Rationale
The Innovation and Excellence (Yarra Valley Environs) Information and Communication Technology (ICT) VELS Overview, Skills
Matrix and Progression Points Checklist is designed to assist teachers in the planning and evaluation of appropriate learning
experiences for students from Prep to Year 6. It also serves as a measure of student progress and skill development throughout
their primary years.
The ICT Skills Matrix and Progression Point Checklist is based upon,“Victorian Essential Learning Standards” (VCAA, 2005) and
“Information and Communication Technologies in the Key Learning Areas” charts (Board of Studies, 2000) and “Victorian
Essential Learning Standards-Standards and Progression Points” (VCAA, October 2006).
The Skills Matrix provides an overview of the standards expected in ICT as part of the Interdisciplinary Learning Strand and a
guide to the types of skills that children are expected to attain at each Year Level. It is not intended to be prescriptive and teachers
may teach skills above their Year Level and may need to consolidate skills from a lower Year Level.
The Progression Point Checklist serves as a means of tracking an individual student’s progress inline with the expected standards
and progression points.
The Suggested Possible Programs is a only a suggested guide and many other programs are available to achieve the necessary
outcomes.
This guide is intended to be a work in progress in order to meet the needs of an ever-changing world. As students’ ICT skills
improve with greater exposure to Information and Communication Technologies and with developing teacher expertise, it is
anticipated that this matrix will also be adjusted to meet the challenges that will follow.
Innovations and Excellence Implementation Team 2007
Darren Ratten (Coordinator/Educator)
Lilydale High School Melba Avenue, Lilydale, 3140
Ph. 9735 5644 Fax. 9735 3552 Mobile. 0417 345 512
Email. ratten.darren.j@edumail.vic.gov.au
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the work of Charles Spicer (ICT Coordinator) and Eastwood Primary School for the base plan of the Skills Matrix and their
dedication to developing ICT within their school and wider community.
Alexandra Road, Ringwood East, 3135. Ph. 9870 6103 Fax. 9870 3012
Innovation and Excellence (Yarra Valley Environs Cluster)
2007
Contents
Part A
Interdisciplinary Learning Strand
Information and Communications Technology
ICT Overview
VELS Levels 1 and 2
VELS Level 3
VELS Level 4
VELS Level 5
Glossary
Part B
ICT Skills Matrix- Year Level
Part C
ICT Standards and Progression Points
Prep
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Level 1 (Prep)
Level 2 (Year 1 and 2) (1.0-2)
Level 3 (Year 3 and 4) (2.25-2.5)
Level 3 (Year 3 and 4) (2.75-3)
Level 4 (Year 5 and 6) (3.25-3.5)
Level 4 (Year 5 and 6) (3.75-4)
Innovation and Excellence (Yarra Valley Environs Cluster)
2007
Part D
Suggested Possible Programs
Innovation and Excellence (Yarra Valley Environs Cluster)
2007
Interdisciplinary Learning
Information and Communications Technology Overview
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Is the hardware and software enabling data to be digitally processed, stored and
communicated
Is used to access, process, manage and present information, model and control events,
construct new understanding and communicate with others
Focuses on providing students with tools to transform and enrich their learning and its
environment
Enables students to focus on the task rather than on the technology.
Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours in the Domain
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Thinking and learning producing creative and innovative insights
Problem solving and working individually and collaboratively
Creating information products demonstrating their understanding of concepts, issues,
relationships and processes
Expressing themselves in contemporary and socially relevant ways
Communicating locally and globally to problem solve and share knowledge
Understanding of the social and ethical responsibilities of using ICT.
ICT for Visual Thinking
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Students use ICT tools, eg. graphic organisers to assist their thinking process and reflect
on the processes they use.
ICT for Creating
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Students learn to use ICT efficiently to capture, validate and manipulate data for
required purposes.
ICT for Communicating
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Students use ICT to communicate with known and unknown participants with the
purpose of seeking and discussing alternative views, acquiring expert opinions, sharing
knowledge and expressing ideas
Innovation and Excellence (Yarra Valley Environs Cluster)
2007
Information and Communications Technology
Level
Learning Focus
1
 Safe use of ICT tools, e.g. Posture,
electrical connections, handling storage
devices
 Correct terminology, familiarity with
desktop icons, hand-eye coordination
(mouse/cursor/screen)
 Develop hand-eye-coordination through
using a mouse to control the pointer on
screen.
