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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Dear colleagues</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>As stated in the introduction to the ICT domain of VELS, the
main educational focus of the domain is to equip students with the knowledge
and skills to ‘transform their learning and to enrich their learning
environment’. It is the intent that students will use ICT to help make
sense of content, ideas, issues, processes etc in all areas of learning. </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>To maximise the benefits afforded by ICT, students need to
gain fluency with these tools so that they can focus on the tasks at hand,
rather than the technology itself. Schools are free to establish programs that
suit their needs, while still providing students with the opportunities to
demonstrate the ICT standards. However, as students move into the middle years
(years 9 and 10), it is acceptable that they can specialise in areas of
interest to them, so schools could include in their programs, more targeted ICT
offerings such as robotics, gaming/programming. This, of course, does not
preclude the embedding of the knowledge and skills from the ICT domain into
other areas of learning – this should still occur.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Where appropriate, I urge you to <a
href="http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/essential/interdisciplinary/ict/index.html#intro">revisit</a>
the introductory part of the ICT domain.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Regards</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Paula</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Paula Christophersen</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>ICT </span></font><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Curriculum</span></font><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> Manager</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>VCAA</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>41 St Andrews Place</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>EAST MELBOURNE</span></font><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> 3002</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>(03) 9651 4378</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
</div>
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