New Brunswick

The specific purpose for the New Brunswick Curriculum document is to develop digital literacy through a skills-based approach. Similar to Newfoundland's Curriculum, New Brunswick's Production Technologies 120 Class focuses on the production of student-led various forms of media that is challenging and yet "flexible enough to accommodate students with a range of interests and abilities." (Government of New Brunswick, 2014)

However, New Brunswick specifically leans into teaching and discussing the ethical concerns and practices of media production and consumption. A large focus is placed upon issues such as copyright law. In this way and others, New Brunswick has a large scope of consideration in its curriculum when interacting with the technological education subject material. New Brunswick curriculum isn't preparing students to be employable, but instead turns student's attention to the effects technology has upon others. The curriculum has a strong focus on producing content for specific audiences and audiences can every part, from pre-production to post-production. By using real world examples, the New Brunswick curriculum strives to place students attention on the needs of their audience when creating a media production. This curriculum document also hopes to prepare student for post-secondary opportunities in the digital creation fields, similar to the Newfoundland Curriculum goal, except more narrow in mind.

Technology as literacy
Literacy is an important component of this course. Many of the assignments and assessments ask students to create literary artefacts either in support of the technology, or with technology. Much of the media projects that the students will view or create has technology literacy required in order to produce a functional product. 

Technology as Ethics
Again, evidenced by GCO 1, the New Brunswick Curriculum focuses heavily on the relationship of ethics and technology. Copyright is an important subtopic that correlates with ethical technology usage.
Perhaps in the same vein, a large component of the New Brunswick curriculum is inclusion, so of course, they view technology as a means for inclusion and equity. This equating of technology as inclusive shows the nature of technology as ethics promoted by the New Brunswick Curriculum.

Technology as process
The New Brunswick curriculum stresses the individual processes of pre-production, production and post-production and their necessity to the technological artefact completion. If either process in this 3-part combination is absent, a successful technology production will not be possible. 

New Brunswick's Education system highly stresses the value they place upon inclusion. So, an underlying philosophy they adopt and promote is that the students learning shall be placed as the priority, enabling modification of things to better equip the student for learning such through modified assessments, material and learning environment. 

The Digital Production course relies upon several learning theories, including connectivism, cognitivism and constructivism.

Firstly, cognitivism is important because this has to do with the mental processes involved in problem solving. Since Digital Production is an inquiry based course (discussed later), the whole makeup of the course revolves around problem-solving through technological means, often starting with brainstorming, a cognitive process. Students in Digital Production 120 learn and cement their learning of the curriculum through these problem-solving projects.

The curriculum is also deals with principles of constructivism. Constructivism involves student-led learning based on taking "what they're being taught," and adding it to "their previous knowledge..."(Western Governors University, 2021). Since literacy is a major component of the New Brunswick Curriculum, this assumes students will build upon their literacy skills and incorporate technological literacy into the mix as the expand their knowledge in technology. 

Thirdly, connectivism is an important aspect of the New Brunswick curriculum. The New Brunswick curriculum document places an emphasis on networking and the importance is has in the student's learning by connecting the students learning to real world applications, connecting students with one another and by connecting the material to media and "...things that excite them, helping them learn" (Western Governors University, 2021).

The content of the New Brunswick's Digital Production course is narrowed onto three primary general curriculum outcomes (Both NL and NB use GCO's and SCO's). Of these outcomes, there are specific things students should know, and do. Thus, this curriculum focuses on knowledge and skills.

The three G.C.O.'s, as previously mentioned, focus on ethical creation of media, effective design principles with considerations such as audience targeting, and actual creation of various forms of media products:

"G.C.O. 1.0 Demonstrate an awareness of the ethical and copyright implications of media creation 

G.C.O. 2.0 Explore principles of effective design and communication, including audience targeting and pre-production

G.C.O. 3 Design and create media products in a variety of formats including: digital imaging, website development, digital audio and digital video."
(Government of New Brunswick, 2014)

In comparison to Newfoundland curriculum, Digital Production does not focus on the history and evolution of technology or the careers and use of technology in the workplace nearly as much. The operation and management of technological systems is stressed as a GCO in the Newfoundland Curriculum but is not absent in the New Brunswick Curriculum, it is simply integrated into the production of media, as the production is impossible without successful operation of the systems involved in creating the media products.