 With assistance - use data (text,
numbers, images) - to create and share
information
 Develop navigation skills (utilising
Multimedia resources)
 ICT equipment comparisons at home
compared with school - purpose of
icons/symbols
Standards

In this domain, standards for assessing and reporting on student
achievement are introduced at Level 2. The learning focus statement for
Level 1 provides advice about learning experiences that will assist
students to work towards the achievement of the standards at Level 2.
Innovation and Excellence (Yarra Valley Environs Cluster)
2007
Level
2
Learning Focus
 Acquire new knowledge and skills
across the curriculum
 Create and present information in
meaningful ways
 Think critically about multimedia
resources and how they help learning
 Experiment with simple ICT tools and
techniques for visual thinking
 Organise and classify information and
ideas - e.g. cutting and pasting,
dropping and dragging, colour coding.
 Apply simple formatting techniques
such as bolding, centring and changing
case to enhance their work.
 Identify intended audience to display
their work.
 Check the accuracy of their work.
 Collect first-hand data and with
assistance manipulate and display it
effectively.
 Develop an understanding of a
networked environment and the need
for appropriate file management skills.
 Communicate via simple emails.
Dimensions
At this level standards are not organised by dimensions.
Students:
 Manipulate text, images and numeric data to create simple information
products for specific audiences
 They make simple formatting changes to improve the appearance of
their information products
 They retrieve files and save new files using a naming system that is
meaningful to them
 They compose simple electronic messages to known recipients and send
them successfully
 With some assistance, students use ICT to locate and retrieve relevant
information from a variety of sources.
Innovation and Excellence (Yarra Valley Environs Cluster)
2007
Level
3
Learning Focus
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Develop skills for problem solving,
expressing ideas, and presenting
information to different audiences
Explore a range of ICT tools (e.g. basic
editing tools) and simple techniques (e.g.
colour coding) for visualising thinking
Use simple graphic organisers such as
concept maps to provide a framework for
visualising thinking and reflect on the
usefulness of such tools and strategies
Make comparisons between the purposes
and structures of information presented in
different media, such as print, on-screen,
or as an action
Process data in the form of text, images
and sound to create planned information
products and combine them to produce
multimedia products
Work collaboratively to develop ICT skills
Communicate knowledge by exchanging
email messages with others
Apply procedures (e.g. key words) for
locating information on Intranet/Internet
Manage files using simple ways of
organising them for easy retrieval, for
example, by topic or form (stories, images,
projects).
Use passwords to protect access to files.
Visual Thinking
 Use ICT tools to list
ideas, order them into
logical sequences, and
identify relationships
between them
 Capture thinking
strategies by saving
the visual evidence to
a folder, retrieving the
files and editing them
for use in new or
similar situations
 Explain how these
strategies can be used
for different problems
or situations.
Dimensions
Creating
 Organise files into
folders classified in a
meaningful way
 Explain the purpose
of passwords for
accessing files stored
on networks
 Use tools to create
text-based products
 With assistance, use
ICT tools to capture
and save images
 Use simple editing
functions to
manipulate images
 Create multimedia
products to assist in
problem solving
 Carry out ongoing
modifications to work
to correct spelling and
rectify simple
formatting errors
 Evaluate final product
 Load, access, navigate
and interact with
multimedia resources
and compare with
print resources.
Innovation and Excellence (Yarra Valley Environs Cluster)
2007
Communicating
 Initiate and compose
email messages
 Access received emails
and save them in a
folder
 Compose and send
replies
 Locate information on
intranet
 Use a search engine
and limited key words
to locate information
from websites.
Level
4
Learning Focus
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Students apply known ICT tools for
visualising thinking to make links
between existing and new knowledge
Use new tools to explore processes,
patterns, cause-and-effect relationships,
and to test hypotheses
Use ICT tools to produce information
products that demonstrate knowledge/
skills across the curriculum in multimedia
form (an information product)
Use ICT to assist with problem solving
Explore new software functions that
promote efficiency and effectiveness
Develop skills in 3D multimedia tools for
problem solving. Use ICT systems to
control events by writing programs, e.g.
manipulate objects in a game or 3D virtual
environment (Kahootz)
Begin to use ICT presentation conventions
in solutions and information products.
