INTEGRATING IT
The Australian Curriculum does have a Digital Technologies section, which might lead people to assume that a "computing" subject is compulsory up until Year 10. This is not strictly the case, and most schools will be relieved to know that much of the requirement is to at least offer to students the opportunity to access this curriculum, which can mean an elective subject rather than being part of the core curriculum for all students.
I personally believe that a small commitment to a compulsory subject in Year 7 and/or 8 for a few periods per week to be the best approach for implementing the Australian Curriculum as sufficient skills to integrate digital technologies into individual subjects is developed across the teaching community.
Some schools are a long way down the path of training staff in where and how digital technologies can be assessed and results shared, and can therefore be confident in not needing specific time allocated for a core digital technologies subject, however this is not the norm on my observations.
A valid alternative is to create online resources for students and staff to be able to access learning modules for specific required skills.
Year 9 and 10 are years in which students should deliberately choose digital technology subjects rather than completing a core curriculum. Students can then access the areas that they are most confident or interested in, which can have a diversity as wide as: developing multimedia tools, advanced word processing (magazine layout), introductory web design, introduction to programming, game development and design.
In Senior years, students do not have a great deal of choice in their course structure, however schools need to understand that in order to complete subjects at this level, there needs to be some thought of provision of pathways of prior learning. For example, if a school desires a senior programming subject as part of their subject offering, there needs to be some introductory programming subjects in Year 9 and 10 to provide the basic knowledge that students require to understand the Senior level requirements.
I personally believe that a small commitment to a compulsory subject in Year 7 and/or 8 for a few periods per week to be the best approach for implementing the Australian Curriculum as sufficient skills to integrate digital technologies into individual subjects is developed across the teaching community.
Some schools are a long way down the path of training staff in where and how digital technologies can be assessed and results shared, and can therefore be confident in not needing specific time allocated for a core digital technologies subject, however this is not the norm on my observations.
A valid alternative is to create online resources for students and staff to be able to access learning modules for specific required skills.
Year 9 and 10 are years in which students should deliberately choose digital technology subjects rather than completing a core curriculum. Students can then access the areas that they are most confident or interested in, which can have a diversity as wide as: developing multimedia tools, advanced word processing (magazine layout), introductory web design, introduction to programming, game development and design.
In Senior years, students do not have a great deal of choice in their course structure, however schools need to understand that in order to complete subjects at this level, there needs to be some thought of provision of pathways of prior learning. For example, if a school desires a senior programming subject as part of their subject offering, there needs to be some introductory programming subjects in Year 9 and 10 to provide the basic knowledge that students require to understand the Senior level requirements.