5-6 Digital Technologies

Resources and Lesson ideas

See Digital Technologies Hub for their scope and sequence of suggested units to support this band.

Resources to support Content Descriptions

(ACTDIK014)Examine the main components of common digital systems and how they may connect together to form networks to transmit data

  • Systems Thinking (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • Digital Systems (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • User interface (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • Scootle resources
  • Digital Systems (Digipubs - Victorian Department of Education)
  • Investigating conductivity with Makey Makey boards (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) In this learning sequence students explore an orchestra and use Makey Makey to make a musical instrument for an ensemble.
  • Makey Makey orchestra (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) In this learning sequence students explore an orchestra and use Makey Makey to make a musical instrument for an ensemble.
  • Animal Adaptations (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) In this lesson sequence students explore aspects of animal adaptation prior to applying their knowledge to constructing their own digital creature using littleBits electronic sets.
  • BBC Computer Science Classroom Resources. A comprehensive set of contextualised learning guides and classroom resources explicitly linked and constructed around the UK curriculum. Equivalent resources exist for the Design & Technology space.
  • CSTA Website - Curriculum Resources. "CS Principles": Computation in Action engages students in socially-relevant, project-based learning activities designed to foster computational thinking. Includes some lesson ideas for the topics: Algorithms, Data and Abstraction, Programming, The Internet and Impact.
  • Tinkering Fundamentals (Coursera course). The Tinkering Fundamentals course helps educators and enthusiasts develop a practice of tinkering and making. The course focuses on key design elements of science-rich tinkering activities, effective facilitation strategies and environmental organisation.
  • The CSER (Uni of Adelaide) F-6 MOOC to support Digital Technologies Implementation. Covers various topics in the curriculum. Courses also available: F-6 Extended, Years 7&8 and 9-10 coming soon.
  • Teaching Ideas website, listing resources available for ICT and digital technologies. (UK based). Primarily contains resources on ICT literacy and cyber safety.
  • Little Bits - Electronics for Education Lesson idea gallery highlighting STEM projects with a focus on Science, Engineering and Computer Science.
  • Educade resource to use a Makey Makey as a game controller. Detailed lesson plan that discusses technology interfaces and materials.
  • Scratch (MIT Media Lab) hosted collection of Makey Makey-based projects. Available as an open resource for teachers and students to access and remix.
  • Scratch (MIT Media Lab) hosted gallery of Scratch-based music programs.
  • Dash and Dot (Wonder Workshop) - online collection of classroom activity ideas.
  • Coursera PD course for educators about integrating ICT into the classroom. Some content focused on "using ICT" some about programming and robotics. Moreso about how to integrate at a school & class level, including pedagogy. Not currently running.


(ACTDIK015)Examine how whole numbers are used to represent all data in digital systems

  • Digital Systems (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • Video 1: Understanding representation, part 1 (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • Video 2: Understanding representation, part 2 (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • Scootle resources
  • Data and information (Digipubs - Victorian Department of Education)
  • Binary representation of data (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • Data representation lesson ideas (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • Introduction to binary (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) This sequence of lessons focuses on what a binary number is, what a decimal number is, why binary numbers are important in digital systems and how to read and understand a binary number.
  • Using binary to create on/off pictures (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) Students develop an understanding of how computers store and send digital images and they are able to represent images in a digital format.
  • Code.Org resource site for exploring computational thinking and programming within K-12 and the broader community. Resources provide structured courses targeted at different age groups and mapped to US curriculum standards.
  • Tutorial-based activities on Khan Academy for the "Computing" subject area. "Computer Science" Stream. Learn select topics from computer science - algorithms (how we solve common problems in computer science and measure the efficiency of our solutions), cryptography (how we protect secret information), and information theory (how we encode and compress information).
  • CSTA Website - Curriculum Resources. "CS Principles": Computation in Action engages students in socially-relevant, project-based learning activities designed to foster computational thinking. Includes some lesson ideas for the topics: Algorithms, Data and Abstraction, Programming, The Internet and Impact.
  • College of St. Scholastica - TeachIT App Inventor Course (CS4HS supported). Includes "computational thinking". Can no longer "participate" in the MOOC, but can view the resources and recorded Hangouts.
  • The CSER (Uni of Adelaide) F-6 MOOC to support Digital Technologies Implementation. Covers various topics in the curriculum. Courses also available: F-6 Extended, Years 7&8 and 9-10 coming soon.
  • The "Computer Science Field Guide" is an online interactive resource for high school students learning about computer science, developed at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.
  • CS Unplugged: An enrichment and extension programme for primary-aged students Created by Tim Bell, Ian H. Witten and Mike Fellows (University of Canterbury)
  • Google for Education - Exploring Computational Thinking Resource set A collection of selected resources, and lesson plans, designed to explicitly support the development of computational thinking within K-12.
  • BBC Computer Science Classroom Resources. A comprehensive set of contextualised learning guides and classroom resources explicitly linked and constructed around the UK curriculum. Equivalent resources exist for the Design & Technology space.


