed to a webpage and masquerading as something to do with Language, though all the focus of the exercise is on layout, graphics, and key images, rather than on the way words are used in the design.

    To indicate just how fuzzy this notion is, one may ask what the difference is between a book (written language) and a webpage (visual language?). Does it have something to do with the number of pictures in te book? or with the font used?

    The real answer is probably that the English curriculum was the first to be drafted, and the Arts Curriculum one of the last ( only released this year). In the vacuum of several years, the English, now Language Curriculum swallowed up much of the Arts Curriculum, including book design layout, webpage design, layout and graohics, multi-media presentations, video and so on. In the past, even book layout was the job of the publisher (a technocrat rather than an artist), not the author who wrote the words but did not prescribe the book size, font, paragraph spacing, margin width etc. On the other hand, writing fiction is considered to be an Arts activity, so the boundary is crossed both ways, apparently. The real problem here is that the basic skill of literacy has been confused with the more comlex skills of publishing and propagating messages.

    It appears that the politics of education is a factor in this mess. The Ministry of Education and even teachers are aware that the Arts has always been the poor cousin in schools. Arts cannot be given the responsibility of providing the curriculum framework for graphic design, because of the position it has been relegated to in the past. Perhaps the publication of this new Curriculum is the right place to address this fault berfore it is perpetuated for another 100 years and causes endless arguments and continues to undermine young peoples ideas of Art's place in society.

    All this is totally unhelpful when trying to construct a focused plan. For now, I will adopt the view that what is meant by visual language, is language as it is used in a visual medium. For example in a movie, one could just listen to the soundtrack to hear only the words, with no accompanying visuals. On a webpage, consider the "words" used seperate from the way they are presented, the font used, the position, the animation etc. These other factors are thye "visual material culture" which the Visual Arts Curriculum is concerned with.

    However there is another important aspect to this discussion. All of us are consumers (viewers) of what is called "visual language", whether it be movies, TV or advertisments. It could be argued that it is important for us all to be educated in the appreciation of the way visual media convey messages, and that this is not part of the process which we commonly associate with "being an artist".

    We can step back from this viewpoint for a moment and consider a musician and a dancer. Both occupations fall entirely within our understanding of Arts, although neither "write" or are the authors of their media. They are not choreographers, or composers, just dancers and musicians. When we go to a dance performance or to a concert of some kind, we are the passive "readers" of the performance. But we dont expect to go to school to get educated as to how to "read" the ballet or the concert. Is this because neither has any words in it?

    Perhaps there is a place for a general application of the word "reading" or viewing within the Language and Languages Curriculum that applies even to media without words. The Arts Curriculum could then concern itself with the issues of practice, design and origination of visual media objects and events, barring literature and poetry, but not drama and other language-based theatre.

    The purpose of this webpage is not to totally rearrange the curriculum, and confuse teachers who are reading this document in the hope that it may help them through this maze. But it should be bourn in mind when reading this section that it has been written with a different structure in mind than that provided by the Curriculum. For instance, Language and Languages includes sections on webpage design and the appropriate use of graphics, but nowhere in its Curriculum document is it responsible for covering issues like the use of colour, balanced colour combinatioins and so on.

    • Objective - Viewing Level 1-8

      Having said all that it is intersting to note that there is nothing about the computer medium in particular which makes of particular use for study in this area. Cartoons, TV, Movies and magazines are all more highly developed and potent forms of visual/language media. What appears on the web and in other computer forms tends to mimic other existing media forms. In addition there is not a lot of genuinely original material on the web. Many pages consist only of resource links. There is no original literature that has been around long enough to be able to be formally adopted by the education establishment, and considering how long this process takes, this will not happen for at least 10 years.

