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• Design and Technologies: Foundation to Level 2 achievement standards

  By the end of Level 2, students describe the purpose of familiar designed solutions and how they meet the needs of users and affect others and environments. They identify the features and uses of some technologies for each of the prescribed technologies contexts.

  With guidance, students create...

  Level description | Technologies | Design and Technologies | Foundation to Level 2

• Design and Technologies: Levels 3 and 4 description

  In Levels 3 and 4, students develop ways of thinking about their peers and communities and as consumers and a sense of self and ownership of their ideas. Students explore and learn to harness their creative, innovative and imaginative ideas and approaches to achieve designed solutions. They do...

  Level description | Technologies | Design and Technologies

• Digital Technologies: Levels 5 and 6 description

  In Levels 5 and 6, students develop an understanding of the role individual components of digital systems play in the processing and representation of data. They acquire, validate, interpret, track and manage various types of data and are introduced to the concept of data states in digital systems...

  Level description | Technologies | Digital Technologies

• Digital Technologies: Levels 7 and 8 description

  In Levels 7 and 8, students analyse the properties of networked systems and their suitability and use for the transmission of data types. They acquire, analyse, validate and evaluate various types of data, and appreciate the complexities of storing and transmitting that data in digital systems.

  Stude...

  Level description | Technologies | Digital Technologies

• Technologies | Design and Technologies: Learning in Design and Technologies

  In Design and Technologies, students are actively engaged in the processes of creating designed solutions for personal, domestic and global settings for a sustainable future. For younger children, this usually involves personal and family settings, where there is an immediate, direct and tangible...

  Overview material | Design and Technologies

• Technologies | Design and Technologies: Structure

  The Design and Technologies curriculum is organised by the three related strands of Technologies and Society, Technological Contexts, and Creating Design Solutions. The Technological Contexts and Creating Design Solutions strands are further organised by sub-strands, as set out below.

  Strands	Technolo...

  Overview material | Design and Technologies

• Technologies | Digital Technologies: Learning in Digital Technologies

  In Digital Technologies, students are actively engaged in the processes of analysing problems and opportunities, designing, developing and evaluating digital solutions, and creating and sharing information that meets a range of current and future needs. Students learn to safely and ethically exploit...

  Overview material | Digital Technologies

• VCDSCD028

  Critique needs or opportunities for designing and explore and test a variety of materials, components, tools and equipment and the techniques needed to create designed solutions

  Elaborations

  • exploring the different uses of materials in a range of products, including those from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and countries of Asia
  • critiquing and selecting appropriate joining techniques for materials to produce working models
  • exploring and testing a range of materials under different conditions for suitability including sustainability considerations and identifying appropriate tools, equipment and techniques
  • examining the structure and production of everyday products, services and environments to enhance their own design ideas
  • exploring the properties of materials to determine suitability, for example the absorbency of different fabrics or the strength of different resistant materials

  VCDSCD028 | Technologies | Design and Technologies | Levels 3 and 4 | Creating Designed Solutions | Investigating

• VCDSCD062

  Work flexibly to safely test, select, justify and use appropriate technologies and processes to make designed solutions

  Elaborations

  • refining technical skills and using production skills with independence to produce quality designed solutions and to reduce risks in production
  • using materials, components, tools, equipment and techniques safely and considering alternatives to maximise sustainability, for example using timber because it stores carbon and offsets the demand for alternative products
  • experimenting with innovative combinations and ways of manipulating traditional and contemporary materials, components, tools, equipment and techniques, and recording findings in a collaborative space to debate the merits of each with peers
  • explaining safe working practices required for a specific classroom design project for individual or community use
  • modifying production processes to respond to unforeseen challenges or opportunities, for example when producing bulk quantities of recipes, lower than average rainfall and impacts on growth, materials with unexpected faults

  VCDSCD062 | Technologies | Design and Technologies | Levels 9 and 10 | Creating Designed Solutions | Producing

• VCDSTC037

  Investigate characteristics and properties of a range of materials, systems, components, tools and equipment and evaluate the impact of their use

  Elaborations

  • identifying the properties of materials for the design and construction of a sustainable household item, for example a product for storing harvested water
  • evaluating the functional properties of a specific-purpose household system, for example a security system
  • examining the materials and systems used in a public use system that affect the way people live, for example a community exercise environment or arts facility, water treatment, garbage collection
  • comparing tools, equipment and techniques to select those most appropriate for a given purpose
  • evaluating the use of computer-aided manufacturing in terms of cost and impacts on local and regional designers, producers and enterprises
  • comparing the design and production of products, services and environments in Australia and a country in the Asia region

  VCDSTC037 | Technologies | Design and Technologies | Levels 5 and 6 | Technologies Contexts | Materials and technologies specialisations

• VCDSTC046

  Analyse how food and fibre are produced when creating managed environments and how these can become more sustainable