(ACTDIP016)Acquire, store and validate different types of data, and use a range of software to interpret and visualise data to create information

  • Video 1: Understanding representation, part 1 (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • Video 2: Understanding representation, part 2 (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • Scootle resources
  • Data and information (Digipubs - Victorian Department of Education)
  • Data representation lesson ideas (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • Investigating conductivity with Makey Makey boards (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) In this learning sequence students explore an orchestra and use Makey Makey to make a musical instrument for an ensemble.
  • Home/school communications (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) Students design (and as an extension activity, make) a new digital communication solution for the school.
  • Is it going to rain today? (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) Students understand the importance of data in effective decision-making, and are able to find, sort and interpret Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) rainfall data, and to collect their own data and analyse the resulting datasets.
  • Check out the checkout (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) This sequence of lessons explores how to incorporate user input, decision-making and loops in programming using the context of a shopping experience, particularly the checkout. It combines data in the form of a barcode and programming choices.
  • Learning environments (Digital Technologies Hub lesson)This sequence of lessons explores how conditions in the environment can impact on learning. Through investigating the environmental influences on our classroom, and learning environments such as light, noise and temperature, students collect data and identify the optimal learning environment.
  • Working with data - Connecting fractions and percentages - lesson plans (Teaching Teachers for the Future)
  • Data logging - How Healthy is your Creek - Science lesson plans (Teaching Teachers for the Future)
  • Examining primary and secondary sources of data and viewing image data - Indigenous Australian and frontier conflicts - history lesson plans(Teaching Teachers for the Future)
  • Google for Education - Exploring Computational Thinking Resource set A collection of selected resources, and lesson plans, designed to explicitly support the development of computational thinking within K-12.
  • Made With Code (Google initiative). Online tutorials and resources for students to complete. Topics range from creating visual sound animations with programming to Design and Technologies projects ("sew electric"). Focus is on learners. Resources for parents/teachers include "how to host a party" and "why code is important".
  • Tutorial-based activities on Khan Academy for the "Computing" subject area. "Computer Science" Stream. Learn select topics from computer science - algorithms (how we solve common problems in computer science and measure the efficiency of our solutions), cryptography (how we protect secret information), and information theory (how we encode and compress information).
  • CSTA Website Curriculum Resources. "CS Principles": Computation in Action engages students in socially-relevant, project-based learning activities designed to foster computational thinking. Includes some lesson ideas for the topics: Algorithms, Data and Abstraction, Programming, The Internet and Impact.
  • The CSTA Computational Thinking Resource for K-12 teachers. Includes definitions, lesson examples and a "leadership" implementation document.
  • The CSER (Uni of Adelaide) F-6 MOOC to support Digital Technologies Implementation. Covers various topics in the curriculum. Courses also available: F-6 Extended, Years 7&8 and 9-10 coming soon.
  • Kodu Game Lab Community. Kodu lets kids create games on the PC and Xbox via a simple visual programming language. Some of the curriculum resources aren't working (404s) but you can download the full zip file (40MB). There are some resources for teachers or a self-learn section of resources.


