August 2015 Update

From t-news issue 81, August 2015

Review of the Positioning of Digital Technologies in the New Zealand Curriculum

This has been quite intense. The groups of of people involved in this have shown that this is taken quite seriously by the Ministry and a varied array of stakeholders has been brought together. One of the difficulties has been the terminology used and what different stakeholder perceive Digital Technologies to be. I must say that most I would place in the category of Digital Literacy and Digital Devices, rather than the area that we are dealing with. This week sees the third meeting taking place where we will look at a number of proposals looking at Y0 to Y13.

Review and Maintenance Programme Technology

The process around this has been a focus group that reports out to a wider group from the meetings looking at recommendations that are to be made. While systemic problems within technology have come up, The focus has been on the materials that have been created over the years and whether these are up to the thinking that is about these days. I await the list of recommendations to come out soon.

Level 6 Teaching and Learning Guides.

These should be out in Term 3, I recommend that teachers look at the Level 7 and Level 8 teaching and Learning Guides as these have been developed by teachers teaching the standards to support teachers who are looking at teaching these standards.

Google CS Partnership Summit

NZACDITT was invited to be part of the first Google Computer Science Partnership Summit in the July holidays held in Lower Hutt. This was a day of getting the major players in High School Computer Science together to create a network of partners, discuss issues that are facing the area within New Zealand. Develop ideas and create an action plan on implementing these ideas. In the next couple of months you will hear some more about these.

NZACDITT Workshop15 - Digital Technologies Achievement and Endorsement

30 September and 1 October 2015, Hobsonville Point Secondary School. Cost $125

Pre registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1w-zBvzzzj8GhSZntxFQvpwKxwm6Ekw-e4t0t0CSdy5c/viewform?usp=send_form

There will be four workshop sessions, held in a modern learning environment learning common. Workshops will explicitly target: Externals, Internals, Developing materials and Moderation. This is an announcement-only at this stage, with more details to come beginning Term 3, to allow schools to stretch their PD budgets further by organising flights and accommodation early.

NZACDITT Workshop15 - Digital Technologies Achievement and Endorsement

Access to specific feedback from official NZQA Markers.
Access to the NZQA Digital Technologies National Assessment Moderators
Working with technology facilitators and leading teachers around authentic contexts for assessment.

This is a unique opportunity:

Workshop One: Students for a day - Practical insight into requirements for externals and effective steps towards endorsements.
Workshop Two: Take the pain out of assessment writing - Creating assessment tasks with engaging digital technology contexts in groups or individually.
Workshop Three: Is this enough - too much? Working with NZQA Digital Technologies moderators around the practicalities of Internal assessments.
Workshop Four: Results are out! Unpacking the external.

Internal Moderation Guidelines

NZACDITT has been working developing Guidelines for Internal Moderation. These are available within the Google Group.

Workload

NZACDITT recommends that the workload should not be onerous for teachers.

The verification process is to ensure that the teacher judgements are consistent with the standard, before they report the results to NZQA. It should be undertaken by a subject specialist with external moderation reasonable agreement rates. The marker should seek verification of samples of work around grade boundaries, as well as for any grades that need review, to satisfy themselves that their decisions are consistent with the standard. Work for verification should be purposefully selected, rather than being selected randomly.

Sufficient pieces of work need to be verified to be confident the grades are consistent with the listed standard, not the entire class work.

Assessment Material

All assessment material is critiqued and modified as necessary, before use.

Copyright

NZACDITT has pointed out that sharing commercial resources amongst people that do not hold a license for the resources is a breach of contract. The terms and conditions of these commercial providers limit what can be shared. It would be outside the terms and conditions of the agreement to have a non-licensed school moderate the work.

It is a copyright infringement to publish any resources from commercial providers.

Online submission for AS91371 and AS91363

Technology Online Submission

After a limited scope trial in 2014, NZQA is piloting an online submission process for Technology standards AS91371 and AS91363. The trial will establish whether the online process can be scaled effectively. Schools with entries for AS91371 and or AS91363 will be invited to express interest in opting into the trial early in Term 3 2015. The online process will be an alternative to the current submission process. The current paper or CD/DVD based submission process will remain in place.

If your school wishes to participate in the trial, you need to register your interest.

Best Practice Workshops 2015 Digital Technologies

Christchurch 16 September https://echnologies-making-assessor-judgements-christchurch-september.lilregie.com/step1
Dunedin 17 September https://technologies-making-assessor-judgements-dunedin-17th-september.lilregie.com/step1
Wellington 20 October https://technologies-making-assessor-judgements-wellington-20th-october.lilregie.com/step1

Note: No Best Practice Workshops for Computing Unit Standards.

Gerard McManus
President NZACDITT