      Webpages take the form of a book, such as this site, with the odd illustration. Or of a magazine style layout such as www.tolkienonline.com, a web-fanzine. Or simply of a resource page consisting almost entirely of links and virtually no original content. Or of a (multimedia) presentation format like a slideshow, for example the Nat. Geopraphic website on "The Crucible". Or a photo album format. Except for the links site with no content, these sites follow preexisting models.

      Strategy adventure games are a computer format which allows the reader to make choices and solve problems in the process of playing the game. But much of the language/image material is derived from cinematic models. The language portion is somewhat limited and could in no way be justified as study of literature. Action adventure games have almost no words.

      However one exception in the world of computers is interactive fiction in its various forms as described in the Basic, Intermediate and Advanced sections of WEBSCOOL. But again it will be 10 years before such fiction becomes a part of the curriculum to the extent that it can be part of the assessment process. Interestingly, interactive fiction does not have a visual image component as such, but is time-based literature. Something that the Language curriculum does not yet recognise, but which the Arts curriculum does recognise.

      In addition the Web Design exercise points the way to an exercise derived from it. This is a Level 7 exercise, analyse different texts, comparing how verbal and visual features are organised and combined for different meanings, effects, purposes, and audiences, involving all three activities.

      Students review a number of webpages and categorise them according to preexistant formats such as fanzine, book, photo album, slideshow and so on. They identify webpages which have novel formats which dont have preexisting models. They suggest a generic description and coin a name for any novel formats they find. They then look at the Web Design Exercise and examine the example websites given and categorise them by their layout, content and purpose. They then examine the use of the word "promote" and what it means in general context and within the exercise. What does it mean in relation to the 3 example sites provided? If they were to promote a book on the web, how would they go about doing it? How are books typically promoted today? What are the qualities of a medium that make it good for promotion? Is the web a good medium for promoting books?

      My reservations about this exercise is that its focus is a little limited. There are a lot of useful community based exercises that educate children more about the immediate world that they live in that could be used in preference to this exercise. On the other hand it is a great exercise for comparing different presentation styles within the one media, depending on content and purpose, in accordance with the cited objective. Such clear examples are not that easy to come by.

  • Visual Language - Presenting

    • Objective - Presenting Level 4 combine verbal and visual features to communicate information, ideas, or narrative through drama, video, computer, or other technologies and media.

      This objective has a number of prerequisites:

      • Students should understand what a computer is.
      • Students should understand basic use of a computer.
      • Students should be able to use a web-browser and a text editor. Note that word processors are not ideal for working with image/text combinations. Web painters are a derivative technology rather than an educational tool.
      • Students should understand the appropriate use of font and colour, and the use of computer images and their formats.
      • Students should understand the concepts of page layout - this is covered in viewing Visual Language Levels 1-3.
      • Students should understand basic HTML.
      • Students should be able to create a webpage on a site like geocities and upload their pages to it.
      These should all be covered before Level 4. This objective has major impact on the skills matrix. However most of these skills would already have been covered in preparation for the Level 3 Expressive Writing exercises above.

      A suitable project would be creating a personal or class webpage. The new material that might be needed to be covered for this exercise would be the use of images and their formats on computers, and the use of the <TABLE> tag.

    • Objective - Presenting Level 5-8

      One feature of the curriculum which makes itself apparent when reading the objectives, activities and examples for Levels 5-8 is that all the communication is one way. Students are asked to look at examples, and then make a presentation. As mentioned above in the section on viewing, computer formats are not as expressive as other format such as poster, film and video and so are not useful candidates for such exercises. However computers and the web provide an important quality missing from all these other media and from the curriculum, and that is a process of constructive and productive dialogue with the audience.

      I would like to suggest that the concept of dialogue with an audience using language and text/image formats be introduced into the curriculum. The dialogue process opens up the way for understanding about other cultures, points of view and so on. It also opens the students to their presentations being subject to review by other than their immediate peer group and supervisors.