Interestingly, the New Brunswick has an appendix attached to the document which details another list of competencies which go in more in depth on the formation of the individual that is expected from the curriculum studies. These competencies are less related to skills and more so focus on student's broad abilties and attitudes. The New Brunswick Curriculum sums them up in this way: "Students will know and be able to use strategies and processes to think creatively, understand deeply, conduct meaningful reflection and solve problems."

"Competencies:

1. Critical thinking and creative problem solving

Students will know and be able to use strategies and processes to think creatively, understand deeply, conduct

meaningful reflection and solve problems.

2. Collaboration Students will be able to interact with others in generating ideas and developing products. They will use appropriate interpersonal skills within a variety of media and social contexts. 

3. Communication Students will be able to communicate effectively using the arts; mathematical and scientific concepts and symbols; and the listening, viewing, speaking, reading and writing modes of language(s). They will communicate using a variety of media and technologies. 

4. Personal development and self-awareness Students will be resourceful, reliable and resilient. They will see themselves as capable learners, aware of their own potential. They will make well-informed, healthy choices that contribute to the well-being of themselves and others. 

5. Global citizenship Students will be able to assess social, cultural, economic and environmental interdependence in a local, national and global context. " (Government of New Brunswick, 2014)

As told from their purpose, the New Brunswick Curriculum focuses on a skills-based approach in teaching this subject of technology. Thus, all assessments, and learning is directed towards student acquisition of desired skills. However, this is the end overarching goal in mind for teaching, and not the means by which the teachers would teach these skills. The New Brunswick curriculum promotes a variety of different teaching methods, of which we will speak to the major areas.

Firstly, looking back to their learning philosophy, this curriculum document seeks to implement inclusive practices in the ways students learn. Thus, this course enables students to be responsible for their own learning by responding to real world applications under the guise of problem based learning, scaffolding, tutorials, and, majorly, inquiry based learning.

The curriculum is structured in such a way that teachers simply must guide their students through a road map of discovery. The students start with an idea, and it is built upon by real-world examples. The students response is then researched and planned, created, edited and then the finished project is presented. The teacher simply guides them on the inquiry based process.

Inquiry based learning is a student-centered approach, where learners take the lead in their learning. Teachers should emphasize inquiry-based learning which gets students involved in solving real-life problems by using the knowledge, and skills, gained from the curriculum. Students have the opportunity to build their own understandings from observable examples, and equate meaning to them as they make and complete inquiries and communicate their findings to others. Teachers are meant to push students towards resources that will assist in their pursuit of answers for these inquiries.

One challenge of this inquiry based method is that students may have a hard time connecting the purpose of their assignment to the understanding they are gaining in class through the curriculum. Thus, as a part of this teaching methodology, in order that students will make these connections, they must be emphasized by the teacher. So, when students are completing a project for one of their inquiries, the teacher should be constantly explaining or referring back to the course material to help students understand the why of what they are doing.

The teacher must remain up to date in their own learning and knowledge as there continues to be advances in technology, the teacher must advance with them in order that the students may be equipped with the proper knowledge and skills appropriate for the world they enter after High School. The teacher is not restricted to only open-source and free programs, but can also utilize proprietary programs that are available to them.

Some of the assessment practices for this course include:

"• Questioning • Learning Logs • Observation • Projects and Investigations • Conferences • Checklists • Demonstrations • Rubrics • Presentations • Reflective Journals • Technology Applications (e.g., wikis, blogs, discussion forums, virtual communication) • Simulations • Portfolios • Self- and peer-assessment" (Government of New Brunswick, 2014)

Furthermore, Universal Design for learning is the underlying framework for all teaching that is done from the New Brunswick Curriculum. In this way, differentiated education is highlighted in order that multiple means of engagement, representation, and action and expression are available to the student's for their best learning. Teachers are expected to employ UDL strategies during their teaching.