CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES The lesson plans which follow are derived from the context of the Australian Curriculum where the general capability - ICT Capability - is located. It is important to note, however, that within the curriculum there are in fact a number of ways to integrate ICT and teach ICT capability. The first is to do as such and use the opportunities presented. Secondly, if opportunities do not arise then teachers can create them themselves so long as the appropriate time arises and that suitable software is selected for student use. Please remember, that students will only develop their ICT capability if they are provided with the opportunities to use more intellectually challenging content-free software such as word processors, coding programs, databases and graphic and graphing programs where the students’ level of decision-making and control is high. These curriculum activities include references to the following in the ‘Above Satisfactory’ work samples: • Text connections; • Character preferences; • Written response: comparing literary texts; • Digital presentations and; • Character study.
Literacy Development
The lesson plans included in this teaching resource only cover the ICT capability context of literacy development. Therefore, it is important that before implementing these in the classroom that you do further literacy activities and development based on the context provided in the Australian Curriculum. Lesson plans here can be implemented to further develop student literacy with the use of ICT at the completion of previous exercises and only when the teacher deems that the student has progressed to the level required and set by the work program devised. Literacy Development with ICT To conduct effective literacy lessons which are supported by ICT you will need to make effective use of the provisionality inherent in ICT. Provisionality is the the non-permanent nature of ICT, the potential to change work easily. Writing text with a word processor is a classic example of provisionality. Word processors are a useful tool for presenting work neatly and they are great for drafting, re-drafting and editing. Editing offers powerful possibilities, and may be structured in ways that develop both literacyand ICT capability. It is through these processes that students will be able to develop further literacy skills alongside their capabilities in ICT. The curriculum activities set in this resource are aligned with these processes and teachers should learn to use word processors to their full potential by becoming familiar with its features and functions in terms of how they can be implemented in the context of literacy learning. The paper versions which you had prepared earlier for the students can be used for planning. For example, each of the paper work samples provided in the Work Sample Portfolio on the national curriculum website, can be used as part of their planning stage and then transferred onto the use of a word processor. Included in these activities are opportunities for teachers to implement the following word processors: • MS Word; • Google Docs; • Pages for iPads; • Email (school intranet); • Blogs; © ICTE Solutions Australia 2018
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