Focus Tools For Secondary (PDF) – Digital Competency in Action

Secondary Focus Tools

The below Focus series Graphic organizers were designed to support students and educators. They were originally aligned with the 9 Cross-Curricular Competencies (CCC) in the Quebec Education Program.

We have since aligned them with the dimensions of the Digital Competency Framework. The original Cross-Curricular Competency is in the brackets. The below graphic explains how the 9 CCCs and 12 dimensions of the Digital Competency Framework are related.

Focus Tools for Secondary

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Select to go to dimension specific tools:

Ethical Citizenship, Technological Skills, and Digital Resources for Learning (CCC 6)

Information Literacy (CCC 1)

Collaboration (CCC 8)

Communication (CCC 9)

Content Production & Inclusion and Diverse Needs (CCC 5)

Personal and Professional Development (CCC 7)

Problem Solving (CCC 2)

Critical Thinking (CCC 3)

Innovation and Creativity (CCC 4)

Ethical Citizenship, Technological Skills, and Digital Resources for Learning (CCC 6)

Conference

Self-evaluative tool

ITC Blueprint

This organizer helps students select the most suitable ICT tools for their task. Students are guided to select tools to help them gather information and communicate.

Key feature: Uses appropriate technologies

ICT Toolbox

This organizer is designed to help students identify the ICT tools available to them as they plan their work.

Key feature: Uses appropriate technologies, Takes full advantage of these technologies

My ICT Learning Goals

This is a personal ICT goal-setting organizer that asks students to identify learning goals and to determine how they will reach their target.

Key features: Takes full advantage of these technologies, Evaluates his/her use of this technology

Observation of Cross-Curricular Competency Development

Self-evaluative tool

Reflecting on How I Used ICT

Self-evaluative tool

Information Literacy (CCC 1)

3 Questions and Answers

This organizer expands on Q3 – The Three Questions of Information Gathering by asking students to think about where information can be found and then identify the information they found.

Key feature: Gathering information

Analogies

This organizer helps students make links between two ideas, concepts, or things that are similar in some respects.

Key feature: Gathers information

Bibliography 1

This organizer will allow students to cite their sources of information.

Key feature: Systematizes the information-gathering process

Bibliography 2

This organizer will allow the more advanced or more experienced student to cite the sources of information used. They would not require the prompting questions.

Key feature: Systematizes the information-gathering process

Common Threads 1

This organizer helps students organize their research and use the information in new ways by comparing important or relevant information from different sources.

Key features: Gathers information, Puts information to use

Common Thread 2

This organizer helps students to organize information gathered from different sources. Students are then able to identify what the sources have in common.

Key features: Gathers information, Puts information to use

Collaboration (CCC 8)

Conference

Self-evaluative tool

Cooperative Learning Peer Evaluation

This organizer will ask the student to evaluate the contribution of his or her teammates to the group’s efforts and to make suggestions for improvement.

Key features: Uses teamwork effectively, Interacts with an open mind in various contexts

Observation of Cross-Curricular Competency Development

Self-evaluative tool

Our Responsibilities

This organizer helps students to identify which tasks to take on as a team and which to divide amongst members. It asks students to assign specific tasks to each team member and encourages them to keep track of their progress.

Key features: Contributes to team efforts, Uses teamwork effectively

Our Strengths

This organizer asks students to identify the strengths of each team member then selects tasks based on their aptitudes.

Key feature: Contributes to team efforts

Our Team Agrees On ...

This organizer allows all team members to participate in establishing a procedure and carrying out the task.

Key features: Contributes to team efforts, Interacts with an open mind in various contexts

Communication (CCC 9)

Communication and Peer Feedback

This organizer allows students to provide a peer with feedback on their communication. It asks the student to evaluate the effectiveness of their peer’s communication strategies.

Key feature: Manages the communication process

Conference

Self-Evaluation Form

Knowing Your Audience

Making Links Between Relationships

Mission...Accomplished

Self-Evaluation Form

Observation of Cross-Curricular Competency Development

Self-evaluative tool

Preparing for Communication

Content Production & Inclusion and Diverse Needs (CCC 5)

A Detailed Timeline

This organizer is designed to help students plan how to carry out an assignment by charting different tasks on a timeline.

