[Year 12 IPM] New Yr10IT Course - Construct-ion-ivist Approach

[Keith Richardson]

An excellent comment Michael. The difference may have been there
'always', but it has taken you to identify and name it for us.
This concept has been so needed, that I think it will dramatically place
itself into our everyday language: "use IT" and "about IT" - polarities
that we can NOW use to describe our views of IT related education.  The
time has come!
Keith.


On Sun, 3 Jul 2005 19:55:59 +1000, "Fitzpatrick, Michael"
<michael.fitzpatrick at carey.com.au> said:
> Thank you to all the valuable contributions to this discussion.
> 
> We are also having a review of our IT courses.
> 
> One distinction that does not seem to have featured in these discussions
> and has helped in our reviews is this:
> 
> IT courses can be divided into two different types and we have some of
> each in Years 8, 9 and 10. (Hopefully the new IT study design will help
> more with this in Year 11. Year 12 has one of each type - IPM and
> Systems.) The distinction is not black and white as the two types of
> courses have a large degree of overlap but the focus/emphasis/philosophy
> of each is quite different.
> 
> 1. Courses that teach how to use IT to produce IT products/solutions e.g.
> many multimedia courses, video editing, webpage production and design, IT
> in business, IT in ....
> 2. Courses that teach about IT - how IT works below the surface e.g.
> programming, HTML, PHP, some types of multimedia courses, games
> programming, some types of animations courses.
> 
> Of course some 'about IT' needs to be taught in the 'product'courses but
> usually only what is needed. And of course 'about IT' courses need to
> produce 'products'.
> 
> This distinction has helped to convince the curriculum people that more
> technical courses are needed for those students who are interested in the
> IT itself; and also has helped to convince them that courses are needed
> for those less interested in the IT itself and more in the product. 
> 
> The latter type of course is often suitable for students who are not
> academic by interest or inclination, and are often into visual learning
> rather than languages and literature. Most schools would also students
> who are interested in the 'beneath the bonnet' aspects of IT. Teaching
> both types of students in the same class can be challenging, whether it
> is a 'product' or 'about IT' class.
> 
> This distinction helps to get more courses approved, a greater variety of
> students satisfied in meaningful courses, more classes to teach and more
> IT into the curriculum.
> 
> This distinction also helps with the VELS as well which has across
> curriculum implications for IT but seems to downplay IT as a
> discipline/content area.
> 
> Mike Fitzpatrick
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ipm-bounces at edulists.com.au on behalf of Keith Richardson
> Sent: Wed 6/29/2005 6:25 AM
> To: List Yr7-10it; List IP&M
> Subject: [Year 12 IPM] New Yr10IT Course - Construct-ion-ivist Approach
>  
> I have been impressed by the various approaches to ITC discussed
> recently on these lists, and so decided to create an experimental
> learning setting for my Year10IT class for Semester 2. I have played
> with various forms of scenario-based integrative units before, as I
> guess we all have, but decided to go all out with this one, utilizing
> full-immersion lasting a full semester. 
> My kids seem to work best in situations where they are involved in the
> content, where there are clearly defined expectations, yet where there
> is also 'room-to-move'. I have built each of these elements into the
> course.
> I would like to eventually move towards a Moodle style of course
> delivery, but at this point in time the learning curve (for me) is
> toweringly steep, so have decided to be more conventional and during the
> semester in my own time try adapting it across to Moodle. We will see...
> Please feel free to modify and adapt in any which way (all I ask is that
> credit be given for original authorship). It should be easy to change
> the cultural setting to suit your kids, and to adjust the various
> software and tasks to suit what you prefer to do.
> My whole thesis is that ICT and associated software programs should be
> there to serve other purposes. There will be times when it is essential
> to pause from the theme and teach just software but just sufficient to
> put them onto the right track with correct procedures and the discipline
> of organized logic particularly in the field of file management.
> As an aside I recommend taking a look at the Florida Gulf Coast
> University tutorials for Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Access, as well as
> Wikipaedia for definitions and extended explanations.
> Attached please find a copy of the course.
> I would be very interested in and appreciative of critical feedback
> please.
> Regards, Keith Richardson
> Keith Richardson
> Leibler Yavneh College
> Elsternwick Ph (03)9528 4911
> keithcr at fastmail.fm
> 
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Keith Richardson
Leibler Yavneh College
Elsternwick Ph (03)9528 4911
keithcr at fastmail.fm