NQT Support
What does a Newly Qualified Teacher in Flintshire need to know about Digital Education and the DCF?
The use of technology within Education has changed dramatically over recent years. As teachers, your role is to ensure that technology is used to enhance the teaching and learning experiences you provide for learners.
The DCF is a statutory cross-curricular element of the Welsh Curriculum, meaning that where possible the elements of the DCF should be brought into your teaching to reinforce your learners' understanding of how they can use technology to complete their tasks, in a safe and effective manner.
What can you find out??
1. Which learning platform suite does your school use?
This is usually Google Classrooms or Microsoft Teams, although others are occasionally used.
Within these, there are several core applications (word processing, presentations & spreadsheets), which you will need to be able to use within your pedagogy.
Tip. Develop your understanding of these apps within the learning platform of your school. This will allow you to know how they can be adapted to support the learning objectives you wish to achieve.
2. Which additional Apps does your school use?
Within Wales, as a teacher, you have access to the Hwb Platform. This provides you with additional applications which have functionality beyond what may be available in the apps available in the learning platform of your school.
By knowing what these applications allow, you can create tasks where learners can demonstrate their understanding of what has been taught.
3. What should you be covering in the DCF?
The Digital Competence Framework (DCF) has four strands; Citizenship, Interacting & Collaborating, Producing and Data & Computational Thinking.
Each of these strands is then further broken down into Elements.
As a teacher, you will need to know which progression step statements you are looking to develop. Your role is to provide opportunities for your learners to develop, understand and apply these skills.
Your digital activities will usually allow opportunities to develop several elements to be used. You can also check with your school how they want you to track the DCF skills you allow to be developed in your pedagogy.
4. What digital skills should you be developing?
When you are using digital skills in your lessons it will be important that the digital skills you are asking learners to use are at the correct level.
Your school may have a progression of digital skills continuum, this will guide you on the level of skills your learners should be using.
e.g. learners in year 6 creating a presentation, as well as a difference in the level of content, they should include additional features (transitions, animations, hyperlinks) about what learners in year 2 creating a presentation create.
You will be able to find out the skills they have previously included and where possible progress these or ensure they continue to be applied.