New to a Digital Technologies Role? Here’s How to Get Started in 2025
‘I need a scope and sequence for DigiTech’ or ‘Can anyone give me a unit for teaching coding to Grade 3/4’ or ‘I have no idea what to teach for DigiTech’ are all comments I see a lot of… this post will explore some of these challenges and hopefully support you in this role if you are new or looking to change up DigiTech at your school.
Starting Your Digital Technologies Journey in Schools: Practical Tips for 2025
It’s the start of a new school year, and you’ve been tasked with teaching Digital Technologies (DT) or leading digital technology initiatives at your school. Maybe you’re feeling excited, but also a little overwhelmed — I’ve been there too! Taking on a role like this is a big step, but with the right approach, you can build a successful program that supports students’ digital literacy and problem-solving skills. I see this scenario all too often, the techie graduate (or sometimes non-techie teacher) is dumped with this role, and you have no idea where to start. Here’s how to navigate your new Digital Technologies role, with a focus on the Version 2 (V2) Digital Technologies Curriculum and Digital Literacy Foundational Skill in Victoria.
1. Unpack the Digital Technologies Curriculum (Version 2) or ACARA Version 9
Understanding the curriculum is your most important first step. Too often, this is skipped, leading to key concepts being missed or misunderstood.
In Victoria, the Digital Technologies Curriculum Version 2 (V2) will be implemented in 2026, with familiarisation in 2025 for government schools. This updated curriculum includes three strands:
🔍 Digital Systems and Security: Focuses on digital systems, hardware, software, and cybersecurity.
📊 Data, Information, and Privacy: Covers using digital tools to create, locate, and communicate information, with a focus on data privacy and ethical use.
💻 Creating Digital Solutions: Think coding, problem-solving, and using digital systems to develop solutions. This strand includes algorithms, branching, and iteration to build critical thinking skills.
Key Tip: Make sure you understand the difference between Digital Technologies (DT) and Digital Literacy (DL) — they are not the same use the graphic below to help.
2. Know the Difference: Digital Technologies vs Digital Literacy
With the release of Version 2 (V2), Digital Literacy Foundational Skill will also become a mandatory foundational skill across all curriculum areas. It’s drawn from ACARA’s Version 9 General Capability, and Victorian schools will need to embed Digital Literacy across subjects from 2026.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the Digital Literacy Foundational Skill:
🔐 Practising Digital Safety and Wellbeing: Teaching students to safely and ethically use technology, while managing their digital wellbeing.
🔎 Investigating: Helping students to locate, evaluate, and analyse information using digital tools.
🎨 Creating and Exchanging: Developing and sharing digital content, from presentations to multimedia projects.
⚙️ Managing and Operating: Focusing on the practical use of devices, software, and systems — things like file management, troubleshooting, and efficient use of tools.
While there is some overlap between Digital Technologies and Digital Literacy, they serve different purposes. Digital Technologiesis about creating with technology, while Digital Literacy focuses on practical, everyday tech skills that students will use across all subjects.
3. Clarify Your Role and Teaching Allocation
Once you’ve unpacked the curriculum, it’s time to get clear on your teaching allocation and school goals. Are you a specialist teacher, or are you integrating DT into your classroom teaching?
Have a conversation with your leadership team to establish:
• How often will you see students?
• What are the reporting and assessment requirements?
• What are the school’s overall goals for Digital Technologies?
• What budget and resources do you have?
These conversations will give you clarity on what’s expected. Remember, you don’t need to cover every content descriptor. Prioritise key areas and ensure you’re delivering meaningful learning experiences. This is also a great opportunity to educate others on the difference between DT and DL, trust me, many will not know the difference.
💡 Pro Tip: Start small. You don’t need to implement everything in your first year. Focus on building foundational digital skills and coding concepts that will support students as they progress through school. This will help you formulate a broader scope and sequence to follow.
