My students are constantly surprising me, and it’s a great thing. I am about to embark upon some shameless boasting about how talented these girls are – you have been warned!

I found out the other day that I have a few students that have written whole or parts of books on the website, Wattpad. This meant of course, that I had to create an account to be able to follow and read those stories. I also found out that another of my students collaborates with other girls here at school to regularly publish posts on a fashion blog they all contribute to. They now have over 500 followers and have been approached by companies to write posts with their products showcased in them. It was at then that I realised how amazing these students are and how fortunate I am to know them. I might also add that these students are all in year 7! So where am I going with this?

Well, according to the Australian Curriculum ICT General Capabilities it is essential that students learn to use…

“ICT effectively and appropriately to access, create and communicate information and ideas, solve problems and work collaboratively in all learning areas at school and in their lives beyond school. ICT capability involves students learning to make the most of the digital technologies available to them, adapting to new ways of doing things as technologies evolve and limiting the risks to themselves and others in a digital environment” (ACARA, 2010).

It is essential that we teach young people how to connect globally with unknown collaborators in a public space safely. I particularly like the emphasis placed upon “their lives beyond school” and “learning to make the most” whilst “limiting the risks.” It is clear to me that many of my students are currently doing this and doing it rather successfully!

References:

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability – Introduction – The Australian Curriculum v8.2. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/generalcapabilities/information-and-communication-technology-capability/introduction/introduction