Digital Technology

DigitalTechnology

Through the chaos and hardships brought by the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, students and teachers found themselves transitioning from face-to-face to online learning, typifying the increased reliance and usage of digital technology within society. Many students found themselves favouring this unusual environment as it allowed for more sleep and more freedom. The IT Department must be commended for their excellent foresight and support, ensuring a smooth transition through this strange and unprecedented time.

Reflecting the dynamic and progressive nature of the industry, Mazenod’s Digital Technologies faculty has seen many changes and development over the years. Each year level had a range of digital technology-related subjects that students could undertake, such as Year 9 Robotics, Year 10 Games Programming or Year 12 VCE IT Software Development, which found particular success last year, achieving the most number of students scoring a study score of 40+ in the state, a tremendous effort by the students and Mr Steel.

In particular, the Year 7 Digital Technologies Program brought new insights for students, providing exposure to fragments of the various aspects of digital work that Mazenod would offer in future years. This included experiencing the challenges of programming and coding Microbits, following various courses online that taught the basic building blocks of digital technologies for the years to come. Moreover, elements outside of the computer were explored, such as area networks and discussing IT terminology. All this brought knowledge and experience which could help students decide if they would undertake IT subjects in the future years. In Year 9, students had the option to undertake more subjects related to digital technologies, aimed at providing them with the foundations and skills which would be further developed in later years. Subsequently, senior school pathways also offered a variety of subjects which emphasised different skill sets, providing something for everyone. Students could choose from the digital design of Creative Digital Media, structure, behaviour, and interactions of computational systems through Informatics, or they could explore the design, development and implementation of a software solution through Software Development.

Students interested in computers and IT are encouraged to pursue these subjects offered by the Digital Technologies faculty in the future.

Huey Ng and Sean Ng Premier’s Award Winner Software Development 2019.