Digital technologies / Year 5 and 6 / Digital Technologies Processes and Production Skills

Curriculum content descriptions

Design a user interface for a digital system (ACTDIP018)

Elaborations
  • exploring different features of user interfaces that allow people from different cultures to access information irrespective of language background, for example using icons and consistently placing icons or symbols in games interfaces to reduce the frustrations of game players
  • applying the principles and elements of design to a set of requirements in order to produce a user interface for a system that addresses an identified need, for example to emphasise or highlight an area of the screen to draw the viewer’s attention to an event or action
  • designing the user interface of a solution using different design tools, for example using a storyboard to outline the stages of a game or a mock-up to show the placement of icons
  • generating and considering alternative designs for a user interface, for example sketching different concepts for a splash screen of a game or interactive multimedia experience
General capabilities
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
  • ICT capability Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capability
ScOT terms

Information and communication technologies,  Design,  User interfaces

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Sustainable travel

In this sequence of learning, students design and pitch ideas for an app that informs users of the cost associated with various forms of transport. They investigate the costs and environmental impact of forms of transport, including public transport. They then explore ideas for designing an app to allow commuters to track ...

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Data and information

This is a unit for Year 5 from the Scope and sequence resources from the DT Hub. The topic of data collection and presentation is organised into four key elements. Use this flow of activities to plan and assess students against the relevant achievement standards. Students collect their own data and analyse the resulting ...

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Creating a digital game

This is a unit for Year 6 from the Scope and sequence resources from the DT Hub. The topic of creating a digital solution is organised into four key elements. Use this flow of activities to plan and assess students against the relevant achievement standards. Students follow the problem solving process to design and create ...

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Scratch Creative Computing Guide

There is also a series of units comprising learning activities, paired with assessment activities and templates that can be used to support use of the Scratch (MIT) platform. The Scratch Creative Computing Guide supports assessment activities with visual programming environments.

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User interface design: Controllers for all

In this lesson, students design and implement a new user-interface that allows a user to interact with a digital program. This lesson idea was created by Rebecca Vivian.

Downloadable

DT Challenge - 5/6 Blockly - Smart Garden

Learn how to program a BBC micro:bit using Blockly — no experience required. Learn the basics of programming in Blockly with our full BBC micro:bit simulator. Create a Smart Garden device to monitor the health of your plants, measuring temperature and wiring up a simple soil moisture sensor.

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What makes a good game?

This lesson sequence allows students to explore design thinking processes to investigate how games are designed, created and played. Students analyse the audience of games, understanding the importance of empathy in the design process. The learning sequence culminates in a showcase: students sharing the games they have ...

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Home automation programming (yrs 5-6)

Investigate home automation systems, including those powered by artificial intelligence (AI) with speech recognition capability. These suggested activities provide a level of differentiation to cater for students’ range of programming skills. They were developed in collaboration with the Digital Technologies Institute.

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Check out the checkout

This sequence of lessons explores how to incorporate user input, decision-making and loops in programming using the context of a shopping experience, particularly the checkout. It combines data in the form of a barcode and programming choices.

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Design Thinking Process - Empathising

In this lesson students understand design thinking as a process for solving problems creatively. Students explore the design thinking process of empathising and seek to understand more about the users and the problem they are trying to solve. This particular lesson explores reducing litter through the design brief although ...

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DT Challenge - 5/6 Blockly - Sport Micro:Bit

Use blocks to program a micro:bit for sport! Get excited about coding even if you have no experience. You'll use drag-and-drop blocks to write your own programs, and make interactive games and tools to improve your health.

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Fun projects with language translation

Natural language processing is growing in importance. We often converse with automatic chatbots for customer service without even knowing. We also use online translation services or mobile apps. But how do these services work? Is there artificial intelligence (AI) in them? Three projects are offered to cater for student ...

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Note the music

We can program a computer to play music. Conventionally this is done by hard coding, which is the process of coding all possible expected behaviours. Alternatively, we can train an artificial intelligence (AI) computer about what notes go well with others, so it can play a duet with a human musician. Students can make their ...

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Put the user in user interface

In this lesson sequence students investigate the importance of quality design and design principles in creating an efficient and effective user interface.

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Classroom ideas: Choose your own adventure: years 3-6

This PDF provides a sequence of activities that allow students to view and create planning templates and algorithms when making 'Choose Your Own Adventure' stories. Older students can use the visual programming language Scratch to build their stories.

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DT Challenge - 5/6 Blockly - Networking with Micro:Bit

Learn how to code the micro:bit to use the radio! In this DT Mini Challenge, you can create wireless networks to send pictures and messages around the room! You'll start by sending simple messages, but work up to making your own interactive games with your friends! Dive on in and you'll be sending secret messages in no time!

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Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies: years 5-6

This PDF provides a line of sight from content descriptions to achievement standards.

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Design Thinking Process - Ideation

Students explore the design thinking process of ideation and reflect on different ways we can generate ideas in order to solve a problem with a design brief. This particular lesson explores healthy eating through the design brief although the activities can be used to ideate any design.

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DT Challenge - 5/6 Blockly - Space Invaders

In this coding challenge, students learn about programming in Blockly, including data representation, decomposition, design, branching, iteration, functions, variables, animations, tracing and evaluation.

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Expert webinar video: Russell Scott - Vortals: Augmented reality, virtual reality, 2D, 3D and game design lessons

Russell Scott, Co-Founder of multimedia design company Vortals, demonstrates some of the ways he teaches students about augmented reality, virtual reality, 2D, 3D and game design.