(ACTDIP017)Define problems in terms of data and functional requirements drawing on previously solved problems

  • Creating Digital Solutions (Digipubs - Victorian Department of Education)
  • Investigating conductivity with Makey Makey boards (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) In this learning sequence students explore an orchestra and use Makey Makey to make a musical instrument for an ensemble.
  • Is it going to rain today? (Digital Technologies Hub lesson)Students understand the importance of data in effective decision-making, and are able to find, sort and interpret Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) rainfall data, and to collect their own data and analyse the resulting datasets.
  • Scootle resources
  • The "Computer Science Field Guide" is an online interactive resource for high school students learning about computer science, developed at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.
  • CS Unplugged: An enrichment and extension programme for primary-aged students Created by Tim Bell, Ian H. Witten and Mike Fellows (University of Canterbury)
  • Google for Education - Exploring Computational Thinking Resource set A collection of selected resources, and lesson plans, designed to explicitly support the development of computational thinking within K-12.
  • BBC Computer Science Classroom Resources. A comprehensive set of contextualised learning guides and classroom resources explicitly linked and constructed around the UK curriculum. Equivalent resources exist for the Design & Technology space.
  • Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge. Puzzle-based problems for students or teams to complete within a timeframe, based on computational thinking.
  • Code.Org resource site for exploring computational thinking and programming within K-12 and the broader community. Resources provide structured courses targeted at different age groups and mapped to US curriculum standards.
  • Tutorial-based activities on Khan Academy for the "Computing" subject area. "Computer Science" Stream. Learn select topics from computer science - algorithms (how we solve common problems in computer science and measure the efficiency of our solutions), cryptography (how we protect secret information), and information theory (how we encode and compress information).
  • CSTA Website Curriculum Resources. "CS Principles": Computation in Action engages students in socially-relevant, project-based learning activities designed to foster computational thinking. Includes some lesson ideas for the topics: Algorithms, Data and Abstraction, Programming, The Internet and Impact.
  • Tinkering Fundamentals (Coursera course). The Tinkering Fundamentals course helps educators and enthusiasts develop a practice of tinkering and making. The course focuses on key design elements of science-rich tinkering activities, effective facilitation strategies and environmental organisation.
  • College of St. Scholastica - TeachIT App Inventor Course (CS4HS supported). Includes "computational thinking". Can no longer "participate" in the MOOC, but can view the resources and recorded Hangouts.
  • The CSER (Uni of Adelaide) F-6 MOOC to support Digital Technologies Implementation. Covers various topics in the curriculum. Courses also available: F-6 Extended, Years 7&8 and 9-10 coming soon.
  • Scratch is a project of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. Scratch is a free visual programming environment and online community designed to support young people (8+) learning to code.
  • ScratchEd is an online community where teachers exchange resources and share stories. It forms part of a connected set of resources, including ScratchJR targeting F-2, and Scratch, supporting 8+.
  • Kodu Game Lab Community. Kodu lets kids create games on the PC and Xbox via a simple visual programming language. Some of the curriculum resources aren't working (404s) but you can download the full zip file (40MB). There are some resources for teachers or a self-learn section of resources.
  • Blockly Games is a series of educational games that teach programming. It is designed for children who have not had prior experience with computer programming. By the end of these games, it is suggested that players are ready to use conventional text-based languages. Suitable introduction for all ages (and could be used for PL). Develop computational thinking skills.
  • Alice 3D: A 3D programming environment that makes it possible to create an animation for telling a story, playing an interactive game, or a video to share on the web. Alice is a freely available teaching tool designed to be a student's first exposure to object-oriented programming. It allows students to learn fundamental programming concepts in the context of creating animated movies and simple video games


