Using ICT is one of the three Cross-Curricular Skills at the heart of the curriculum. Developing children’s digital skills encourages them to handle and communicate information, solve problems, pose questions and be creative in using digital technology.
It’s important that children develop their technical skills in a range of different types of ICT, such as:
- publishing;
- presenting;
- coding;
- managing data;
- art and design;
- music and sound; and
- film and animation.
The emphasis in Using ICT is on children using digital skills appropriately while engaging in meaningful and purposeful activities.
The curriculum requirements for using ICT are set out under the 5 ‘E’s: Explore, Express, Exchange, Evaluate and Exhibit. These apply to all pupils in primary school, from Year 1 to Year 7.
The piece of work displayed below delivers the requirements for three of the 5 ‘E’s.
Explore
The first statement is about looking for, finding, choosing and using information. Children move from having resources provided for them to being more independent and discerning users of ICT.
Express is about children being creative and developing and presenting their ideas using text, sound, music and still or moving images. It ranges from simple text, sound or pictures to developing a multimedia digital product.
Exchange relates to communicating with others online to share and develop ideas. It can include sending and receiving emails.
The girls researched the life of Pope Francis. They worked as a team to research and then collaborated to decide on the information they displayed in their powerpoint. Finally, they emailed the document to the school email address to share the information with the school staff and school community. An excellent piece of ICT communication.
