| (a) General requirements. Students shall be awarded
one credit for successful completion of this course. This course is
recommended for students in Grades 9-12.
(b) Introduction.
(1) Career and technical education instruction provides
content aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical
knowledge and skills for students to further their education and succeed
in current or emerging professions.
(2) The Arts, Audio/Video Technology, and Communications
Career Cluster focuses on careers in designing, producing, exhibiting,
performing, writing, and publishing multimedia content including visual
and performing arts and design, journalism, and entertainment services.
(3) Digital Communications in the 21st Century will
prepare students for the societal demands of increased civic literacy,
independent working environments, global awareness, and the mastery
of a base set of analysis and communication skills. Students will
be expected to design and present an effective product based on well-researched
issues in order to thoughtfully propose suggested solutions to authoritative
stakeholders. The outcome of the process and product approach is to
provide students an authentic platform to demonstrate effective application
of multimedia tools within the contexts of global communication and
collaborative communities and appropriately share their voices to
affect change that concerns their future. The six strands include
creativity and innovation; communication and collaboration; research
and information fluency; critical thinking; problem solving, and decision
making; digital citizenship; and technology operations and concepts.
(4) Students are encouraged to participate in extended
learning experiences such as career and technical student organizations
and other leadership or extracurricular organizations.
(5) Statements that contain the word "including" reference
content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such
as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.
(c) Knowledge and skills.
(1) Creativity and innovation. The student demonstrates
the ability to analyze, evaluate, and adapt during the creative problem-solving
process and demonstrates creative thinking in developing solutions
to real-world issues using digital tools. The student is expected
to:
(A) generate innovative, sustainable solutions for
real-world issues such as global warming, immigration, or the global
economy using emerging digital tools;
(B) gather and evaluate accurate information for feasibility
and practicality as a basis for making communication decisions; and
(C) analyze the ethical and social responsibilities
as a project team when communicating with peers, stakeholders, and
experts.
(2) Creativity and innovation. The student uses innovative
thinking to develop new ideas and processes for solving real-world
issues and conveying those ideas to a global audience through a persuasive
digital product. The student is expected to:
(A) examine real-world issues relating to current topics
such as health care, government, business, or aerospace;
(B) develop innovative solutions to address issues;
(C) create unique methods and products conveying solutions
to audiences beyond the classroom such as school officials, non-profit
organizations, higher education officials, government, or other stakeholders;
(D) demonstrate the effective use and importance of
verbal and nonverbal communication skills when presenting ideas and
solutions to diverse audiences; and
(E) use appropriate techniques to manage communication
apprehension, build self-confidence, and gain command of information.
(3) Communication and collaboration. The student develops
a process to effectively communicate with peers, experts, and other
audiences about current issues and solutions to global problems. The
student is expected to:
(A) demonstrate innovative uses of a wide range of
emerging technologies, including online learning, mobile devices,
digital content, and Web 2. 0 tools such as podcasting, wikis, and
blogs;
(B) participate within appropriate electronic communities
as a learner, initiator, and contributor;
(C) extend the learning environment beyond the school
walls using appropriate digital tools;
(D) collaborate with a variety of field experts;
(E) prepare for, organize, and participate in an informative
or persuasive group discussion with an audience; and
(F) participate appropriately in conversations by making
clear requests, giving accurate directions, and asking purposeful
questions.
(4) Communication and collaboration. The student uses
digital tools to facilitate collaboration and communication in the
design, development, and evaluation of products offering solutions
to real-world issues. The student is expected to:
(A) design and organize resources to create an effective
collaborative working environment that enables a group to investigate
a local, state, national, or global issue;
(B) analyze and evaluate effective communication;
(C) demonstrate leadership by managing project activities
such as timelines, research, product development, marketing material,
and effective communication skills;
(D) demonstrate effective management of diverse peer-group
dynamics such as solving problems, managing conflicts, and building
consensus; and
(E) evaluate original products for accuracy, validity,
and compliance with copyright laws.
(5) Research and information fluency. The student uses
a variety of strategies to acquire and evaluate information relating
to real-world issues. The student is expected to:
(A) locate authoritative information from primary and
secondary sources such as field experts, online full-text databases,
or current news databases;
(B) make decisions regarding the selection, acquisition,
and use of information gathered, taking into consideration its quality,
appropriateness, effectiveness, and level of interest to society;
and
(C) demonstrate fluency in the use of a variety of
electronic sources such as cloud computing, emerging collaboration
technologies, data mining strategies, and mobile or other technologies.
(6) Research and information fluency. The student uses
a variety of digital tools to synthesize information related to real-world
issues in student-created materials. The student is expected to:
(A) construct real-world informational materials that
inform, persuade, or recommend reform of selected issues;
(B) identify and employ a method to evaluate the design,
functionality, and accuracy of the student-created materials; and
(C) use effective strategies to organize and outline
presentations to support and clarify points.
(7) Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision
making. The student uses critical-thinking skills to conduct research,
manage products, solve problems, and make informed decisions for real-world
local, state, national, and global issues. The student is expected
to:
(A) identify and define authentic problems and significant
questions for investigation;
(B) design and implement procedures to track trends,
set timelines, and review and evaluate progress for project completion;
(C) read and use technical documentation, including
appropriate help options, to complete tasks; and
(D) analyze the audience, occasion, and purpose when
designing presentations.
(8) Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision
making. The student creates a product presenting solutions for real-world
local, state, national, and global issues. The student is expected
to:
(A) create technology specifications for tasks and
rubrics to evaluate products and product quality against established
criteria;
(B) resolve information conflicts and validate information
by comparing data;
(C) represent diverse perspectives in problem solutions;
and
(D) prepare and use visual or auditory aids such as
scripts, notes, or digital applications to enhance presentations.
(9) Digital citizenship. The student examines ethical
and legal behavior to demonstrate leadership as a digital citizen.
The student is expected to:
(A) model safe and ethical use of digital information;
(B) model respect of intellectual property when manipulating,
morphing, or editing graphics, video, text, and sound;
(C) use technology applications in a positive manner
that supports productivity, collaboration, and continuing education;
and
Cont'd... |
