Student Curriculum

This curriculum is designed to provide practical, real-world skills and knowledge in the ever changing world of information & communication technologies. It has been developed in conjunction with international academic institutions and the major technology companies. The learning is delivered through computer-based instruction, facilitated by the teacher with a focus on practical project work. This practical approach creates 'evidence of understanding' rather than solely 'evidence of knowledge learnt'. The Fusion ICT curriculum employs the latest advances in digitally delivered learning and child-centred pedagogy.

This curriculum spans five years of secondary education, delivered in three terms per year at approximately 2 hours of lesson per week plus homework. Computer-based instruction or 'e-learning' has long been recognised for its ability to compress time to learning due to its highly visual and interactive nature. Eachpupil will follow a guided learning path through the curriculum units, with their teacher facilitating the various projects associated with those units. Assessment of course work will be on an ongoing basis with a final assessment at the end of eachyear. In year 5,each pupil's progress will be reviewed by their teacher, and if deemed ready, be invited to sit an external international qualification.This option is in addition to any national qualification the school may offer as part of their ICT education. This curriculum has been developed in partnership with local educators and as a base line, will cover any topics that are a requirement of local curricula and assessment.

Each academic year comprises of approximately 60 hours of ICT instruction that can be divided up into 20 hours per term and integrated to the school curriculum as appropriate i.e. four 30 minute lessons per week or two 1-hour lessons or one 2-hour lesson.

Assessment will be through computer-based tests and by teacher-marked assignments and course work

• Communicating with friends & family
• Using ICT to learn
• Creating, accessing and sharing digital art
• Accessing movies and music
• Building a career in ICT
• Using  ICT to earn money
• Playing computer games
• Creating your own internet presence
• Building a social network
• Finding people who share your interests & hobbies
• Accessing local and world news & sports

• Outline the uses of ICT for educational, social and economic purposes
• Analyse the impact of ICT on educational, social and economic development

• Explain what is meant by the terms ‘data’ and ‘information’
• Identify different types of computers
• Describe the categories of computer hardware
• Identify the vital components of a computer system
• Describe commonly used input/output devices and their functions
• Identify the main types of storage
• Understand the function and identify different types of operating systems
• Identify different types and uses of application software (inc. Databases)
• Distinguish between open source and proprietary software
• Understand the principle of a networked computer
• Understand the importance of Health & Safety

• Log on and close down a computer safely
• Use the basic functions of the computer desktop
• Navigate and use programs, menus and windows
• Create and save a text document
• Organise files and folders
• Find, change and save an existing document
• Print a document
• Understand computer security and use a password
• Personalise the computer desktop

• Understand the principles of email and the Internet
• Open, navigate & close an email programme
• Read and send email messages and use attachments
• Manage and print emails and maintain address book
• Use a web browser to visit websites
• Search a website and complete online forms
• Save and print web pages
• Use a search engine and save favourite websites
• Complete financial transactions on the web safely

• Have equality of access to educational materials
• Confidently use Encyclopaedia’s on CD
• Be familiar with using Google, Wikipedia, YouTube, Google Earth for learning and research
• List 5 ways to make Internet search results more precise
• Search for and save images to help with course work and projects
• Understand the concepts of copyright and plagiarism

• Open, navigate and close word processing files
• Create, save and print a document
• Create, organise, rename, move, copy & delete folders
• Align, justify & delete text in a document
• Change margins and line spacing, format lists
• Apply fonts, font styles and sizes in a document
• Copy, insert and move text and insert images
• Insert a table and apply borders to a document
• Insert headers & footers into a document

• Open, navigate and close spreadsheet files
• Create, layout and save a simple spreadsheet
• Enter and format numbers and text in a spreadsheet
• Create formulas using addition, subtraction & SUM
• Copy, insert and delete cell data, rows and columns
• Create formulas involving multiplication & division
• Print a spreadsheet document
• Create a column, bar, pie, line chart from data
• Print charts in colour and black & white

• Understand the location and finger layout for A-Z keys
• Touch type words accurately
• Touch type punctuation keys
• Understand how to build up your touch typing speed

• Understand what IT security entails and why it is important
• Know about the main threats and your role in IT security
• Log in, choose a secure password and lock your computer
• Know about save options, enabling auto-save and backing up your work
• Know about using firewalls and anti-virus software
• Know how to avoid viruses, hoaxes, scams and spam when using email
• Know about avoiding viruses, spyware and staying safe online
• Understand how laws and guidelines affect day-to-day use of IT

• Connect to the internet
• Open, navigate and close Internet browser
• Perform advanced searches
• Configure and improve browser performance
• Download material via the internet safely & legally
• Upload and download files using FTP protocols
• Compress and decompress files
• Use webmail
• Participate in chat rooms, discussion forums & newsgroups
• Create and publish a web page, create a blog

• Understand the principles of Social Networking
• Describe the concept of Web 2.0
• Set up a webmail account
• Set up an Instant Messaging account
• Be aware of ensuring your personal security
• Adopt appropriate email etiquette
• Use Voice over IP
• Access Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter
• Create your own Facebook page and upload photos
• Search and download movies, games and music
• Respect copyright

• Have developed your skills in taking notes
• Have developed your skills in evaluating Web-based resources
• Be able to recognise different learning styles
• Have developed an awareness of ethical issues involved in online communication

• Understand the differences bitmap & vector graphics
• Open, navigate & close art applications
• Create a new document and drawing canvas
• Create simple shapes and lines
• Add text to a drawing canvas
• Import, move and resize images
• Use font styles and WordArt
• Add colour, borders and shadows
• Print documents