    • Objective - Presenting Level 7-8 use and adapt production techniques and technologies to communicate information, ideas, narrative, or other messages for different purposes and audiences

      Since this curriculum includes all kinds of publication techniques pertinent to mass production, and computers are used as a basic tool in all forms of image/text production today, this objective is heavily computer oriented. Posters and adverts are designed using tools such as CorelDraw, videos are edited on computer, sound is created modified and sliced on computer, and so on. This objective requires access to many of the tools covered in the Advanced Section. However the introduction to the advanced section cautions against expecting all students to be proficient in the use of more than one of these tools. Each tool represents a significant investment in learning (large learning curve) which warrants continuing support and development, like learning to play a musical instrument.

      Students should already be familiar with all the text, sound and image capture technologies, and with at least some of the post-computer production technology such as lithographic printing, as well as the use of computers in drama production for lighting and sound control, and the use of live video media. Perhaps the major stumbling block for projects at this level is deciding what project is practical given the school's resources and the body of experience and talent of the students in the class. Not only this, but the teacher is also required to match the syllabus and ensure that the project is a learning experience for each of the students involved. Some system which can match available resources with candidate projects and evaluate the learning experience quotient for each student involved and for the group as a whole would be a very useful tool. This could be called "Candidate Project Evaluation Software".

  Summary Skills Table for Language and Languages

  Refer to the Skills Table for Y4,5 and 6 below

  Identify the structure and layout of a piece of text; title, body of text, pages, columns, authorship, the way images relate to content.

  Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
  Identify and provide names for a range of computer types from PC's to mainframes. Appropriate identification of screen, keyboard, mouse, printer, scanner, CD, floppy disk, as well as ability to distinguish from other objects such as fax, telephone, CD player, breadmaker. Identify other media capture devices, provide names for them and see them in operation; still camera, video camera, tape recorder and microphone.	Ability to read from the computer using appropriate programs for the task; email, webbrowser, word processor. Understanding of file formats and types and the appropriate program sfor each format. Ability to find and use the appropriate program. Ability to find files, move and resize windows and use scrollbars. Ability to read and write email.	Ability to write using text editor and word processor. Understand how to use basic HTML tags; HEAD TITLE BODY P IMG and H1 through H6. Understand basic image formats (jpg, gif, npg) and how to crop, resize and change image formats. Able to set up a webpage on a free hosting site such as geocities. Develop touch typing skills.	Understand the file system and tree structures. Use external media. Develop writing and formatting skills on the computer; touch typing, HTML formatting, wordprocessor formatting. Understand colour and image technology. Ability to adjust colour and filter images. Use image browsers. Use simple drawing and painting programs.

  Level 5	Level 6	Level 7	Level 8
  Ability to do simple scripting on a website, such as a message board. Use of desktop publishing siftware to make diagrams, charts and graphs	Ability to use data and image capture tachnology; camera, video, taperecorder and midi. Download images, sound and video and do basic cropping and editing. Ability to arrange and embed these and text in a range of documents; video, slideshow, poster, webpage.	The ability to adopt and abide by the "Computer and Internet Use Policy" is a prerequisite to further Level 7 and 8 activities. Ability to use the web and computer responsibly to browse and collect information. Ability to use production technologies; video and computer projection, sound production, printing technologies, lighting technologies. Using the web for communication with a wide range of other people as part of a project. Communicating with experts, professionals, students at other schools and the general public. Appropriate use of a range of web methods for reciprocal communication; ICQ, IRC, email groups, webcam.

• Technology

  The Technology Curriculum reads as though it were some generic document written to provide a form for any curriculum area. The introductory paragraph is as close as the Curriculum ever gets to saying what it is about.

  Technology is a creative, purposeful activity aimed at meeting needs and opportunities through the development of products, systems, or environments. Knowledge, skills, and resources are combined to help solve practical problems. Technological practice takes place within, and is influenced by, social contexts.