(ACTDIP018)Design a user interface for a digital system

  • Computational Thinking (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • Design Thinking (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • User interface (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • Scootle resources
  • Creating Digital Solutions (Digipubs - Victorian Department of Education)
  • User interface design (CSER video)
  • Put the user in user interface (Digital Technologies Hub Lesson) In this lesson sequence students investigate the importance of quality design and design principles in creating an efficient and effective user interface.
  • What makes a good game? (Digital Technologies Hub Lesson) This lesson sequence allows students to explore design thinking processes to investigate how games are designed, created and played. Students analyse the audience of games, understanding the importance of empathy in the design process. The learning sequence culminates in a showcase: students sharing the games they have designed with the school community. This sequence of lessons could be completed over several lessons or developed over a term-long inquiry unit.
  • Is it going to rain today? (Digital Technologies Hub lesson)Students understand the importance of data in effective decision-making, and are able to find, sort and interpret Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) rainfall data, and to collect their own data and analyse the resulting datasets.
  • Check out the checkout (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) This sequence of lessons explores how to incorporate user input, decision-making and loops in programming using the context of a shopping experience, particularly the checkout. It combines data in the form of a barcode and programming choices.
  • ABC Splash educational curated resources for students and teachers. Resources are provided across a range of areas, and mapped to the Australian curriculum. Resources are collected from a range of existing sites, along with the generation of new resources.
  • Code.Org resource site for exploring computational thinking and programming within K-12 and the broader community. Resources provide structured courses targeted at different age groups and mapped to US curriculum standards.
  • The Projects for Code Clubs (All). These include Scratch, Java & CSS + HTML. Intended to begin with Scratch for basics. There are the complete "programs" available and materials for the students to follow (step-by-step instructions, with challenges/questions where students can add their own flavour, e.g. background music). Could be used by teachers but intended for Club inspiration and projects, than explicit learning & teaching.
  • CSTA Website - Curriculum Resources. "CS Principles": Computation in Action engages students in socially-relevant, project-based learning activities designed to foster computational thinking. Includes some lesson ideas for the topics: Algorithms, Data and Abstraction, Programming, The Internet and Impact.
  • Edutopia curated collection of resources for teaching K-12 programming. Learners may access and also share resources, with a focus on coding and computer science concepts. Targetted at both parents and teachers.
  • Australian Curriculum Lessons website Collection of detailed lesson plans, and lesson plan sequences directly mapped to the Australian Curriculum.
  • Little Bits - Electronics for Education Lesson idea gallery highlighting STEM projects with a focus on Science, Engineering and Computer Science.
  • Educade resource to use a Makey Makey as a game controller. Detailed lesson plan that discusses technology interfaces and materials.
  • Scratch is a project of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. Scratch is a free visual programming environment and online community designed to support young people (8+) learning to code.
  • ScratchEd is an online community where teachers exchange resources and share stories. It forms part of a connected set of resources, including ScratchJR targeting F-2, and Scratch, supporting 8+.
  • Scratch (MIT Media Lab) hosted collection of Makey Makey-based projects. Available as an open resource for teachers and students to access and remix.
  • Scratch (MIT Media Lab) hosted gallery of Scratch-based music programs.


(ACTDIP019)Design, modify and follow simple algorithms involving sequences of steps, branching, and iteration (repetition)

