Week 1

Design and Digital Technologies 
Week 1 To Do List

The two components of the Technology curriculum are distinct yet closely related. ACARA (2015) describes the difference between the two as;

Design and Technologies: The use of design thinking to generate and produce design solutions for authentic use.

Digital Technologies: Computational thinking and information systems to define, design and implement digital solutions.

An example of design and technologies in my Professional Practice was a PowerPoint presentation where the students grew, maintained, sewed and cooked a fruit or vegetable. Their PowerPoints included graphs, headings, photographs and text and were accompanied with an oral presentation

In the same class, the students used digital technologies to collect information on a topic which informed a poster about water. The students used internet explorer and were guided by the educator with steps to follow and websites to visit. 

Verb	Associated Pedagogy
Identify	Students should be able to identify purposeful software to suit a task. For example, a suitable program for creating a word document
Collect	Students will collect relevant information using websites
Sort/Present	Students will sort the information from the websites and present their findings in a PowerPoint presentation
Design	Students are expected to design a task. This task is supported by the educator through task sheets, class time and emails to parents to assist students in completing task at home
Communicate/plan	Students will communicate as a group and devise a plan. This will be supported by the teacher by providing a guide to the students
Select	Students will select relevant information
Plan/sequence	Students will plan a sequence of steps to access a Microsoft Word document and save a blank page
Investigate/explain	Investigate and explain how digital systems are used around the world. Teacher support will be provided through exploration of this topic in class, at the library and in computer time. The students are encouraged to think about how they use technology in their everyday lives.

The below Tagxedo/word cloud was created using www.tagxedo.com. This tool was a very creative tool and I believe it would be very useful in the classroom. As the mouse runs over the words they enlarge and the program allows the cloud to morph into multiple shapes and colours. This would be a great tool to help students learn their sight words. Creating the word cloud could be performed as a class and the final product be printed and attached to each students desk. In addition, this could be used as a tool to assist in learning weekly spelling words. 

Setting Up Blogger and Wikispaces 
This week asked us to form groups and begin to set up our wiki and blog. I have used Blogger in the past and I find it a tool that is easy to get your head around and can be used in many different ways. Wikispaces are a concept I am yet to grasp but have been set up by another group member and I have successfully logged in and located my personal page to begin my design challenge. 


References
ACARA. (2015). Design and technologies. Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/technologies/design-and-technologies/curriculum/f-10?layout=1 
ACARA. (2015). Digital technologies. Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/technologies/digital-technologies/curriculum/f-10?layout=1 
ACARA. (2015). Technologies Overview. Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/technologies/rationale