  This wooly definition does not help teachers decide what is appropriately a part of the technology curriculum. It does not clearly distinguish itself from science, though the differrence in approach to learning has been discussed above. It also maintains a fuzzy boundary with Social Studies, by empasizing social constraints in the development of technology. The definition is so general that even Language could be included in it.

  A fuzzy boundary is not a bad thing in itself. There are of course large areas of overlap between the curricilum areas, and these must be expected. The difficulty arises when a curriculum statement is so alembracing, that it is not possible to see just what the real heart of the curriculum really is. What is the core of the Technology Curriculum, the part that is not covered by other curriculum areas?

  The next problem that fuzzy boundaries creates is in the pursuit of scarce resources. Teaching areas within the school must compete for resources, and those with clearly defined responsibilities to meet certain targets have the best basis upon which to claim resources. By making technology all-embracing it would seem to entitle technology to a slice of every cake, but at the same time it is not so easy to definitely justify a claim, and so technology will tend to miss out and just get crumbs.

  Finally, the place of technology itself, in the classroom and the school, is left in a fuzzy area. ICT falls into this fuzzy area and teachers are not sure of its role or place in the curriculum or the school or the classroom.

  However, at this present point in place and time in education, the technology curriculum is aimed correctly. It needs to be vague and fluffy because technology in our society, and our understanding of its place both in society and education, are in a state of upheaval. Old models are not appropraite. New models have not yet been formed.

  What this means is that the current technology curriculum should be used to explore new options, new ways of organising learning, new ways of teaching, new ways of assigning and sharing teaching resources. It should not be used as the battlefield for arguments in educational dialectics, or for grabbing resources.

  Priority should be given to technology projects that explore the place of technology in society and in education, that share substantial common ground with other curriculum areas and that employ resources that maximise benefit to all curriculum areas, rather than being owned by one area. In other words, work towards maximising benefit by integration.

  With Techology there is the added complication of talking about two things at once. The use of ICT in schools and education, and secondly, its role in the Technology Curriculum itself as only one of seven technology areas. This means that ICT does not have a large presence in the Technology curriculum, but does nave a pervasive influence as it has for the other curriculum areas.

  The ICT component of the Technology Curriculum includes systems that enable the collection, structuring, manipulation, retrieval, and communication of information in various forms. This includes audio and graphical communications, the use of electronic networks, and interactive multimedia.

  This obviously deals with how computers work, RAM, storage media, the structure of storage media, file structure up to RDB structure, communications, networks etc.. It is less clear that this includes programming, programming languages and to some extent by extension, applications, servers and so on.

  The ICT component most certainly includes the educational aspects involved in using ICT in the classroom. For instance learning about a PC before using it. But at some stage the student should also be learning about other types of computers and their purposes and uses. This means that some of the ICT component is driven by the necessities of using ICT in the classroom. There is a little more flexibilty about looking further afield. In other words, the ICT curriculum itself is divided into two portions. The part necessary to prime students for the use of ICT in the classroom and perhaps also at home, and secondly the more general curriculum coverage.

  This section covers ICT from all three perspectives. The initial requirement to educate students about ICT that is to be used in the classroom and at home, The use of ICT in the classroom in the context of the Technology Curriculum, and thirdly, the general use of ICT in society in the general context of the ICT curriculum.

  Because this section is driven by the rest of the curriculum at every Level it is considered Level by Level.

  • Level 1

    • Objective - Technological Knowledge and Understanding

      Paraphrased -
      Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should:
      1. ask questions and offer ideas about the use and operation of everyday technologies, such as the Personal Computer (PC);

      At Level 1, lessons are concerned with identifying objects with their correct names and communicating to others about these objects in an appropriate sense. This is verbal, oral and tactile activity within the classroom, so there should be a PC in the classroom. This is in line with Level 1 Language activity. This is covered in Level 1 of What is a Computer.

