The secondary curriculum review
The relevance of ICT to pupils' lives, personal experiences and futures provides motivation to succeed and makes learning enjoyable. ICT contributes to developing successful learners by providing powerful tools for developing creativity, initiative and independent thinking. ICT helps pupils follow enquiries and solve problems, supporting logical reasoning, questioning, analysis and research. ICT provides a variety of ways for pupils to present and share their knowledge and ideas. It can be used to support collaborative working and communication with others, from people in the same school or the local community to people across the globe. Successful learners reflect on what they do and what they have learnt, and ICT can be used to capture and record this process, including learning to reflect on the advantages and limitations of using ICT and developing the ability to decide when and where to use ICT to support learning or everyday life.
ICT helps pupils become confident individuals who are able to take the initiative and be increasingly independent. ICT enables them to try out ideas, seek innovative alternatives, take risks with their thinking and make new connections. It allows them to explore different ways to present their views and ideas effectively. The wealth of information about the natural world and human achievements available on the internet excites and inspires pupils and allows them to experience ideas about a wide range of people, communities and cultures.
ICT capability is fundamental to participation and engagement in modern society. Information is a valuable commodity and the use of and reliance on ICT continue to increase. The programme of study encourages reflection on the increasing use of technology, including the social, ethical and cultural implications for individuals and society, for example issues of sustainability, equality of access, security of personal information, copyright and plagiarism. ICT opens up a wealth of information to pupils and allows easy communication and collaboration with others across the globe. Experiences and ideas from a wide range of people, communities and cultures can be rapidly accessed using ICT, helping pupils to understand their own and others' cultures and traditions and developing a sense of their own place in the world.
