Information and Communications Technology

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY

Working with the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Department at Pymble Ladies’ College was a memorable but challenging journey throughout the year. Our intention was to promote the number of opportunities available to the students and to fully immerse them in the world of technology. We aimed to fully enrich the students’ understanding utilising the range of facilities and engage with technological practices involving Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). As almost half of 2021 was spent indoors due to the rising pandemic problems in Australia, in turn, this affected the events that happened this year such as the online Big Day In and the cancellation of many events. Despite these restrictions, students were still able to enjoy participating in some of the events relating to technology and many other opportunities.

“Photographic and Digital Media (PDM) was definitely one of my favourite subjects. The practical work was always really fun and I learned so much about how to use cameras and different Adobe programs, as well as the basics of animation.” – Gemma Hodge, Year 10

Big Day In

The Big Day In was a virtual event held on 21 July. Students from Years 10 and 11 attended the Big Day In careers conference online. It was an insightful experience for the Secondary students who were interested in ICT and technology paths. There were inspiring keynote presentations from a variety of tech companies such as Microsoft and Adobe. Students were also given the opportunity to participate in the live Q&A panel and received helpful advice from experienced developers and designers.

Web.Comp

Some students in Years 8 to 10 participated in the Grok Learning Web.Comp that commenced from 10 May to 6 June. Learning how to design proper web UI pages in HTML and CSS, students solved and marked problems updated every week to earn points per submission. From the Beginners course to the Intermediate course, students were challenged to apply their knowledge and participate in the stand-alone Design Tournament. Learning web design is one of the most technical skills to learn in the software unit. Creating websites from scratch challenges students to think about the benefits of good user interface designs to enhance the user’s experience.

Grok NCCSS Challenge

Another tournament that occurred this year was the Grok NCSS challenge which involved different levels of Python learning and coding. Participants were able to choose to attend four different difficulty challenges, including block code, all the way up to advanced level Python coding. The weekly progression and the challenges along the way helped improve and educate many of the participating students in the language of Python.

Angela Yang and Emma Nirui, Captains of Information and Communications Technologies