Group items tagged

Australia is moving towards a national curriculum. Whether teachers and educators like it or not the process is well underway. To get ones head around the timelines of what ACRA are proposing, I've attached as a PDF file that shows the expected dates for the implementation of the new curriculum.

"Welcome to the Assessment for Learning website. This site has been developed by Curriculum Corporation on behalf of the education departments of the States, Territories and Commonwealth of Australia." "There are 32 assessment tasks, covering the learning areas of English, Science, Studies of Society and Environment and Health and Physical Education, Languages Other Than English, Technology, The Arts and Mathematics - or their State and Territory equivalents.

The current programme of information and communications technology (ICT) study in England's schools will be scrapped from September, the education secretary has announced. It will be replaced by an "open source" curriculum in computer science and programming designed with the help of universities and industry.

Google is committed to promoting computational thinking throughout the K-12 curriculum to support student learning and expose everyone to this 21st century skill.

"The Digital Learning Branch provides advice and manages a comprehensive suite of digital systems, tools and resources to support schools design and deliver contemporary curriculum and enhance outcomes for students. The key focus of the Branch is to influence schools to leverage the potential of investments in digital technologies, and embed their use into school practice."

Google SketchUp is great free software that can be used across the curriculum. This page from RoboHelp contains links to numerous project ideas using the software. For each project shown below, you can view project details in HTML or PDF format.

"Easily incorporate computational thinking into your curriculum with these classroom-ready lessons, examples, and programs. For more resources, including discussion forums and news, visit our ECT Discussion Forums, Lessons include complete teacher editions, student worksheets, and any applicable Python programs. Examples include short exercises from core subjects with key CT concepts to consider. Programs include Python examples and exercises for teachers to enhance their existing lessons. All lessons, examples, and programs are based on California K-12 state standards."

Interesting collection of Python programming lessons shared here by Google.

"Revision is a critical piece of the writing process-and of your classroom curriculum. Now, Google Docs has partnered with Weekly Reader's Writing for Teens magazine to help you teach it in a meaningful and practical way. On this page, you will find several reproducible PDF articles from Writing magazine filled with student-friendly tips and techniques for revision. You'll also find a teacher's guide that provides you with ideas for how to use these materials with Google Docs to create innovative lesson plans about revision for your classroom."

Plans for a pilot scheme to connect teachers in the UK who want to learn how to program with experienced practitioners who can coach them are starting to take shape. The ultimate goal is to give every child in the UK a chance to try their hand at computer programming ..

The VCE Information Technology Study Design covers the areas of study, outcomes and assessment for Information Technology Units 1-4 in Victoria as published by the VCAA.

Access past and sample exams (containing some answers), Study Designs, assessment advice and other teacher support materials relating to that study.

ICT provides a rich and flexible learner-centred environment in which students can experiment and take risks when developing new understanding. Its extensive capabilities allow students, by visually coding and representing their thinking, to clarify thoughts, and to identify patterns and form relationships between new and existing knowledge.

"The 2011-2014 VCE Information Technology Study Design"

VCAA webpages for ITA Unit 3 and 4 study design, assessment and support material.