Digital Technologies / Year 5 and 6 / Processes and production skills / Investigating and defining

Curriculum content descriptions

define problems with given or co-developed design criteria and by creating user stories (AC9TDI6P01)

Elaborations
  • using provided stimulus to identify an issue and writing a user story in groups, for example using a newspaper article to develop a user story, such as: a family in a bushfire or flood-prone environment needs a way to ensure they are prepared in case of an emergency
  • discussing possible design criteria based on a stimulus, for example the cost, sustainability and timeliness for a roadside bushfire or flood risk rating system
  • investigating the impact that feral animals have on native flora and fauna and how this problem has led to economic development opportunities for groups such as the Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation
General capabilities
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and Creative Thinking
ScOT terms

Design thinking,  Problem solving

Video

Telling robots what to do

If you were programming a robot to play a competitive game of soccer, what are some of the things you would consider? Think about some of the most basic functions of a robot, like walking, stopping and turning, to more complicated functions like recognising objects and reacting to them in a specific way.

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What skills are important for programming robots?

Listen as David McKinnon from UNSW describes some of the skills that are useful to have if you want to program robots. David explains an activity that exercises problem solving skills. Why don't you try doing it? Look at a map and find some towns that are close to yours. Use the scale on the map to work out the distances ...

Online

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 ...

Online

Sydney Metro – a 3D design focused inquiry – Stage 3

This inquiry-based unit of work was created, trialled and peer reviewed as part of a professional learning program in inquiry-based learning for school teachers. The professional learning courses were part of a pilot partnership between the NSW Government’s Sydney Metro transport agency and Western Sydney University.

Online

Home energy use

Reducing carbon dioxide emissions and sustainable energy use and are two of the major issues facing the world today. This project explores energy use in homes, and compares individual energy use with the class average and calculate and graph CO2 emissions.

Online

Makey Makey boards

In this sequence of lessons students explore how electrical energy can be transferred and transformed in electrical circuits, using Makey Makey boards as the basis for experimentation and recoding of data.

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Computational thinking cut out cards

This set of printable cards provides definitions of six aspects of computational thinking.

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Visual programming with Scratch: years 3-6

This comprises a collection of sample activities that incorporate visual programming (Scratch) into teaching and learning programs. They show the possibilities Scratch offers for integration. The projects are incomplete and are designed to be used as samples for inspiration or modification by teachers.

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DIY micro:bit metal detector: years 5-6

This PDF outlines a way in which students can use micro:bits and magnets to create and program metal detectors.

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Teaching and supporting project management in the F-6 classroom

This PDF gives educators an overview of what project management is and ideas on how they can implement project management skills in the F-6 classroom.

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Data knowledge and skills tutorial: part 3 - structuring data in a spreadsheet

This video demonstrates ways in which data can be structured in spreadsheets. It is the third in a series of four.

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Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies key concepts mapping: years 5-6

This PDF uses colour coding to provide a line of sight between key concepts, content descriptions and achievement standards in the Digital Technologies subject in the Australian Curriculum.

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Computational thinking poster

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

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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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Micro:bit missions: Take a chance on me (Integrating Mathematics): years 6-8

This resource comprises two activities that allow students to explore the concept of chance in Mathematics. Students use computational thinking while using a micro:bit as a digital system to generate and collect data. Students implement programs involving branching and iteration in visual and general-purpose programming languages.

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Computational thinking in the Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies

This video provides an overview of computational thinking and how it can be taught in the context of other learning areas.

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Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies Years F-6 achievement standards and aligned content descriptions on a page

This PDF presents content descriptions and achievement standards for the Digital Technologies subject in the Australian Curriculum

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Scratch 3.0 tutorial

This tutorial provides step-by-step instructions to support the learning of Scratch, a visual programming language. The tutorial is designed for educators who would like to learn how to use Scratch.

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Data knowledge and skills tutorial: part 4 - analysing and visualising data

This video demonstrates ways in which data can be analysed and visualised. It is the final in a series of four.

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Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies: years 5-6

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