  • Algorithms (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • Computational Thinking (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • Visual Programming (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • If-Then Backyard Coding Game
  • Scootle resources
  • Creating Digital Solutions (Digipubs - Victorian Department of Education)
  • Making Maths Quizzes 1 - Plan and test our programs (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) In this sequence of lessons students plan, create and edit a program that will ask maths questions that are harder or easier depending on user performance.
  • Making Maths Quizzes 2 - Implementing a digital solution (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) In this sequence of lessons students implement a digital solution for a maths quiz. They test and assess how well it works.
  • Home/school communications (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) Students design (and as an extension activity, make) a new digital communication solution for the school.
  • Eco-calculator (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) Students will make a paper prototype of an eco-calculator to demonstrate human impact on the environment and suggest changes in behaviour. This is an unplugged learning sequence with opportunities to extend learning through the development of a Scratch quiz.
  • Makey Makey orchestra (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) In this learning sequence students explore an orchestra and use Makey Makey to make a musical instrument for an ensemble.
  • Check out the checkout (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) This sequence of lessons explores how to incorporate user input, decision-making and loops in programming using the context of a shopping experience, particularly the checkout. It combines data in the form of a barcode and programming choices.
  • Visual Programming
  • Design Thinking (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • Code.Org resource site for exploring computational thinking and programming within K-12 and the broader community. Resources provide structured courses targeted at different age groups and mapped to US curriculum standards.
  • Science Buddies - Website for Hands-on Science Resources Website that hosts science project ideas for a range of STEM areas.
  • Tutorial-based activities on Khan Academy for the "Computing" subject area. "Computer Science" Stream. Learn select topics from computer science - algorithms (how we solve common problems in computer science and measure the efficiency of our solutions), cryptography (how we protect secret information), and information theory (how we encode and compress information).
  • The DLTV group have been posting some overview resources for teachers about the Digital Technologies learning area. Currently focuses on describing concepts to do with Computational Thinking (algorithms, decomposition). They also have resources about "Digital Technologies and Computational Thinking". http://diglearning.global2.vic.edu.au/2014/08/27/computational-thinking/
  • CSTA Website - Curriculum Resources. "CS Principles": Computation in Action engages students in socially-relevant, project-based learning activities designed to foster computational thinking. Includes some lesson ideas for the topics: Algorithms, Data and Abstraction, Programming, The Internet and Impact.
  • The CSTA Computational Thinking Resource for K-12 teachers. Includes definitions, lesson examples and a "leadership" implementation document.
  • Tinkering Fundamentals (Coursera course). The Tinkering Fundamentals course helps educators and enthusiasts develop a practice of tinkering and making. The course focuses on key design elements of science-rich tinkering activities, effective facilitation strategies and environmental organisation.
  • Code Yourself! An Introduction to Programming (Coursera). How to program in Scratch and the fundamental principles of computing. 5 weeks, available March-April 2015. Designed for teenagers but could be for educators/ anyone.
  • Introduction to Programming in Scratch in Education MOOC (via CourseBuilder). Five module course takes you through the ins and outs of programming with Scratch and prepares teachers for introducing students to Scratch. Currently not running officially but course still open.
  • College of St. Scholastica - TeachIT App Inventor Course (CS4HS supported). Includes "computational thinking". Can no longer "participate" in the MOOC, but can view the resources and recorded Hangouts.
  • The CSER (Uni of Adelaide) F-6 MOOC to support Digital Technologies Implementation. Covers various topics in the curriculum. Courses also available: F-6 Extended, Years 7&8 and 9-10 coming soon.
  • Creative Computing was a six-week online workshop for educators who want to learn more about using Scratch and supporting computational thinking in the classroom and other learning environments. The workshop was held in 2012 but the materials are still available online.
  • Edutopia curated collection of resources for teaching K-12 programming. Learners may access and also share resources, with a focus on coding and computer science concepts. Targetted at both parents and teachers.
  • Australian Curriculum Lessons website Collection of detailed lesson plans, and lesson plan sequences directly mapped to the Australian Curriculum.
  • Scratch is a project of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. Scratch is a free visual programming environment and online community designed to support young people (8+) learning to code.
  • ScratchEd is an online community where teachers exchange resources and share stories. It forms part of a connected set of resources, including ScratchJR targeting F-2, and Scratch, supporting 8+.
  • Scratch (MIT Media Lab) hosted collection of Makey Makey-based projects. Available as an open resource for teachers and students to access and remix.
  • Scratch (MIT Media Lab) hosted gallery of Scratch-based music programs.
  • Little Bits - Electronics for Education Lesson idea gallery highlighting STEM projects with a focus on Science, Engineering and Computer Science.
  • Educade resource to use a Makey Makey as a game controller. Detailed lesson plan that discusses technology interfaces and materials.
  • Dash and Dot (Wonder Workshop) - online collection of classroom activity ideas.