Test products against accepted ICT
evaluation criteria and, with assistance,
refine work to meet the criteria
Develop and maintain a digital bank of
evidence, e.g. an Electronic Portfolio that
demonstrates learning, requiring
evaluation, selecting and organising files
that showcase learning and are current
and structured in an orderly way.
Work in a collaborative global
Visual Thinking
 Apply ICT tools and
techniques to explore
processes, patterns and
cause-and-effect
relationships, and to
test hypotheses in a
range of new situations
 Explain how these
strategies help to
understand concepts
and relationships.
Dimensions
Creating
 Independently use a
range of skills,
procedures and
functions to process
different data types and
produce accurate and
suitably formatted
products to suit
different purposes and
audiences
 Select relevant
techniques for
minimising the time
taken to process data,
and apply conventions
and techniques that
improve the appearance
of the finished product
 Modify products to
improve meaning and
judge against agreed
criteria
 Create and maintain a
logically structured
bank of digital evidence
of their learning (e.g.
Electronic Portfolio)
Innovation and Excellence (Yarra Valley Environs Cluster)
2007
Communicating
 Use ICT to exchange
meaningful messages
with workmates and
store the messages in
organised folders to
assist in reflection of
communication skills.
 Successfully upload
work onto a protected
public *online space
 Explain how ICT
assists them in
acquiring advice and
sharing knowledge.
* Recommend that
students upload work to
a private online space (e.g
Intranet).
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environment, sharing knowledge through
email, seeking advice via FAQ’s, Web
Pages or emailing experts
Develop knowledge of protocols for
sending and receiving electronic output
through the Internet using attachments
and uploading files via intranet or Internet
Refine search questions to locate
information on Internet and apply criteria
for assessing the integrity of information
Manage the storage of files attached to
emails by saving them in appropriate
directories.
Innovation and Excellence (Yarra Valley Environs Cluster)
2007
Level
5
The
following
is a
selection of
learning
foci and
dimensions
and is not
intended to
be a
detailed
summary.
Learning Focus
Visual Thinking
 Use a greater variety of ICT tools and
techniques to assist with visual
 Students electronically retrace decisions
made and actions taken when learning and
problem solving
 Efficiently use ICT for planning
collaborative projects that involve creating
information products and solving problems
 Develop project plans that sequence tasks,
estimate timelines and record task
responsibilities using software
 Use operating system facilities to manage
desktop workspace and organise files in a
way that assists personal learning. This
involves password protection and backing
up files
 Develop knowledge about the
characteristics of data by manipulating
various data types, such as words, sound,
numbers and images (still and moving), to
create formatted information products
 Plan the design of products, influenced by
generally accepted ICT presentation
conventions, and develop criteria for
evaluating the effectiveness of each
presentation style
 Apply knowledge of data characteristics to
solving problems
 Explore the distinction between legal and
 Select and apply ICT
tools and editing
functions that support
the filtering,
classifying,
representing and
organising of ideas,
concepts and issues
 Modify successful
approaches to visual
thinking for use in
new circumstances
 Use a range of data
types to record
decisions and actions
taken when
developing new
understanding and
problem solving.
Dimensions
Creating
 Independently use the
operating system to
manage their Desktop
workspace
 Organise folders
logically and easily
retrieve documents
 Password protect and
back up important
files, appropriately
name and locate files
for sharing with others
 Independently apply a
range of processing
skills, functions and
equipment to solve
problems and create
products which
contain minimal
functional,
typographical,
formatting and
readability errors
 During the processing
stage of collaborative
work, monitor project
plans and record
reasons for adjusting
them
Innovation and Excellence (Yarra Valley Environs Cluster)
2007
Communicating
 Select the most
appropriate search
engines to locate
information on
websites
 Use complex search
strategies to refine
searches
 Judge the integrity of
the located material
based on its
credibility, accuracy,
reliability and
comprehensiveness.
