Talara Primary College enriches 21st century education delivery
through the use of technology. It is a tool that enhances pedagogy, facilitates
the creation and sharing of knowledge and allows differentiation in learning.
Technology is more than a method of retrieving information.
The use of a laptop, iPad and other technologies:
- Enhances independence and self-initiated learning among
students
- Extends student learning beyond the classroom
- Promotes the development of 21st Century teaching and
learning
- Enables the
delivery of ICT as an Australian Curriculum general capability
ICT in the Australian Curriculum
ICT is represented in the Australian Curriculum as a general
capability. Students develop ICT
competence as they learn to use ICT effectively and appropriately when
investigating, creating and communicating ideas and information at school, at
home, at work and in their communities. (ACARA, 2010)
Students develop ICT competence when they learn to:
- Investigate with ICT
- Create with ICT
- Communicate with ICT
- Operate with ICT
STEM
Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) are an integral part of our everyday lives.
At Talara Primary College, the facets of each of these STEM areas are
interwoven within the other. Students from Prep to Year 6 are provided with
opportunities to develop higher-order computational, problem solving, critical
and creative thinking. They also develop scientific literacies and reasoning
skills. By engaging our students in project-based STEM and Technologies
subjects, we are preparing them for living and working in the 21st century.
Digital Technologies
Students live in a technological world where Digital Technologies
are integral to everyday situations. The Talara Primary College Digital
Technologies Program makes use of a range of digital technology functions and
applications to develop knowledge, skills and capacity to select, inquire,
develop new understandings, transform information and construct new knowledge
for a variety of purposes. As part of the Australian Curriculum, students are
required to apply digital technologies to a broad range of practical
applications, including coding and robotics, and within the other subject
areas.
Each classroom is equipped with a range of digital technologies
including screens to display work as well as fully networked devices with
access to the internet. The Computer Lab is equipped with a class set of
computers. Students also have opportunities to use Virtual Reality to explore a
range of curriculum related concepts in ways that were considered impossible
until now. Weekly ICT lessons are held for all classes to develop skills
ranging from word processing, keyboarding, image editing, spread sheeting, to
multimedia tasks such as presentations, video editing, audio recording, coding
and robotics.
Talara Primary College has a significant number of
iPads and laptops. These are used in classrooms throughout the day to enhance
learning opportunities. iPads are integrated into classroom lessons as teaching
and learning tools. Apps used include mathematics, reading, language, history,
geography, science, photography, presentation and coding.
Engage Phase: PREP -2
Learning
in Digital Technologies builds on concepts, skills and processes developed in
the Early Years Learning Framework. It focuses on developing foundational
skills in computational thinking and an awareness of personal experiences using
digital systems.
By
the end of Year 2, students will have had opportunities to create a range of
digital solutions through guided play and integrated learning, such as using
robotic toys to navigate a map or recording science data with software
applications.
In
Prep – Year 2, students begin to learn about common digital systems and
patterns that exist within data they collect. Students organise, manipulate and
present this data, including numerical, categorical, text, image, audio and
video data, in creative ways to create meaning.
EXPLORE Phase: Year 3-4
Learning
in Digital Technologies focuses on further developing understanding and skills
in computational thinking, such as categorising and outlining procedures; and
developing an increasing awareness of how digital systems are used and could be
used at home, in school and the local community.
By
the end of Year 4, students will have had opportunities to create a range of
digital solutions, such as interactive adventures that involve user choice,
modelling simplified real world systems and simple guessing games.
In
Year 3 and 4, students explore digital systems in terms of their components,
and peripheral devices such as digital microscopes, cameras and interactive
whiteboards. They collect, manipulate and interpret data, developing an
understanding of the characteristics of data and their representation.
ELABORATE Phase: Year 5-6
Learning
in Digital Technologies focuses on further developing understanding and skills
in computational thinking such as identifying similarities in different
problems and describing smaller components of complex systems. It also focuses
on the sustainability of information systems for current and future uses.
By
the end of Year 6, students will have had opportunities to create a range of
digital solutions, such as games or quizzes and interactive stories and
animations.
In
Year 5 and 6, students develop an understanding of the role individual
components of digital systems play in the processing and representation of
data. They acquire, validate, interpret, track and manage various types of data
and are introduced to the concept of data states in digital systems and how
data are transferred between systems.
‘Our
goal is to bring the world to our students at Talara. We provide a global
education and the skills that they will need to excel in whatever direction
life takes them.’
Wade
Thompson
eLearning Teacher