(ACTDIP020)Implement digital solutions as simple visual programs involving branching, iteration (repetition), and user input

  • Computational Thinking (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • Visual Programming (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • Scootle resources
  • Creating Digital Solutions (Digipubs - Victorian Department of Education)
  • Making Maths Quizzes 1 - Plan and test our programs (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) In this sequence of lessons students plan, create and edit a program that will ask maths questions that are harder or easier depending on user performance.
  • Making Maths Quizzes 2 - Implementing a digital solution (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) In this sequence of lessons students implement a digital solution for a maths quiz. They test and assess how well it works.
  • Eco-calculator (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) Students will make a paper prototype of an eco-calculator to demonstrate human impact on the environment and suggest changes in behaviour. This is an unplugged learning sequence with opportunities to extend learning through the development of a Scratch quiz.
  • What makes a good game? (Digital Technologies Hub Lesson) This lesson sequence allows students to explore design thinking processes to investigate how games are designed, created and played. Students analyse the audience of games, understanding the importance of empathy in the design process. The learning sequence culminates in a showcase: students sharing the games they have designed with the school community. This sequence of lessons could be completed over several lessons or developed over a term-long inquiry unit.
  • Check out the checkout (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) This sequence of lessons explores how to incorporate user input, decision-making and loops in programming using the context of a shopping experience, particularly the checkout. It combines data in the form of a barcode and programming choices.
  • Visual Programming
  • BBC Computer Science Classroom Resources. A comprehensive set of contextualised learning guides and classroom resources explicitly linked and constructed around the UK curriculum. Equivalent resources exist for the Design & Technology space.
  • CS First Materials by Google. These are created for "Club" use but could also be conducted as a classroom project. Both "teacher" and "student" materials. Currently there are 7 different project themes: Sound & Music, Social Media, Game Design, Art, Friends, Fashion & Design, Storytelling.
  • Coursera PD course for educators about integrating ICT into the classroom. Some content focused on "using ICT" some about programming and robotics. Moreso about how to integrate at a school & class level, including pedagogy. Not currently running.
  • Made With Code (Google initiative). Online tutorials and resources for students to complete. Topics range from creating visual sound animations with programming to Design and Technologies projects ("sew electric"). Focus is on learners. Resources for parents/teachers include "how to host a party" and "why code is important".
  • ABC Splash educational curated resources for students and teachers. Resources are provided across a range of areas, and mapped to the Australian curriculum. Resources are collected from a range of existing sites, along with the generation of new resources.
  • Code.Org resource site for exploring computational thinking and programming within K-12 and the broader community. Resources provide structured courses targeted at different age groups and mapped to US curriculum standards.
  • The Projects for Code Clubs (All). These include Scratch, Java & CSS + HTML. Intended to begin with Scratch for basics. There are the complete "programs" available and materials for the students to follow (step-by-step instructions, with challenges/questions where students can add their own flavour, e.g. background music). Could be used by teachers but intended for Club inspiration and projects, than explicit learning & teaching.
  • Science Buddies - Website for Hands-on Science Resources Website that hosts science project ideas for a range of STEM areas.
  • Resource via the NCWiT site. Introduce students to CS through AgentCubes, a 2-D and 3-D programming tool. Lessons included in the package that can be downloaded.
