[Yr7-10it] Year 7-10 IT structures

[Leanne Wright]

I'm feeling fortunate to be at a school where IT is still a core subject at Year 7, 9 & 10 where It runs for 3 periods a week for one semester. Year 8s do a workshop subject and are timetabled in a computer room for 1 period where they use drawing programs to produce working drawings for their workshop projects (our technology teachers are all IT qualified). Next year these arrangements will remain substantially unchanged except for Year 10 which will lose about of quarter of its present time allowance in the transition to 72 minute periods. 
   
  When the status of IT was originally being discussed, I presented a list of all the ICT skills that VELS required students to have, at which point the committee involved realised very few non IT teachers would have all these skills.decided to keep IT as a separate subject. 
   
  I too am puzzled at the idea that 'integrating'  IT into other subjects will allow anything approaching an adequeate skills base for the 'information age' and current employer expectations. Why not 'integrate' the teaching of English into other subjects - after all we can all read and write, and unlike IT, most if not all of us have done Year 12 English!
   
  Leanne Wright - Epping SC
  

Colin SUTTON <oz.sutton at gmail.com> wrote:
  Hi all

My school, Montmorency SC, has NO compulsory ICT!

A student can go through 6 years of schooling here and do NO formal IT.

No other school I have ever taught in (2 in Vic, 3 in QLD and 4 in the UK) have ever had this! 

It seems unbelievable that in the Information Age students are not formally taught ANY ICT.

They have to learn another language, do wood, metal, cooking and sewing - useful and even essential - but the ONE thing none of them can avoid is ICT! 

Sure, many can play games and surf to sites, but they are not formally taught a wide range of other useful or essentail skills.

Schools I have taught in elsewhere had at least one semester of ICT at Year 7 (Yr 8 in QLD as secondary starts in Yr8). 

Most had an elective system that required them to do at least ONE or more units at 8/9 or even again in Yr 10.

Comments anyone?

 
Regards

COLIN _______________________________________________ 
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