Extraordinary technological change is transforming how we live, work and communicate. At St Bede’s College, the study of Digital Technologies not only gives students the capacity to change how tasks and activities are undertaken, but also creates new opportunities in work, education, entertainment and society. The curriculum endeavours to equip students with the skills needed for the workforce of the future.
Years 7 and 8
Years 7 and 8 Digital Technologies is a STEM-based curriculum. It is structured on the idea of educating students in four specific areas: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Although STEM is a focus, this course will address the key concepts of the Digital Technologies curriculum.
This curriculum aims to ensure that students can:
- Solve real world problems by designing and developing creative solutions using 3D printing, robotics and coding.
- Use cloud-computing to work collaboratively and share their learning experiences.
- Understand what it means to be a responsible digital citizen.
Years 9 and 10
Year 9 and 10 Digital Technologies has a consistent design and development focus throughout each course. Students will apply computational, design and systems thinking when creating digital solutions.
There are four elective courses on offer for students. These include:
- Game Design: Students develop practical programming skills necessary to make interactive computer games.
- Multimedia: Students focus on communicating ideas in a multimedia format to inform, educate, persuade and entertain.
- Advanced Programming: Through effective user-centred design and planning, students learn to write simple computer programs.
- Web Technologies: Students explore some of the many techniques used to design, develop and maintain web content.
VCE Computing
The study of VCE Computing at St Bede’s:
- Provides students with the knowledge and skills to be discerning users of digital systems and creators of digital solutions.
- Enables students to apply new ways of thinking as well as exploring protocols when developing solutions.
- Supports students to participate in a globalised society.
- Provides students with practical opportunities to create digital solutions for real-world problems.
- Provides a pathway to further studies in a broad range of areas which include, computer science, information systems, systems engineering, robotics, database management, software development, information architecture, web design and project management.
The VCE courses offered at St Bede’s College include:
- Units 1 and 2: Computing
- Units 3 and 4: Informatics
- Units 3 and 4: Software Development
“Data plays a part in every decision made around the world, it is ever-increasingly crucial to learn the skills needed to work with and analyse data. In Data Analytics, we learn how digital systems serve as powerful tools for individuals and businesses, allowing us to interpret and manipulate data to uncover valuable insights and make informed decisions. Our role is to interpret and work with data in spreadsheets and databases presenting our findings as visualisations.
Midway through the year, we developed and proposed a real-world research question in which we investigate any interest or area that we desire. By creating project plans and sourcing, manipulating and turning data into an understandable visualisation, we come to our own academic conclusions offering insights into our chosen topic.
Cybersecurity is the focus of our last unit. We investigated several real-world and fictional case studies, where we become adept in identifying threats to a network, and then improve strategies to protect data and information.
In a data-driven world, Data Analytics equips us with valuable skills. We become problem solvers, ready to handle, analyse, interpret, and protect data and information in the real-world.”
Ryan C. and Asher H.
Year 12
Student Highlights
“In Year 9 STEM, we’ve learnt about physical computing and digital systems. Our first topic was all about robotics. We were tasked to program a LEGO EV3 Mindstorms robot to solve a problem that affects you or someone else every day.
In our group we designed a security robot called the Guardian Bot, which is designed to help with home security. The robot has been coded to travel along a set route, so that if anything interrupts this route it will be sensed by the ultrasonic sensor and an alarm will sound. The robot gets louder and starts to spin, warning the owners of the robot of any disturbances.
To achieve this goal, we have had to analyse the problem, break it down and decide how we are going to solve it. We had to consider the constraints or limitations when designing our software and hardware. We also needed to consider what was essential and what we could add to increase the engagement factor for users. Finally, other than the actual design and development process, we have had to create a set of criteria, which we will use to assess our final product.
Overall, it has been a great experience with many useful lessons which we can take into our future.”
Matthew D. and Oliver H.
Year 9