  • Level 2

    • Objective - Technological Knowledge and Understanding

      Paraphrased -
      Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should:
      1. explore and discuss the use and operation of technologies in everyday use;
      2. a. identify and discuss ideas about modifications and adaptations in familiar technologies, such as wheeled vehicles;
         b. identify, and depict ideas about components of technological systems, such as connections; sequence;
      3. describe how particular groups of people carry out technological activities, such as dentists;
      4. identify and discuss ways in which a specific technology is communicated and promoted, such as motor cars.

         It should be possible at this stge to introduce conceptual objects such as "data", "information", and the mediums used to transmit it such as telephones, microwave, cables, radiowave, satellite. Science topics dealing with electricity should have been dealt wil beforehand. Also internal and I/O components of a computer and storage media can be introduced.

         The phrase explore and discuss is used at Level 2 compared to the phrase "ask questions and offer ideas". It is not clear just what this different terminology is intended to convey. Nor how this fits into some difference beween Level 1 capabilities and those of Level 2.

      5. Objective - Technological Capability

         Paraphrased - Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should produce technological solutions. They will: 5. gather information, and identify and discuss needs, opportunities, and preferences in their local environment; 6. with reference to identified needs and opportunities, a. discuss possible solutions and strategies, and select and develop a suitable option; b. identify and gather necessary resources, and model or make their preferred solution; c. show and describe examples of their intentions, progress, and outcomes to others; d. describe how satisfied they are with their progress and outcomes, and how well they are achieving the intended solution.

      6. Objective - Technology and Society

         Paraphrased - Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should: 7. identify different views about a specific technological development within the local community, such as a roading or waste disposal project; 8. explore and compare the roles of some example of technology in daily life in their own and another time or place, such as retailing; personal hygiene.
  • Level 3

    • Objective - Technological Knowledge and Understanding

      Paraphrased - Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should: 1.investigate and describe the use and operation of technologies in an everyday setting, such as a petrol station; 2.a. compare significant features of some technologies, such as safety features, user-friendliness; b. explore and describe how components are linked in a technological system; 3.compare how different groups of people carry out technological activities, such as home cooking compared with a fast-food outlet; 4.identify and compare the ways particular technological developments are communicated and promoted to specific groups, such as information on packaging.

    • Objective - Technological Capability

      Paraphrased - Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should produce technological solutions. They will: 5. gather and collate information on needs and opportunities in the local environment; 6. with reference to identified needs and opportunities, a. explore possible solutions and strategies, and select appropriate options, justifying their decisions; b. prepare a plan of action, identify and collect the required resources, and produce the selected solution to meet agreed or specified criteria; c. present designs, plans, and outcomes to selected groups, using suitable means of communication; d. review decisions and progress, assessing how satisfied they are with their strategies and outcomes.

    • Objective - Technology and Society

      Paraphrased - Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should: 7. identify and consider different views and feelings of people in relation to some specific technological developments or effects, such as fitness equipment; noise pollution; 8. describe and identify the positive and negative effects of some instances of technologies on people's lives and the environment, such as the introduction of Cook Strait fast ferries.
  • Level 4

    • Objective - Technological Knowledge and Understanding

      Paraphrased - Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should: 1.investigate and explain the use and operation of a range of technologies in everyday use, such as in communications; 2.a. identify underlying technological principles, such as reliability; practicality; b. investigate several technological systems and explain the relationship between inputs, processes, and outputs; 3.explain why people within specific technological areas carry out activities in particular ways, such as preparing a hangi; planning a local facility; 4.identify strategies used to communicate and promote a technological idea or development, such as instruction manuals; explanatory leaflets.

    • Objective - Technological Capability

      Paraphrased - Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should produce technological solutions. They will: 5. use quantitative and qualitative methods to identify and clarify needs and opportunities; 6. with reference to identified needs and opportunities, a. identify the nature and details of the issue and explore feasible strategies; select an appropriate solution through testing, adaptation, refinement, and modification; b. prepare plans of action, identifying the required resources (time, human, material, financial); produce the selected solution to meet agreed or specified criteria; c. present and explain designs, plans, strategies, and outcomes to specific groups, using a variety of forms of communication; d. explain their choices, review strategies, and appraise outcomes, taking responses of others into account.