• Understand what IT troubleshooting is and how to approach IT problems
• Know about the basic components of a common computer
• Understand some common hardware, software & compatibility problems
• Use Event Viewer, Device Manager & disk management
• Get help from guides/manuals, web and IT support
• Use Task Manager to recognise & close crashed programmes
• Understand reboots, safe  mode and restarting peripheral devices
• Use AutoRecover and system restore to recover data

• Understand what IT maintenance is and why it is important
• Understand your role in IT maintenance
• Create a maintenance plan
• Organise, name and delete files and folders
• Back up data, use system restore and set save options
• Check Disk & Disk Defragmenter to maintain a drive
• Clean and maintain IT equipment
• When and what software to upgrade
• Understand the reasons for, process and limitations of upgrading hardware
• Know about IT health & safety risks

• Data types & databases
• Files, Tables, Fields & Records
• Accuracy, Validation & Verification procedures
• Data input & output
• Searching databases
• File handling
• Different types of database application
• Data protection

• Computers as tools
• What is a programme?
• The programme’s design
• The programming process
• Common programming languages

• Software programmers
• Systems Engineers
• Technicians
• Project managers
• Testers
• Technical authors
• Web developers
• Database administrators
• Networks designers & installers
• Hardware builders
• Systems analysts

• Desktop publishing business
• Webpage design & development business
• Creating & selling applications
• Operating an Internet Cafe
• Setting up an online business
• Online auctions/trading
• PC maintenance & repair business
• Network maintenance & repair business

• Consider when purchasing a computer
• Set up a home PC
• Install software on your computer
• Create a home wireless network
• Log your laptop onto a wireless connection
• Use your mobile phone as a modem
• Understand importance of anti-virus software

• Confidently use predictive texting
• Understand how to download mobile applications
• Understand the basics of mobile communication infrastructures
• GSM
• 2G, the network, phone calls and SMS
• 2.5G voice, data & internet connectivity
• 3G fast internet, mobile applications
• The mobile as a PC

• conduct your own searches efficiently and effectively;
• find references to material in bibliographic databases;
• make efficient use of full text electronic journals services;
• critically evaluate information from a variety of sources;
• understand the importance of organising your own information;
• identify some of the systems available;
• describe how to use bookmarks/favorites for web resources;
• understand how and why to cite references in your work;
• produce a bibliography;

• Understand the basic principles of digital photography
• More objectives to follow from Canon, Nikon etc

• Open, navigate and close desktop publishing files
• Use a publication template and amend text
• Change, move and resize objects i.e. pictures
• Change font and colour styles
• Create, layout and save a new publication
• Create and layout text boxes and format text
• Add borders and shading
• Use columns
• Print a publication

• Identify different types of graphics applications
• Know the commonly used image file types
• Perform basic image manipulation

• Open, navigate and close a database application
• Add and amend fields in database objects
• Cut, copy, paste and delete data
• Delete data in cells and records
• Sort records and filter data
• Create and save queries
• Use Autoreport & report wizard
• Open, set up and print reports

• Understand the components of programme design
• Write a simple programme
• Identify common debugging tools
• Evaluate Open Source applications

• Understand the concept of open source applications
• Identify open source alternatives to the Windows operating system
• Be familiar with open source alternatives to Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook & Internet Explorer
• Be familiar with open source alternatives to Microsoft PowerPoint, Access and Publisher

• Identify the different types of computer network
• List the advantages & disadvantages of a computer network
• Draw a schematic of a basic network

• Understand the principles, advantages, disadvantages of e-commerce
• Know the basics of internet advertising
• Understand common copyright issues
• Basic financial skills

• Know what IT security is and how to take a strategic approach to it
• Understand the main threats, assessing risk and your role in IT security
• Set up a firewall and avoiding viruses and malware
• Set up user accounts
• Password protect files, set files as read-only
• Control access to storage devices and how to back-up and restore files
• Use System Restore

• Open, navigate and close Outlook
• Compress, send & save email attachments
• Use an Address Book facility
• Add, amend & print contact details
• Change email format
• Use folders, set & run message rules
• Use instant messaging & FTP/HTTP
• Use the calendar, task and notes manager

• Use Google Scholar
• iTunesU for advanced learning & research
• Access Open University ‘Open Learn’
• Access MiT lectures and resources

• Start, view & save a presentation
• Insert slides into a presentation
• Insert, align & format text and text styles
• Duplicate slides and change the slide order
• Insert graphics and AutoShapes in slides
• Move, resize, cut, copy & paste text and objects
• Work with slide master
• Check and print a presentation

• Understand principles of website development software
• Plan the structure of a web site
• Design a basic web page with text & graphics
• Have a basic knowledge of using Flash
• List the steps in uploading web pages and testing
• Understand copyright issues

• Learning objectives to follow

• Learning objectives to follow

• Learning objectives to follow

• Write a programme to create a simple game
• Further objectives to follow from Sun

• This Unit will guide the student through a business project to set up, equip and manage an Internet Cafe
• It will cover basic IT trouble shooting and
• Basic business skills

• Using ICT to assist with revision and exam preparation.

• Learning objectives to follow

• Learning objectives to follow

• Programming for Internet
• Creating & selling applications
• Writing for Facebook & iPhone
• Further objectives to follow from Sun

• Perform common hardware upgrades
• Install software and drivers
• Add a printer
• Troubleshoot common problems

• Identify the common components of a network
• Install a wireless network
• Install a wired network
• Add a printer to a network
• Implement network security application & policy

• Identify and investigate a problem
• Draft a requirements specification
• Create diagrams and flow charts
• List the principles of system design, implementation & testing
• Scope systems documentation
• Design evaluation and maintenance process