4. Planning Lessons and Units in Digital Technologies
If you’re new to lesson planning in Digital Technologies, it might feel overwhelming to map out a whole year’s worth of learning. Here’s how to simplify the process:
✅ Start with What You Know
Begin by teaching topics you feel confident in. It’s okay to learn alongside your students as you go!
🛡️ Begin with Digital Safety and Wellbeing
I always recommend starting the year with digital safety and wellbeing. It’s a great way to set clear expectations for using technology and helps you build trust with your students.
You can pair digital safety lessons with a creative task to introduce students to a new tool or device. For example, have students create multimedia presentations about cyber safety tips, or when coding, use the digital tools to collect data and analyse the results. This way you are being smarter with your time and can find meaningful connections to other curriculum areas (hint: maths, science and literacy are huge connections).
👨💻 Build Coding Skills Progressively
When it comes to coding, start with block-based coding tools like:
• Scratch Jnr and Scratch 3.0
• Micro:bit MakeCode and MakeCode Arcade
Check out my blog post on Computational Thinking – https://mrcoby.com/thinking-outside-the-box-how-computational-thinking-is-unlocking-a-world-of-possibilities-in-the-classroom/
These tools help teach foundational coding concepts like sequencing, branching, iteration, and decomposition. But coding tasks should always have a purpose — make sure students are solving problems or creating something meaningful.
Resources:
The Digital Technologies Hub – https://www.digitaltechnologieshub.edu.au
Grok Learning – https://groklearning.com/a/curriculum/
Check out my other post on Digital Citizenship and AI – https://mrcoby.com/why-you-should-be-teaching-ai-and-machine-learning-as-a-part-of-your-digital-citizenship-curriculum/
5. Take a Slow and Steady Approach
Feeling overwhelmed? That’s normal! Digital Technologies is a new curriculum area for many schools, and it takes time to build your confidence and program.
Remember, students’ digital skills develop over time. You don’t need to teach everything at once. Focus on foundational skills in the first few years, and differentiate your teaching as you gain experience.
You are the teacher, find really practical ways to embed these skills and outcomes into units of work. It takes time to learn and grow in this role, I’ve been doing this in a range of capacities for over 15 years and I am still learning everyday from students and teachers.
💡 Tip: In your first year, you might teach the same unit across multiple grades. That’s completely fine! Over time, you’ll build a library of resources and lessons to draw from.
6. Don’t Do It Alone — Reach Out for Support
One of the best things I’ve done as a Digital Technologies leader is connect with other educators in this space. There are professional learning opportunities, online communities, and coaching services available to help you.
You can find me on LinkedIn, Instagram and BlueSky and follow and connect with other educators and edtech tools on all these platforms. This is always a great spot for support and innovation.
If you need one-on-one support, I’m here to help. I offer:
• Online coaching
• Face-to-face workshops
• Hybrid professional learning sessions
I can help you with lesson planning, curriculum alignment, and implementing Digital Technologies and Digital Literacy at your school.
Final Thoughts: Building a Digital Technologies Program
Taking on a Digital Technologies role is challenging but incredibly rewarding. You have the opportunity to shape how students engage with technology — teaching them to solve problems, think critically, and create amazing solutions.
Remember, you don’t need to be an expert coder to teach Digital Technologies. What’s important is being willing to learn alongside your students and embracing the journey – that’s how I have learnt most of my skills!
If you’re feeling unsure or overwhelmed, reach out. Let’s make this a great year for Digital Technologies! 🚀
Need More Help?
I’m here to support schools and educators as they navigate the new Digital Technologies and Digital Literacy requirements.
💻 Professional Learning Options:
• One-on-one coaching
• Curriculum planning support
• Digital Leader Mentoring
• Coding lesson ideas
Let’s navigate this journey together and make Digital Technologies a valuable part of your school’s curriculum!
Tags: #DigitalTechnologies #DigitalLiteracy #Version2Curriculum #DTImplementation #DigitalSafety #CodingInSchools #VictorianCurriculum #EducationTechnology #DigitalSkills #EdTech #PrimarySchoolTech #CurriculumPlanning #TeacherSupport #DigitalLeadership
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