    • Objective - Technology and Society

      Paraphrased - Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should: 7. identify and compare the range of factors and attitudes that promote or constrain a current technological development in the wider community, such as speed cameras; artificial fibres; 8. explore and discuss the impacts over time on the local and wider environments and society of some specific technology, as in the dairy industry; the introduction of wide-bodied jets.
  • Level 5

    • Objective - Technological Knowledge and Understanding

      Paraphrased - Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should: 1.investigate and discuss the relationship between the use and operation of technologies; 2.a. explain underlying technological principles, such as efficiency; b. investigate and report on the factors involved in the control of technological systems, such as feedback; monitoring; 3.investigate a specific technological area to identify features of technological practice, such as health and safety practices in food technology; a design process involved in the construction industry; 4.compare strategies for the communication of different types of technological innovation, such as computer systems for different groups of users.

    • Objective - Technological Capability

      Paraphrased - Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should produce technological solutions. They will: 5. use a range of appropriate techniques to investigate and determine needs, opportunities, and consumer preferences; 6. with reference to identified needs, opportunities, and preferences, a. consider relevant factors and constraints, including existing solutions; develop and test a solution through modification and adaptation, justifying decisions; b. develop plans of action which allocate time, equipment, materials, and people efficiently; produce a solution to meet agreed or specified criteria; c. present and promote designs, plans, strategies, and outcomes, using appropriate forms of communication for their audience; d. review the ways their chosen strategies and solutions have developed in relation to intentions and agreed criteria, such as cost-effectiveness; social and environmental implications.

    • Objective - Technology and Society

      Paraphrased - Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should: 7. explain the beliefs, values, and ethics that have promoted and constrained some recent technological developments, including instances within their own technological activities, such as the school production; food preservation; 8. investigate and describe the present impact, and the possible future effects, of some instances of rapidly changing technologies, such as plant propagation; entertainment.
  • Level 6

    • Objective - Technological Knowledge and Understanding

      Paraphrased - Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should: 1.identify and discuss in detail the relationship between the use and operation of a range of technologies; 2.a. explore and explain technological principles, such as ergonomics; b. investigate and describe how systems work together as part of a larger system; 3.identify, compare, and explain distinctive aspects of different technological practices, such as use of different knowledge bases; 4.investigate and review strategies for the communication, promotion, and evaluation of technological outcomes, with reference to users, such as environmental protection; consumer appeal and response.

    • Objective - Technological Capability

      Paraphrased - Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should produce technological solutions. They will: 5. use a range of appropriate techniques to investigate and review needs and opportunities, analysing information to identify factors such as trends in consumer preferences; 6. with reference to identified needs, opportunities, and preferences, a. consider existing solutions, and the range of available options, such as materials; propose and test ideas and strategies to select a solution; b. develop and record plans of action which apply resources efficiently; produce a solution which meets specified criteria, including agreed standards, such as fitness for purpose; c. demonstrate and explain designs, plans, strategies, and outcomes, using communication and promotion methods which meet specific consumer preferences; d. review the chosen strategies and outcomes, debating their decisions in relation to a range of criteria.

    • Objective - Technology and Society

      Paraphrased - Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should: 7. identify and assess the factors that affect the ways different groups have responded to, promoted, or inhibited some technological innovation, such as agricultural exports; 8. examine and compare the factors that have influenced, and may affect in the future, the development and impact of some major technological innovations, such as the Internet; data matching.
  • Level 7

    • Objective - Technological Knowledge and Understanding

      Paraphrased - Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should: 1.investigate and explain the features of a range of technologies and describe the relationship between their use, function, and operation; 2.a. analyse a range of technologies and explain underlying principles, such as optimisation; b. analyse the structure, organisation and control of systems; 3.experience and report on a particular community of technological practice, such as a case study of a biotechnological development or a town planning revision; 4.analyse different strategies and constraints on the communication, promotion, and evaluation of technological ideas and outcomes, such as a patent application; packaging standards.

