Digital technologies / Year 7 and 8 / Digital Technologies Processes and Production Skills

Curriculum content descriptions

Design the user experience of a digital system, generating, evaluating and communicating alternative designs (ACTDIP028)

Elaborations
  • designing the user interface of a solution using a range of design tools, for example using a storyboard to explain the stages of a game, and wire-frames and mock-ups to describe the appearance of a solution
  • identifying features that make an effective game, such as storyline, goal, reward, gameplay and environment
  • identifying similar digital systems and their user interfaces, assessing whether user interface elements can be re-used
  • presenting and comparing alternative designs to a solution for a problem, for example presenting alternative design mock-ups to the class
  • applying the principles and elements of design to a series of solutions to evaluate the success of each solution to hold the viewer’s attention, for example identifying which colour combinations or framing of visual elements keep different audiences engaged with on-screen activity
General capabilities
  • Literacy Literacy
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
  • ICT capability Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capability
ScOT terms

Information and communication technologies,  User interfaces,  Usability

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Travel safe

In this series of lessons, students use a basic programming language to design and create an app for younger students to encourage them to use public transport safely. They explore basic user-interface principles and take into account aesthetics and the development of a positive user experience. Their goal is to create ...

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Computational thinking poster

This infographic provides an overview overview of the concepts related to computational thinking.

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Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies Years 7-8 Sample Assessment Task: Digital Systems

The Years 7-8 assessment task focuses on digital systems (integrating Digital Technologies and Science). The digital systems assessment task provides a scaffold to teach about and assess students’ understanding of how digital systems can be used to monitor the classroom learning environment. learn how to create environmental ...

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Create dichotomous keys lesson

In this lesson students engage in a hands-on exploration of local diversity. Students research and record local wildlife, learn about biodiversity in Australia, and conduct a ‘bush blitz’. They learn how to create dichotomous keys and translate their keys into a wildlife discovery app prototype. The resource includes links ...

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Physics of video games lesson

In this lesson students build a simple Pong game in Scratch and consider the physics involved in the game play. They then apply their understanding of force and motion to design their own video game concept. The resource includes links to downloadable lesson plan, websites, videos, apps and an assessment rubric. The lesson ...

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Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies Years 7-8 Sample Assessment Task: Digital Systems - Student activity guide

The Years 7-8 assessment task focuses on digital systems (integrating Digital Technologies and Science). The digital systems assessment task activity guide can teach and assess students’ understanding of how digital systems can be used to monitor the classroom learning environment. Students will learn how to create environmental ...

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Coding for GUIs Lesson 1: Structure, style and function

This is the first in a series of lessons to incorporate Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) into your General Purpose Programming. It follows on from the Visual To Text Coding lesson series.

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Coding for GUIs Lesson 3: Timers and triggers

This is the third in a series of lessons to incorporate graphical user interfaces (GUIs) into your general-purpose programming. The series follows on from the Visual to text coding lesson series.

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Coding for GUIs Final project: A complete application with GUI

This is the final project in a series of lessons to incorporate Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) into your General Purpose Programming. The series follows on from the Visual To Text Coding lesson series.

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Home automation: General purpose programming

Investigate home automation systems, including those powered by artificial intelligence (AI) with speech recognition capability. These suggested activities for year levels 7-8 are designed for students using general purpose programming languages JavaScript and Python, with similar content to the visual coding lesson Home ...

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Sphero Invent a Game

This lesson will explore how to program the Sphero using functions and show the benefits of decomposing the behaviour of the Sphero into functions, instead of writing line by line repeated behaviours. This lesson idea was created by Celia Coffa.

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Off to the movies

This is a simple Boolean (true/false) application where its asks the user’s age - if you are over 15 then you can watch G and M rated movies - if you are under 15, then you can only watch G rated movies. This lesson was designed in collaboration with Jason Vearing QSITE (Gold Coast Chapter).

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Coding for GUIs Lesson 2: Controls for input

This is the second in a series of lessons to incorporate graphical user interfaces (GUIs) into your general-purpose programming. The series follows on from the Visual To Text Coding lesson series.

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Coding for GUIs Lesson 4: Flipping images

This is the fourth in a series of lessons to incorporate graphical user interfaces (GUIs) into your general-purpose programming. The series follows on from the Visual to text coding lesson series.

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Coding for GUIs Lesson 5: GUIfy my program!

This is the fifth in a series of lessons to incorporate Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) into your General Purpose Programming. The series follows on from the Visual To Text Coding lesson series.

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Light up soft toy with LilyPad

This project will explore two ways of controlling the flow of current to a LED using a button and switch. No programming is initially expected in this project, however once students are comfortable with connecting or sewing their circuits and attaching lights, a follow-up project that involves using a pre built Arduino ...

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DT Challenge - 7/8 Python - 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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DT Challenge - 7/8 Javascript - Space Invaders

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

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Coding a sentimental chatbot in Python

Incorporating 11 tutorial videos and two informative lecture videos, this learning sequence explores natural language processing, a significant application of artificial intelligence. Teachers and students are led through the coding in Python of a chatbot, a conversational program capable of responding in varied ways to ...

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Game design

This sequence of lessons integrates game design using scratch and a Makey Makey programming board.