Queensland schools usher in new era with digital curriculum

Education Minister Kate Jones today announced the arrival of the Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies in Queensland schools as the start of a new era of opportunity for students.

Ms Jones told state parliament the introduction of the curriculum in 2016 was part of the Advancing education: An action plan for education in Queensland launched last year.

“Digital literacy is one of the key platforms by which we will prepare our children for the jobs of the future,” she said.

“The projections tell us that 50 per cent of future jobs will require a high level of digital skills and so we are preparing our students now.

“As we stated when launching Advancing education last October, this is about empowering students to become the digital creators and innovators of Queensland’s future.”

Ms Jones said the Digital Technologies curriculum provided students with practical opportunities to use coding and robotics to create solutions to real world problems.

“Queensland students will be equipped to move from being consumers of technologies towards being creators of digital solutions,” she said.

Ms Jones said a range of resources were available to support teachers implement the curriculum.

“The Queensland Coding Academy is up and running for teachers,” she said.

“The Coding Academy is an online hub for the teaching of computer coding and programming in Queensland state schools.

“The Queensland Coding Academy will operate alongside resources available through our Curriculum into the Classroom project to ensure teachers have the tools necessary to teach the Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies effectively.”

The launch of the coding academy follows a 10-week public consultation on the discussion paper #codingcounts: A discussion paper on coding and robotics in Queensland schools.

The teaching of digital technologies is part of a wider emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects outlined in the Advancing education action plan.

Media: Minister Jones’ Office 0408 998 940