  Elaborations

  • comparing land and water management methods in contemporary Australian food and fibre production with traditional Aboriginal systems and countries of Asia, for example minimum-tillage cropping, water-efficient irrigation
  • investigating the management of plant and animal growth through natural means and with the use of chemical products like herbicides and medicines when producing food and fibre products
  • recognising the need to increase food production using cost efficient, ethical and sustainable production techniques
  • describing physical and chemical characteristics of soil and their effects on plant growth when producing food and fibre products
  • investigating different animal feeding strategies such as grazing and supplementary feeding, and their effects on product quality, for example meat tenderness, wool fibre diameter (micron), milk fat and protein content when producing food and fibre products
  • recognising the importance of food and fibre production to Australia’s food security and economy including exports and imports to and from Asia when critiquing and exploring food and fibre production

  VCDSTC046 | Technologies | Design and Technologies | Levels 7 and 8 | Technologies Contexts | Food and fibre production

• VCDSTC025

  Investigate food and fibre production used in modern or traditional societies

  Elaborations

  • exploring tools, equipment and procedures to improve plant and animal production, for example when growing vegetables in the school garden and producing plant and animal environments such as a greenhouse, animal housing, safe bird shelters
  • identifying and describing the areas in Australia and Asia where major food or fibre plants and animals are grown or bred, for example the wheat and sheep belts, areas where sugar cane or rice are grown, northern Australia’s beef industry, plantation and native forest areas
  • describing ideal conditions for successful plant and animal production including how climate and soils affect production and availability of foods, for example Aboriginal seasons and food availability

  VCDSTC025 | Technologies | Design and Technologies | Levels 3 and 4 | Technologies Contexts | Food and fibre production

• VCDSTC024

  Investigate how forces and the properties of materials affect the behaviour of a designed solution

  Elaborations

  • examining models to identify how forces and materials are used in the design of a toy
  • exploring through play how movement can be initiated by combining materials and using forces, for example releasing a wound rubber band to propel a model boat
  • conducting investigations to understand the characteristics and properties of materials and forces that may affect the behaviour and performance of a product or system, for example woomera design
  • deconstructing a product or system to identify how motion and forces affect behaviour, for example in a puppet such as a Japanese bunraku puppet or a model windmill with moving sails
  • identifying and exploring properties and construction relationships of an engineered product or system, for example a structure that floats; a bridge to carry a load
  • experimenting with available local materials, tools and equipment to solve problems requiring forces including identifying inputs (what goes in to the system), processes (what happens within the system) and outputs (what comes out of the system), for example designing and testing a container or parachute that will keep an egg intact when dropped from a height

  VCDSTC024 | Technologies | Design and Technologies | Levels 3 and 4 | Technologies Contexts | Engineering principles and systems

• VCDSTS044

  Investigate the ways in which designed solutions evolve locally, nationally, regionally and globally through the creativity, innovation and enterprise of individuals and groups

  Elaborations

  • exploring how designed solutions have changed over time and predicting future developments, for example home entertainment, communications or food packaging
  • considering the rights and responsibilities of those working in design and technologies occupations, for example consideration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander protocols
  • exploring the use and development of systems for navigating unfamiliar environments, for example a service to help tourists engage with a heritage area
  • investigating traditional and contemporary design and technologies, including from Asia, and predicting how they might change in the future in response to factors such as social change and the need for more sustainable patterns of living
  • identifying needs and new opportunities for design and enterprise, for example promotion and marketing of designed solutions
  • investigating how developments in materials, tools and equipment influence designed solutions

  VCDSTS044 | Technologies | Design and Technologies | Levels 7 and 8 | Technologies and Society

• VCDTCD040

  Define and decompose real-world problems taking into account functional requirements and sustainability (economic, environmental, social), technical and usability constraints

  Elaborations

  • determining the factors that influence proposed solution ideas, for example user age affects the language used for instructions, dexterity affects the size of buttons and links, hearing or vision loss influence captioned or audio-described multimedia as alternative ways that common information is presented on a website
  • investigating types of environmental constraints on solutions, for example reducing energy consumption and on-screen output of solutions
  • identifying that problems can be decomposed into sub elements, for example creating a decision tree to represent the breakdown and relationships of sub elements to the main problem or identifying the elements of game design such as characters, movements, collisions and scoring
  • starting from a simplified system, gradually increase complexity until a model of a real-world system is developed, and record the difficulties associated with each stage of development

  VCDTCD040 | Technologies | Digital Technologies | Levels 7 and 8 | Creating Digital Solutions

• VCDTCD050

  Define and decompose real-world problems precisely, taking into account functional and non-functional requirements and including interviewing stakeholders to identify needs