Key feature: Consider all aspects of a task

Breaking It Down

This organizer helps students plan, set deadlines, detail the components of their assignment, and keep track of their work.

Key feature: Consider all aspects of a task

Conference

Self-Evaluation Tool

Evaluating My Progress

Self-evaluative tool

Information Resources List

This organizer is designed to help students identify the resources that they will need for a certain task.

Key features: Consider all aspects of a task, Adjusts his/her approach

Observation of Cross-Curricular Competency Development

Self-Evaluative Tool

Personal and Professional Empowerment (CCC 7)

Common Ground

This organizer allows students to share their values or perceptions with their team members and then identify their shared values.

Key feature: Takes his/her place among others

Conference

Self-Evaluation Tool

Different Perspectives

This organizer is designed to help students share their feelings and values and compare their views with the views of others.

Key features: Recognizes his/her personal characteristics, Takes his/her place among others

Discussing with Others

This organizer is an excellent individual follow-up to a group discussion and encourages students to reflect on the influence of others on his/her viewpoint.

Key features: Recognizes his/her personal characteristics, Takes his/her place among others

From Goals to Actions

This organizer helps students to concretely note the goals they wish to accomplish. It allows them to visualize their proposed plan of action and the timeframe in which the goal will be reached.

Key feature: Makes good use of his/her personal resources

From Values to Actions

This organizer facilitates planning and assists students in establishing goals and evaluating their choices of action and achievements based on the values they hold.

Key feature: Makes good use of his/her personal resources

Problem Solving (CCC 2)

Brainstorm!

This organizer provides a space for students to conduct an initial brainstorm, then prompts them to identify key ideas and questions.

Key feature: Analyzes the components of a situational problem.

Conference

Self-evaluative tool

Formulating Questions

This organizer assists students in formulating questions by prompting them to identify the issues and context of a situation.

Key feature: Analyzes the components of a situational problem.

Goal and Action Plan

This organizer may be used throughout the problem-solving process to help students plan and reflect on the procedures that were used. It assists students in evaluating the effectiveness of the procedure or strategy applied and to assess why their goal was or was not met.

Key features: Tests possible solutions, Adopts a flexible approach

Observation of Cross-Curricular Competency Development

Self-evaluative tool

Plus, Minus, Interesting

This organizer allows students to reflect on the strategy they chose by identifying the successes, difficulties, and consequences of the strategy.

Key features: Tests possible solutions, Adopts a flexible approach

Critical Thinking (CCC 3)

An Informed Opinion

This organizer provides a space for students to conduct an initial brainstorm, then prompts them to identify key ideas and questions.

Key feature: Analyzes the components of a situational problem.

Compare and Contrast

This organizer will help a student to share his/her point of view with a partner. It may also help the students to re-evaluate their own opinion.

Key features: Expresses his/her judgment, Qualifies his/her judgment

Conference

Self-evaluative tool

How Does it Measure Up?

This organizer provides space for students to set up criteria in order to help them make a choice, decision, or judgment. They are asked to provide a rationale for their final decision.

Key features: Forms an opinion, Expresses his/her judgment

My Opinion

This version of the organizer provides space for students to set up criteria in order to assess two possible options. They are asked to provide a rationale for their final decision.

Key features: Forms an opinion, Expresses his/her judgment

Observation of Cross-Curricular Competency Development

Self-evaluative tool

Innovation and Creativity (CCC 4)

A World of Possibilities

This organizer allows students to explore different procedures and encourages them to use new ideas and accept risks and unknowns.

Key features: Explores, Adopts a flexible mode of operation

Conference

Self-evaluative tool

Creating a Different Plan

This organizer helps students envisage different ways of proceeding and asks them to identify how to turn obstacles into resources.

Key features: Becomes familiar with all the elements of a situation, Explores

Exploring Different Modes

This organizer helps students choose the mode they will use to deliver their message by reflecting on the message, its different aspects and the audience.

Key feature: Adopts a flexible mode of operation

Idea-Go-Round

This organizer allows students to brainstorm and share different issues involved in a situation. It promotes looking at a situation in different ways.

Key feature: Becomes familiar with all the elements of a situation

Observation of Cross-Curricular Competency Development

Self-evaluative tool

Subjects

Approaches

Secondary Focus Tools