  • Tutorial-based activities on Khan Academy for the "Computing" subject area. "Computer Science" Stream. Learn select topics from computer science - algorithms (how we solve common problems in computer science and measure the efficiency of our solutions), cryptography (how we protect secret information), and information theory (how we encode and compress information).
  • CSTA Website - Curriculum Resources. "CS Principles": Computation in Action engages students in socially-relevant, project-based learning activities designed to foster computational thinking. Includes some lesson ideas for the topics: Algorithms, Data and Abstraction, Programming, The Internet and Impact.
  • The CSTA Computational Thinking Resource for K-12 teachers. Includes definitions, lesson examples and a "leadership" implementation document.
  • Tinkering Fundamentals (Coursera course). The Tinkering Fundamentals course helps educators and enthusiasts develop a practice of tinkering and making. The course focuses on key design elements of science-rich tinkering activities, effective facilitation strategies and environmental organisation.
  • Code Yourself! An Introduction to Programming (Coursera). How to program in Scratch and the fundamental principles of computing. 5 weeks, available March-April 2015. Designed for teenagers but could be for educators/ anyone.
  • Introduction to Programming in Scratch in Education MOOC (via CourseBuilder). Five module course takes you through the ins and outs of programming with Scratch and prepares teachers for introducing students to Scratch. Currently not running officially but course still open.
  • College of St. Scholastica - TeachIT App Inventor Course (CS4HS supported). Includes "computational thinking". Can no longer "participate" in the MOOC, but can view the resources and recorded Hangouts.
  • Creative Computing was a six-week online workshop for educators who want to learn more about using Scratch and supporting computational thinking in the classroom and other learning environments. The workshop was held in 2012 but the materials are still available online.
  • Edutopia curated collection of resources for teaching K-12 programming. Learners may access and also share resources, with a focus on coding and computer science concepts. Targetted at both parents and teachers.
  • Australian Curriculum Lessons website Collection of detailed lesson plans, and lesson plan sequences directly mapped to the Australian Curriculum.
  • Scratch is a project of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. Scratch is a free visual programming environment and online community designed to support young people (8+) learning to code.
  • ScratchEd is an online community where teachers exchange resources and share stories. It forms part of a connected set of resources, including ScratchJR targeting F-2, and Scratch, supporting 8+.
  • Scratch (MIT Media Lab) hosted collection of Makey Makey-based projects. Available as an open resource for teachers and students to access and remix.
  • Scratch (MIT Media Lab) hosted gallery of Scratch-based music programs.
  • Little Bits - Electronics for Education Lesson idea gallery highlighting STEM projects with a focus on Science, Engineering and Computer Science.
  • Educade resource to use a Makey Makey as a game controller. Detailed lesson plan that discusses technology interfaces and materials.
  • Dash and Dot (Wonder Workshop) - online collection of classroom activity ideas.
  • Kodu Game Lab Community. Kodu lets kids create games on the PC and Xbox via a simple visual programming language. Some of the curriculum resources aren't working (404s) but you can download the full zip file (40MB). There are some resources for teachers or a self-learn section of resources.
  • Blockly Games is a series of educational games that teach programming. It is designed for children who have not had prior experience with computer programming. By the end of these games, it is suggested that players are ready to use conventional text-based languages. Suitable introduction for all ages (and could be used for PL). Develop computational thinking skills.
  • Alice 3D: A 3D programming environment that makes it possible to create an animation for telling a story, playing an interactive game, or a video to share on the web. Alice is a freely available teaching tool designed to be a student's first exposure to object-oriented programming. It allows students to learn fundamental programming concepts in the context of creating animated movies and simple video games