    • Objective - Technological Capability

      Paraphrased - Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should produce technological solutions. They will: 5. use a range of appropriate techniques to collect, analyse, and appraise data to identify and refine consumer preferences and market needs and opportunities; 6. with reference to identified needs, opportunities, and preferences, a. specify the tasks, establish constraints and considerations through consultation, analyse possible solutions, and select, test, and modify or adapt a feasible option; b. develop a critical path, applying resources to ensure efficiency and quality; produce a solution which meets physical and aesthetic criteria, service requirements, and health and safety standards; c. present, interpret, and promote designs, plans, strategies, and outcomes to a specific audience, using appropriate specialist vocabulary and symbols; d. critically evaluate strategies and outcomes with reference to factors such as society, environment, finances, standards, and regulations.

    • Objective - Technology and Society

      Paraphrased - Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should: 7. investigate, assess, and report on the factors that led to changes in attitudes among some identified groups with regard to some technological developments, such as vaccination; bar-codes; microwaves; 8. investigate and debate the perceived social and economic impacts of some specific examples of technological development, such as those associated with military hardware; developments of new drugs.
  • Level 8

    • Objective - Technological Knowledge and Understanding

      Paraphrased - Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should: 1.analyse and appraise the relationship between the use, function and operation of specific technologies; 2.a. explore and analyse underlying technological principles, such as modularisation, adaptation; b. examine and appraise complex systems in terms of interconnectivity within and between systems, such as control; feedback; stability; 3.experience, analyse, compare, and appraise the nature of practice in different technological communities, such as architecture; electrical engineering; pharmaceuticals; 4.critically analyse and evaluate the strategies used and constraints which apply in the communication, promotion, and evaluation of a specific technological innovation in relation to particular groups of users, such as ethical or statutory requirements; trade practices.

    • Objective - Technological Capability

      Paraphrased - Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should produce technological solutions. They will: 5. use a variety of appropriate techniques to identify, clarify, and review needs and opportunities, taking into account consumer and market demands and preferences; 6. with reference to identified needs, opportunities, and preferences, a. identify task specifications, establish constraints and considerations, apply relevant research to generate viable preliminary solutions and strategies, and test, select, and modify or adapt a viable solution; b. develop a critical path, managing resources effectively; produce a solution which meets the identified requirements, including production efficiency, quality assurance, commercial standards of performance, and health and safety standards; c. make informed decisions about and implement strategies for the communication and promotion of ideas, decisions, and outcomes, with reference to community responses; d. critically analyse and evaluate the strategies and outcomes, appraising the systems used to meet standards and criteria related to performance, aesthetics, and consumer demand.

    • Objective - Technology and Society

      Paraphrased - Within a range of technological areas and contexts, students should: 7. investigate and analyse how beliefs, values, and ethics of individuals and groups promote and constrain technological developments in specific communities, such as the 1960s space race; reproductive technologies; 8. analyse and critically evaluate the social and economic impacts of some significant technological developments in a variety of settings, debating viewpoints, and exploring options for the future.

• The Arts

  Also include the Language and Languages Strands on Visual Language

• Science

• Social Sciences

• Health and P.E.>

Skills Tables for Years 4, 5 and 6

ICT Tools - Years 4, 5 and 6

Information Literacy - Years 4, 5 and 6

Skills Tables for Years 7 and 8

ICT Tools - Years 7 and 8

Information Literacy - Years 7 and 8

Skills Tables for Years 9, 10 and 11

ICT Tools - Years 9, 10 and 11

Information Literacy - Years 9, 10 and 11

Skills Tables for Years 12 and 13

ICT Tools - Years 12 and 13

Information Literacy - Years 12 and 13

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