  Elaborations

  • developing a preliminary specification for an opportunity or a need that typically contains a problem statement, a set of solution needs expressed as functional and non-functional requirements, any assumptions or constraints to be considered and the scope or boundaries of the solution
  • investigating different types of functional requirements for solutions, for example increasing the speed of processing, calculating new results, improving the quality of reports
  • investigating different types of non-functional requirements for solutions, for example considering how the requirements of reliability, user-friendliness, portability and robustness could affect the way people use solutions
  • identifying the range of stakeholders who are associated with solutions but are not direct users and using techniques such as interviewing and reinterviewing to clarify needs
  • using software such as graphic organisers to determine a fundamental cause of a problem or to represent related elements of a problem that need to be jointly addressed in the digital solution
  • testing a range of text and graphical user interface designs with clients who have different needs on the basis of time taken to complete the task and the number of errors made

  VCDTCD050 | Technologies | Digital Technologies | Levels 9 and 10 | Creating Digital Solutions

• VCDTCD017

  Follow, describe and represent a sequence of steps and decisions (algorithms) needed to solve simple problems

  Elaborations

  • experimenting with very simple, step-by-step procedures to explore programmable devices, for example providing instructions to physical or virtual objects or robotic devices to move in an intended manner
  • jointly writing and entering a simple set of instructions to sequence events and actions, for example scanning personal photographs and collating and ordering significant personal events or milestones and describing the steps involved in the process
  • presenting a sequence of instructions or events in a series of slides or screens with text and pictures
  • recognising sequences of instructions or events that are commonly experienced such as the sequence of traffic lights, or how their lunch order is taken and delivered
  • following a series of instructions to use a piece of hardware or software, for example taking a photograph, editing and storing it to include in a slow motion

  VCDTCD017 | Technologies | Digital Technologies | Foundation to Level 2 | Creating Digital Solutions

• VCDTCD054

  Evaluate critically how well student-developed solutions and existing information systems and policies take account of future risks and sustainability and provide opportunities for innovation

  Elaborations

  • investigating actions, devices and events that are potential risks to information systems, for example losing portable storage devices containing important files, deliberately infecting systems through malware, and power surges
  • investigating techniques used by people and organisations to shape how information systems are used, for example refusing to use innovations, using social media to advocate behaviours, purchasing devices, withdrawing previous processes that can now only be performed by an information system
  • investigating the impact and opportunities created through the practice of planned obsolescence, for example discussing the benefits and risks to users, the creators and the environment of information systems having a defined life span, taking into account costs, research and resource extraction
  • examining the ICT policy for schooling and evaluating the impact on education
  • reviewing the ‘terms of use’ policies on social media networks and predicting ways in which these can support advocacy of change and protection of individuals and societies
  • reviewing state, national and regional policies and analysing the potential impact of each. Examples of policies include: Australian Government Protective Security Policy Framework, the Australian Government ICT Sustainability Plan 2010–2015; the Green Growth Policy in Korea and the Korean National Strategy for Sustainable Development

  VCDTCD054 | Technologies | Digital Technologies | Levels 9 and 10 | Creating Digital Solutions

• VCDTCD018

  Explore how people safely use common information systems to meet information, communication and recreation needs

  Elaborations

  • sharing and describing ways that common information systems can be used to meet communication needs, for example computers can be used as phones and social networking tools allowing communication between families living in different regions
  • recognising and discussing the need for cyber-safety when using online information systems, for example recognising that shared personal information can be used for undesirable purposes and that using a password is a means of protecting identity
  • recognising safe ergonomic practices when children are playing with information systems, for example recognising the need to take regular breaks to avoid eye strain and repetitive strain injuries
  • discussing how a range of information systems support personal needs and impact on others, for example text to speech software can be used to meet the communications needs of people with vision loss
  • sharing ideas about the ways information systems are being used by families and friends in everyday life, for example comparing current digital play equipment with play equipment of 20 years ago

  VCDTCD018 | Technologies | Digital Technologies | Foundation to Level 2 | Creating Digital Solutions

• VCDTCD044

  Evaluate how well student-developed solutions and existing information systems meet needs, are innovative and take account of future risks and sustainability

  Elaborations

  • comparing student-developed solutions with existing solutions that solve similar problems, for example identifying differences in the user interface of two adventure games and explaining how these differences affect the usability or appeal of the game
  • judging the quality of a student-developed solution based on specific criteria such as meeting an economic need or contributing to social sustainability
  • investigating what features of touch input rather than keyboard or mouse input contribute to their success in meeting a wide range of needs, for example mimicking a common movement such as expanding or contracting a hand to change the size of an object on screen, suits users with a range of dexterity
  • evaluating the success of information systems in meeting an economic, environmental or social objective, for example interviewing a local business owner to find out how effectively their information system supports a business objective such as increasing market share
  • considering the effects of e-waste on societies and environments, for example the impacts of toxic chemicals when hardware is disposed of, and the practice of dumping unwanted digital systems overseas, particularly in the Asia region
  • comparing cloud-based information systems to client-based information systems on the basis of security of transmitted and stored data and energy costs

  VCDTCD044 | Technologies | Digital Technologies | Levels 7 and 8 | Creating Digital Solutions