Authentic Contexts

An authentic context looks at the real world places where students learn about and apply their technological practice.

The Galileo Network in their authenticity rubric state that authenticity is achieved when:
“The scope of the study emanates from a question, problem, issue or exploration that is significant to the discipline(s) and the community locally, provincially, nationally or globally; is meaningful and relevant to students; and is mapped to the mandated curriculum.”

The issues and problems students are designing solutions for should be meaningful to them. Local contexts will always be far more meaningful and inclusive for children as they get to see the ways that the outcome has improved on what it was.

Aaron Duff said, “Authentic learning is not discovered in a textbook, but rather at the crossroads of contemporary societal issues and student passion.”

This begins to incorporate other technological learning areas within this authentic context. Which is perfect! As the word context in the technology learning area applies in two ways.

It refers to the overall focus of the technological development. This means asking questions like, who will use it, what it could be, and where it will be used.
It describes where the learning experience is taking place.

Our aim is to ensure that we provide learning experiences that cover both these contexts. In doing so, we will most likely create learning opportunities that encompass several curriculum learning areas. Which makes sense, because when you look at the five technological areas, each area describes a particular context for learning in technology. All of which seldom exist in isolation.

“By offering a variety of contexts, teachers help their students to recognise links between technological areas. Students should be encouraged to access relevant knowledge and skills from other learning areas and to build on their developing key competencies.”
The New Zealand Curriculum: Technology Learning Area Structure

It’s important to note that, as students develop their digital technologies understandings, they will start encompassing authentic contexts that cover a wide range of learning areas. However, as they begin to develop their understanding of specific skills within a progress outcome, the authentic context may be limited to only a few learning areas within a local context. This is to ensure that students grasp the key understanding before applying it and using it with a range of other skills to help create digital solutions.