A student building a cardboard vehicle prototype next to a 3D model on a tablet

Technology · Years 7–8 · NZ Curriculum

Digital technologies

What Technology intermediate students in Aotearoa New Zealand learn under digital technologies, and where it shows up across Kōkiri Learn's inquiry worlds.

Technology · 13 inquiry worlds cover this strand

New Zealand Curriculum, Phase 3

The teaching sequence

Year 7 sequence

Data, algorithms and testing solutions
Debugging
Binary
Ethics and choice of digital tools

Year 8 sequence

How data is collected, stored and encoded
Algorithms for games and robots
Spreadsheets to find patterns
Questioning information and AI

Where this shows up

Kōkiri Learn inquiry worlds that cover this strand

The whole class works on one world at a time — these are where this strand's focus actually comes up.

5 weeks
Stop Motion Studio: Animation
Year 7 sequence · Using digital tools to capture, sequence and edit frames into a digital outcome for a real audience
5 weeks
Beat Makers: Composing with Music Technology
Year 8 sequence · How sound is collected, stored and encoded as digital data (samples, bars and steps on a grid), and questioning AI-generated music
5 weeks
Fact or Fake? Media and Digital Literacy
Year 8 sequence · Questioning information and AI-made content
5 weeks
Worlds Beyond: Science Fiction and the Future
Year 8 sequence · Questioning information and the choices made by AI
5 weeks
Kind Online, Strong Offline
Year 8 sequence · Questioning information and AI: how feeds collect data and decide what to show
5 weeks
Number Detectives: Primes, Powers and Codes
Year 8 sequence · How data is encoded: substitution ciphers, patterns that give codes away, and why strong encryption and passwords matter
5 weeks
Code a Game: Algorithms and Debugging
Year 7 sequence · Algorithms, conditions and binary; writing simple programs with structured steps and if–else logic; locating and fixing logic and input errors; using visual tools to represent binary; secure practices and ethical choice of digital tools
5 weeks
Data Detectives: Data, Spreadsheets and AI
Year 7 sequence · Binary representation and the ethics and choice of digital tools, including privacy and security of personal data
5 weeks
Designing for Our Community
Year 8 sequence · Using a spreadsheet to organise test data, find patterns and graph results
5 weeks
Smart Circuits: Electronics and Control
Year 8 sequence · Programs using loops and conditions to control a microcontroller; comparing solution approaches for reliability
5 weeks
Data Detectives: Data, Spreadsheets and AI
Year 8 sequence · How data is collected, stored and encoded: binary encodes text, images and sound; file formats and compression affect quality and size; metadata makes content searchable
5 weeks
Data Detectives: Data, Spreadsheets and AI
Year 8 sequence · Collecting a small dataset, cleaning it (types, duplicates) and choosing clear visualisations; biased or incomplete training data affects AI; evaluating when AI is suitable, considering accuracy, fairness and context
5 weeks
Grow It: Aquaponics and Sustainable Systems
Year 8 sequence · Collecting and graphing system data in a spreadsheet to find patterns