Outcomes
Julie puts the success of the unit down to three main points: an overarching theme; the overlaying of external content through the internal work; and, particularly, the integration of Generic Technology with specific Digital Technology skills.
“For example, in order to develop their game idea, the girls used Digital Information skills to gather their stakeholder preferences and figure out who their stakeholders were going to be,” Julie explains. “Integrating the Generic Technology component and skills standards in this way worked really well.”
The game development unit has been extremely popular with the students, which Julie attributes to a strong sense of student ownership for their outcomes which have been displayed on a table in the school’s computer lab.
“The students were very proud about making their own computer game as well as their digital media outcomes – I noticed that they were bringing other students by to show them what they had done. Most of the Year 11 students have followed on to Year 12 Digital Technology. The Year 10 students also saw the Year 11 outcomes and wanted to take the class, so it was really good for promoting the subject and the school.”
Julie has since shared the course, both online and in workshops, with other teachers who have taken on some of the key components in their own programmes.
“The whole idea of having a theme for the year and seeing if you can interweave the units of work has been a popular uptake from other teachers, and they have said ‘that is what we need to do and that is what our course is missing’. The integration of the external and internal content has been another big thing that teachers have taken out of the unit.”
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