Course requirements

Computing Technology 7–10 may be studied as a 100-hour or a 200-hour course. The content available for Stage 4 is identical to Stage 5. Teachers teaching the course in Stage 4 may adjust the Stage 5 outcomes as appropriate to the needs of students in Years 7 and 8.

Course numbers:

200-hour elective: 1611
100-hour elective: 1612
200-hour Life Skills elective: 1613
100-hour Life Skills elective: 1614

Exclusions: Students may not access Life Skills outcomes and other outcomes from the same subject.

100-hour course

Students undertaking the 100-hour course are required to complete:

at least one Enterprise Information Systems focus area
at least one Software Development focus area
2–3 focus areas either individually or combined
practical learning and project work for most of the course time
at least one group project.

200-hour course

Students undertaking the 200-hour course are required to complete:

at least 2 Enterprise Information Systems focus areas
at least 2 Software Development focus areas
4–6 focus areas either individually or combined
practical learning and project work for most of the course time
at least one group project.

Organisation of Computing Technology 7–10

Computing Technology 7–10 Syllabus has 6 focus areas:

Enterprise information systems: Modelling networks and social connections
Enterprise information systems: Designing for user experience
Enterprise information systems: Analysing data
Software development: Building mechatronic and automated systems
Software development: Creating games and simulations
Software development: Developing apps and web software

Image long description: A content diagram for Computing Technology 7–10 shows how Systems thinking and Computational thinking are connected via Design thinking through projects. Systems thinking is shown as a key process in the learning and understanding of Enterprise information systems. This includes Modelling networks and social connections, Designing for user experience and Analysing data. Computational thinking is shown as a key process in the learning and understanding of Software development. This includes Building mechatronic and automated systems, Creating games and simulations and Developing apps and web software.

Core learning for Computing Technology 7–10 is embedded across each focus area and within each content group. The core consists of:

thinking skills
social and cultural awareness
technical knowledge and skills
project management.

The content groups describe the knowledge and/or skills students develop to become creative, safe and responsible users of computing technologies. The practical application of knowledge and skills is embedded within the outcomes and content to support the foundation for learning in computing technology through projects. Each focus area is made up of 4 content groups.

Content groups

Identifying and defining
Researching and planning
Producing and implementing
Testing and evaluating.

Life Skills outcomes and content

Creating written texts supports learning

The development of the Computing Technology 7–10 Draft Syllabus follows Recommendation 2: ‘Clarify and strengthen writing content in syllabus documents’ from Teaching Writing: Report of the Thematic Review of Writing (NESA 2018).

Creating written texts facilitates learning as it promotes explicitness, encourages the integration of ideas, supports reflection, fosters personal engagement and aids learners to think about the significance and implication of ideas. Each subject has particular and specific writing demands relevant for communicating within and about the discipline. Writing about content enhances understanding across subjects and stages.

The secondary curriculum includes:

systematic development of expectations for creating written texts which align with the English K–10 Syllabus (2022)
explicit writing content to support students to become fluent creators of texts and to deepen their understanding of the subject area
opportunities to practise the process of creating written texts to develop and communicate knowledge, understanding and ideas
a focus on development of word consciousness and precise use of subject-specific terminology.

Creating written texts refers to the act of composing and constructing a text for a particular purpose, audience and context.

Various methods of transcription may be employed, and a student’s preferred communication form(s) should be considered when teaching.

Balance of content

Welcome to the NSW Curriculum website

7–10Computing Technology 7–10 Syllabus

Assessment