Digital Technology 

2021 - What a year! The transition to hybrid remote teaching, while now familiar, still had its challenges. The students however were fantastic in their use of the various online platforms and their digital tools and apps. In the Digital Technology space when we came back together in person, we were still confident to work with and finish off a number of our projects we had been working on remotely. 

In Year 7 Digital Technology students worked in understanding more about digital literacy; the tools and apps and digital ‘cloud’ spaces that they will need to use throughout their school life, how to be safe online from a variety of threats, both known and unknown, and learning more about coding using block code. Students were very creative in designing a poster to communicate how to keep safe online that they can take back and share with their family and friends. We also learned more about block coding and created interactive programs in Scratch. Students used their creative skills to come up with some incredible ideas that they made work in code. This will be the start of their adventure in code and I hope that students continue being curious and collaborative with their journey in this space. I’ve taken a sample from all the amazing work the students have been developing over this time.

In Year 9 Microbits course students were allowed to think of ideas that helped other people. When we think about what Digital Tools and Apps do, they are created to solve problems or create a need/desire we didn’t even know we had. During remote learning students looked for opportunities within their own and their family’s’ lives, and when we returned from remote learning we looked at solving problems and creating new ideas for people around us in our local communities. Here are some of the great ideas that students have had over the last few months.

In Year 10 Unity Game Development course students were inspired by the games they have played in the past to develop their own ideas for a game, again looking at how this game could help people. The world of gaming is evolving from purely entertainment to now looking at how we can develop games for adults to solve problems and simulate different environments. Students can take utilise their new game development skills to think and solve problems in completely new ways. The future in this space is very exciting to be a part of and is an area with strong ongoing job prospects.

What a fantastic way to end the year in Digital Technologies. It’s been a pleasure to work with students to develop their skills in their space, and while I move to new adventures, the Koonung team will continue to inspire students in this digital space continuing to prepare students to help explore and solve the ‘what ifs’. 

Janene Watt

Digital Technologies Teacher