Key Stage 3 ICT

The National Curriculum - Information Technology Key Stage 3

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) prepares pupils to participate in a rapidly changing world in which work and other activities are increasingly transformed by access to varied and developing technology. Pupils use ICT tools to find, explore, analyse, exchange and present information responsibly, creatively and with discrimination. They learn how to employ ICT to enable rapid access to ideas and experiences from a wide range of people, communities and cultures. Increased capability in the use of ICT promotes initiative and independent learning, with pupils being able to make informed judgements about when and where to use ICT to best effect, and to consider its implications for home and work both now and in the future.

During key stage 3 pupils become increasingly independent users of ICT tools and information sources. They have a better understanding of how ICT can help their work in other subjects and develop their ability to judge when and how to use ICT and where it has limitations. They think about the quality and reliability of information, and access and combine increasing amounts of information. They become more focused, efficient and rigorous in their use of ICT, and carry out a range of increasingly complex tasks.

Knowledge, skills and understanding:

• Finding things out - Pupils should be taught:
  1. to be systematic in considering the information they need and to discuss how it will be used
  2. how to obtain information well matched to purpose by selecting appropriate sources, using and refining search methods and questioning the plausibility and value of the information found
  3. how to collect, enter, analyse and evaluate quantitative and qualitative information, checking its accuracy [for example, carrying out a survey of local traffic, analysing data gathered in fieldwork].
• Developing ideas and making things happen - Pupils should be taught:
  
  1. to develop and explore information, solve problems and derive new information for particular purposes [for example, deriving totals from raw data, reaching conclusions by exploring information]
  2. how to use ICT to measure, record, respond to and control events by planning, testing and modifying sequences of instructions [for example, using automatic weather stations, data logging in fieldwork and experiments, using feedback to control devices]
  3. how to use ICT to test predictions and discover patterns and relationships, by exploring, evaluating and developing models and changing their rules and values
  4. to recognise where groups of instructions need repeating and to automate frequently used processes by constructing efficient procedures that are fit for purpose [for example, templates and macros, control procedures, formulae and calculations in spreadsheets].
• Exchanging and sharing information - Pupils should be taught:
  
  1. how to interpret information and to reorganise and present it in a variety of forms that are fit for purpose [for example, information about a charitable cause presented in a leaflet for a school fundraising event]
  2. to use a range of ICT tools efficiently to draft, bring together and refine information and create good-quality presentations in a form that is sensitive to the needs of particular audiences and suits the information content
  3. how to use ICT, including e-mail, to share and exchange information effectively [for example, web publishing, video conferencing].
• Reviewing, modifying and evaluating work as it progresses - Pupils should be taught to:
  
  1. reflect critically on their own and others' uses of ICT to help them develop and improve their ideas and the quality of their work
  2. share their views and experiences of ICT, considering the range of its uses and talking about its significance to individuals, communities and society
  3. discuss how they might use ICT in future work and how they would judge its effectiveness, using relevant technical terms
  4. be independent and discriminating when using ICT.

Breadth of study:

• During the key stage, pupils should be taught the Knowledge, skills and understanding through:
  
  1. working with a range of information to consider its characteristics, structure, organisation and purposes [for example, using database, spreadsheet and presentation software to manage membership and finances of a club and present the annual report]
  2. working with others to explore a variety of information sources and ICT tools in a variety of contexts
  3. designing information systems and evaluating and suggesting improvements to existing systems [for example, evaluating a web site or researching, designing and producing a multimedia presentation for a science topic]
  4. comparing their use of ICT with its use in the wider world.