 Students compose
emails in accordance
with ICT conventions,
send emails with
attachments, and
organise their email
mailbox into a logical
structure and
maintain it.
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illegal uses of ICT and create information
products that comply with intellectual
property law
Develop and manage digital bank of
evidence (electronic portfolio) for a range of
audiences, including teachers, parents and
potential employers
Organise and store gathered information to
enable easy retrieval
Access online interactive e-learning tools to
develop knowledge across the curriculum,
and explain how these tools differ in
supporting learning and whether they
assist the development of deeper
understanding.
Publish their work on the Web after it has
been tested and evaluated.
 Apply criteria to
evaluate information
products
 Maintain bank of
digital evidence up to
date, and demonstrate
a diversity of ICT
skills and knowledge
 Design evidence
repositories that are
easy to navigate and
comply with ICT
presentation
conventions.
Innovation and Excellence (Yarra Valley Environs Cluster)
2007
Glossary
Audience/user needs
Attributes of an information product that are stipulated by, or suitable for, the intended users
(for example, functions easy to use, language and content are appropriate).
Blog (or web log)
A personal website that is updated frequently with commentaries or personal viewpoints about
one or a range of topics (adult-created blogs are usually highly interactive, as other readers can
lodge their feedback on the website; non-interactive blogs are
recommended for students).
Double-cell diagram
Ideally suited for describing and comparing attributes and characteristics of two items, things,
people, places, events or ideas.
e-learning tools
ICT-generated interactive tutorials or other products designed to assist learning; commonly
found on CD-ROM, DVD and the World Wide Web.
Electronic portfolio
An electronic portfolio is a bank of files or a repository of digital evidence selected by students
to demonstrate their learning and to monitor their learning progress.
Expert system
A computer program that uses a set of predetermined rules for providing answers to questions
by drawing on a stored knowledge base developed from the knowledge of experts in a
particular field such as medicine or automotive engineering.
Graphic/visual organisers
Frameworks that help students structure their thinking processes (including concept maps, time
sequence patterns, cause-and-effect patterns, flow charts). They are visual frameworks, which
help students make connections between existing knowledge and new information, and make
visible their thinking processes. Electronic templates can be created by teachers, or students can
use available software for generating them.
ICT presentation conventions
Commonly accepted guidelines for layout and presentation of information.
Influence diagram
Visual representation of the relationship between the components of a system, or the elements
in a process, that identifies the components/elements that will be affected by particular
decisions.
Innovation and Excellence (Yarra Valley Environs Cluster)
2007
ICT-controlled models
Tools used to control devices or actions in a predetermined way, for example, controlling a
robot.
Information product
Output created by students using ICT tools, functions and techniques to demonstrate their
knowledge or understanding of ideas, concepts and processes from different areas of learning.
Typically printed or displayed on-screen; in some cases, output is an action as a result of
students using an ICT-controlled model; examples include reports, slide shows, multimedia,
cartoons, tables, websites and programs used to control robots.
Interaction outliner
A graphic organiser that is used to show the nature of an interaction between persons or
groups.
Multimedia resources
Commercially published CD-ROMs, DVDs and websites containing combinations of text,
images and sound which allow students to interact with them to control pace, receive feedback,
or determine their own path through the program.
Operating system
(for example, Windows, Linux, Macintosh) in a computer allows file names to be changed, files
to be copied, stored, retrieved, moved, deleted and printed.
Planned information products
Products for which the form and layout is designed by students before any data is processed.
Typically students would decide how their product would be viewed – printed, on-screen, or as
an action – and how the major elements of the product will
be displayed. Students then process the data in accordance with their design.
Virtual teams
Those in which people work together via the Internet, meeting and working electronically; can
comprise people from intrastate, interstate and overseas.
Visualising thinking
The process of using ICT tools and editing techniques to visually code and represent thinking
(for example, classifying data by colour coding; using a graphic organiser such as a concept
map to discover links between data; using simulation software to model a process). It is a
process that allows students to clarify thought, and to identify patterns and form relationships
between new and existing knowledge.
Innovation and Excellence (Yarra Valley Environs Cluster)
2007