Digital Technologies NCEA NZC Level 1 Course Outline 3

Guide to aid teacher planning — designed to be printed or viewed in A3, Landscape.

Purpose
This example Course Outline has been provided to support teachers to understand how the new subject Learning Matrix and NCEA Achievement Standards might be used to create a year-long programme of
learning.

Duration
Significant Learning Learning Activities and Assessment Opportunities
Total of 32 weeks

Prioritise user experience in design — Usability principles and mātāpono Māori 3 weeks
practise manaakitanga by applying Through a range of learning activities, students learn about:
relevant design principles, mātāpono
Māori, and usability principles ● human-computer interaction

● a specific set of usability principles and mātāpono Māori

Understand that digital technologies
and the concepts that underpin them ● how to apply their principles and mātāpono to existing human-computer interfaces such as websites, apps, etc.
are influenced by the people that create
them and the contexts in which they are
developed Students learn what their different principles and mātāpono are and how to identify them in existing outcomes. Existing outcomes may be sourced by
the students or provided by the teacher.
Understand that digital technologies
and the concepts that underpin them Students recommend improvements to existing outcomes based on their principles and mātāpono.
impact on people, societies, and
cultures Learning covered supports development of skills and knowledge toward AS 92006 (1.3) Demonstrate understanding of usability in human-computer
interfaces.

Follow a technological process to Mini project, teacher-led: design and develop an outcome 6 weeks
design, develop, and document digital This is a teacher-led project to help prepare students for the main project that follows. Teachers should lead students through the steps to design
outcomes and develop a digital outcome. The context of this project could be app design, using a platform like MIT App Inventor. Teaching of relevant
aspects of app design and development should happen throughout programme of learning as appropriate.
Investigate and consider possible digital
solutions for authentic contexts or Through a range of learning activities, students learn about:
issues Designing the outcome
● Describing a need or opportunity, the requirements, and potential user(s) for a teacher-provided context and brief.
Understand that digital technologies ● Investigating and considering possible solutions and selecting an appropriate solution.
and the concepts that underpin them ● Creating a range of design ideas and improving them using research and feedback.
are influenced by the people that create ● Demonstrating how the design could reflect or has been informed by manaakitanga or kaitiakitanga.
them and the contexts in which they are ● Producing a chosen design for the outcome.
developed ● Reflecting on the design's fitness for purpose.

Understand that digital technologies Developing the outcome

and the concepts that underpin them ● Acquiring the skills needed to create the outcome.
impact on people, societies, and ● Describing the purpose, specifications, and user requirements of the outcome.
cultures ● Using the tools or techniques of a digital technologies domain to effectively produce a fit-for-purpose outcome.

Course Outlines up to date as at 22/12/2023. Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga cannot guarantee status or content of linked pages beyond this date.
 ● Testing the outcome to ensure basic functionality and using information from testing to improve the outcome.
Evaluate the fitness for purpose of ● Working with other people, including end user(s) to trial the outcome to improve its fitness for purpose.
digital technologies outcomes by
considering manaakitanga, This mini project provides an opportunity for the teacher to review students’ understanding of the significant learning and to provide appropriate
kaitiakitanga, and the outcomes’ social feedback on what is required for them to independently design and develop a digital outcome.
and physical environments

Prioritise user experience in design —

practise manaakitanga by applying
relevant design principles, mātāpono
Māori, and usability principles

Use appropriate standards and

conventions for digital technologies
domains

Apply appropriate tools and use

information from testing to improve the
quality of digital technologies outcomes

Work collaboratively and engage in

talanoa, wānanga, and kōrero to share
perspectives and values

Recognise that new and innovative

solutions to existing problems are
developed through kotahitanga, and
creative and critical thinking

Understand that digital devices can

collect, store, and share data, and
consider the related ethical issues

Understand how compression enables

widely used technologies to function

Investigate and consider possible digital Major project, student-led: design and develop an outcome 11 weeks
solutions for authentic contexts or This is a student-led project. The context is open, and students may choose to work in a Digital Technologies domain of interest. Teachers should
issues guide students to identify an appropriate need and possible solution.