(ACTDIP021)Explain how student solutions and existing information systems are sustainable and meet current and future local community needs

  • Creating Digital Solutions (Digipubs - Victorian Department of Education)
  • Scootle resources
  • Home/school communications (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) Students design (and as an extension activity, make) a new digital communication solution for the school.
  • Systems Thinking (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • CSTA Website - Curriculum Resources. "CS Principles": Computation in Action engages students in socially-relevant, project-based learning activities designed to foster computational thinking. Includes some lesson ideas for the topics: Algorithms, Data and Abstraction, Programming, The Internet and Impact.
  • CS Unplugged: An enrichment and extension programme for primary-aged students Created by Tim Bell, Ian H. Witten and Mike Fellows (University of Canterbury)


(ACTDIP022)Plan, create and communicate ideas and information, including collaboratively online, applying agreed ethical, social and technical protocols

  • Scootle resources
  • Data and information (Digipubs - Victorian Department of Education)
  • Class blog (Digital Technologies Hub lesson) Students unpack elements of English and Digital Technologies and investigates the concept, purpose and critical features of a good blog.
  • Digital Citizenship (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • BBC Computer Science Classroom Resources. A comprehensive set of contextualised learning guides and classroom resources explicitly linked and constructed around the UK curriculum. Equivalent resources exist for the Design & Technology space.
  • Common Sense Education Cross-curricular activities addressing the development of digital literacy, online safety, relationships and communication.
  • Cybersmart Australian Government Website Provides resources for parents and schools relating to online privacy, ethics and security concerns, including web-based resources, and downloadable lesson plans.
  • 5 Ps for a Positive Digital Footprint Board Game
  • Code.Org resource site for exploring computational thinking and programming within K-12 and the broader community. Resources provide structured courses targeted at different age groups and mapped to US curriculum standards.
  • CSTA Website - Curriculum Resources. "CS Principles": Computation in Action engages students in socially-relevant, project-based learning activities designed to foster computational thinking. Includes some lesson ideas for the topics: Algorithms, Data and Abstraction, Programming, The Internet and Impact.
  • The CSER (Uni of Adelaide) F-6 MOOC to support Digital Technologies Implementation. Covers various topics in the curriculum. Courses also available: F-6 Extended, Years 7&8 and 9-10 coming soon.
  • Teaching Ideas website, listing resources available for ICT and digital technologies. (UK based). Primarily contains resources on ICT literacy and cyber safety.
  • Thinkuknow National Crime Agency (UK) An online community education site addressing cyber safety and privacy issues.
  • Thinkuknow Australia Australian Federal Police. A website for teachers parents and carers (with additional resources for high school students)


Resources to support Key Concepts

(scroll down hyperlinked page to see Key Concepts explained)

Unpacking the curriculum: Ten key concepts(video)

Abstraction

  • CSTA Website - Curriculum Resources. "CS Principles": Computation in Action engages students in socially-relevant, project-based learning activities designed to foster computational thinking. Includes some lesson ideas for the topics: Algorithms, Data and Abstraction, Programming, The Internet and Impact.


Data collection, representation and interpretation

  • What is Data?
  • CSTA Website - Curriculum Resources. "CS Principles": Computation in Action engages students in socially-relevant, project-based learning activities designed to foster computational thinking. Includes some lesson ideas for the topics: Algorithms, Data and Abstraction, Programming, The Internet and Impact.


Specification, algorithms and implementation

  • Error Detection Cs-Unplugged
  • CSTA Website - Curriculum Resources. "CS Principles": Computation in Action engages students in socially-relevant, project-based learning activities designed to foster computational thinking. Includes some lesson ideas for the topics: Algorithms, Data and Abstraction, Programming, The Internet and Impact.


Digital Systems

  • Binary Numbers CS-Unplugged
  • Digital Systems (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • Digital Systems (Digipubs - Victorian Department of Education)
  • CSTA Website - Curriculum Resources. "CS Principles": Computation in Action engages students in socially-relevant, project-based learning activities designed to foster computational thinking. Includes some lesson ideas for the topics: Algorithms, Data and Abstraction, Programming, The Internet and Impact.


Interactions and Impacts

  • Cyber Safety
  • 5 Ps for a Positive Digital Footprint Board Game
  • CSTA Website - Curriculum Resources. "CS Principles": Computation in Action engages students in socially-relevant, project-based learning activities designed to foster computational thinking. Includes some lesson ideas for the topics: Algorithms, Data and Abstraction, Programming, The Internet and Impact.


Resources to support Thinking Skills

(scroll down hyperlinked page to see Thinking Skills explained)

Computational Thinking




Systems Thinking

  • Systems Thinking (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • Digital Systems (Digital Technologies Hub)
  • Digital Systems (Digipubs - Victorian Department of Education)
  • CSTA Website - Curriculum Resources. "CS Principles": Computation in Action engages students in socially-relevant, project-based learning activities designed to foster computational thinking. Includes some lesson ideas for the topics: Algorithms, Data and Abstraction, Programming, The Internet and Impact.


Design Thinking


Resources to support 5-6 Band


Many thanks to Dr Rebecca Vivian, Research Fellow, Computer Science Education Research (CSER) Group at The University of Adelaide for generously sharing many of these links.