Understand that digital technologies Teachers could provide a brief for students to follow before the design stage, or before the development stage. For example, the student could
and the concepts that underpin them provide their own context for the design section of the project but the outcome they propose may be too “big” to complete in the time they have, so
are influenced by the people that create a modified proposal could be provided by the teacher for the development part of the project. Or the student may struggle to think of a suitable
them and the contexts in which they are context and solution, so the teacher may provide them with a brief at the start.
developed

Course Outlines up to date as at 22/12/2023. Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga cannot guarantee status or content of linked pages beyond this date.
 Understand that digital technologies Students may need to acquire some new skills to successfully develop their outcomes, so time has been allocated for this. Teachers should guide
and the concepts that underpin them students to appropriate resources that can help them learn the skills required.
impact on people, societies, and
cultures Designing the outcome
● Describing a need or opportunity, the requirements, and potential user(s) for a teacher-provided context and brief.
Understand how digital technologies ● Investigating and considering possible solutions and selecting an appropriate solution.
impact on end users by considering the ● Creating a range of design ideas and improving them using research and feedback.
following mātāpono Māori: kotahitanga, ● Demonstrating how the design could reflect or has been informed by manaakitanga or kaitiakitanga.
whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, ● Producing a design for the outcome.
wairuatanga, kaitiakitanga, and tikanga ● Reflecting on the design's fitness for purpose.

Evaluate the fitness for purpose of Developing the outcome

digital technologies outcomes by ● Acquiring the skills needed to create the outcome.
considering manaakitanga, ● Describing the purpose, specifications, and user requirements of the outcome.
kaitiakitanga, and the outcomes’ social ● Using the tools or techniques of a digital technologies domain to effectively produce a fit-for-purpose outcome.
and physical environments ● Testing the outcome to ensure basic functionality and using information from testing to improve the outcome.
● Working with others to trial the outcome to improve its fitness for purpose.
Prioritise user experience in design ―
practise manaakitanga by applying Learning covered supports development of skills and knowledge toward AS 92005 (1.2) Develop a digital technologies outcome AND AS 92007 (1.4)
relevant design principles, mātāpono Design a digital technologies outcome.
Māori, and usability principles

Use appropriate standards and

conventions for digital technologies
domains

Apply appropriate tools and use

information from testing to improve the
quality of digital technologies outcomes

Work collaboratively and engage in

talanoa, wānanga, and kōrero to share
perspectives and values

Recognise that new and innovative

solutions to existing problems are
developed through kotahitanga, and
creative and critical thinking

Use appropriate strategies to manage

time and resources for completing a
project

Be aware of relevant occupational

safety and health practices

Course Outlines up to date as at 22/12/2023. Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga cannot guarantee status or content of linked pages beyond this date.
 Understand the nature of computation Programming 9 weeks
and apply appropriate reasoning about Through a range of learning activities, students learn about:
the behaviour of basic programs
● input and output The timeframe
includes
Apply basic computational thinking
● variables and data types assessment time
skills (decomposition, abstraction,
of about 4 weeks.
pattern recognition, algorithms, logic, ● conditional statements
and evaluation) to write and debug
computer programs ● loops

Understand that the cost (or ● collections

computational complexity) can differ
● modular programming (with functions, methods, etc).
between two iterative algorithms for the
same problem size Students learn to decompose problems into discrete parts, and to design algorithms using different methods of representation such as flowcharts or
pseudocode.
Demonstrate learner agency and
persevere when things fail Students design and develop a series of increasingly complex programs to solve given scenarios. They document their programs with comments and
follow programming ‘best practice’ which may be specific to their chosen programming language.
Anticipate and find solutions to
problems Students follow an organised testing process and document that they have tested their program works on a range of inputs and conditions relevant to
their program.

Learning covered supports development of skills and knowledge toward AS 92004 (1.1) Create a computer program.
3 weeks
Prioritise user experience in design — Usability principles and mātāpono Māori revisit
practise manaakitanga by applying ● Return to learning and experience from across the year in the application of usability heuristics/mātāpono Māori in preparation for the external
relevant design principles, mātāpono assessment task.
Māori, and usability principles ● Generate screenshots (as allowed) of an interface they have reviewed to take into assessment.

Understand that digital technologies Learning covered supports development of skills and knowledge towards AS 92006 (1.3) Demonstrate understanding of usability in human-computer
and the concepts that underpin them interfaces.
are influenced by the people that create
them and the contexts in which they are
developed

Understand that digital technologies

and the concepts that underpin them
impact on people, societies, and
cultures

Course Outlines up to date as at 22/12/2023. Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga cannot guarantee status or content of linked pages beyond this date.