L2 Generic DT Project

Inquiry ➡️ Design ➡️ Development

Learning Advanced Skills

L2 Self Awareness & Inquiry

L2 Project Management

L2 Design

L2 Development

Summary External

About

This Level 2 course is built around an authentic Inquiry → Design → Development process, giving you the space to explore what kind of digital outcome you want to create while still being supported by a clear, structured pathway. It works for a wide range of outcomes — games, animations, websites, digital media, and more — because the focus is on learning how to think and work like a digital creator.

Rather than prescribing one “right” project, the course provides scaffolded checkpoints, planning tools, and a bank of examples that you can draw from as you shape your own direction. It suits learners who enjoy independence, are motivated to self-manage, and want to challenge themselves through problem solving, iteration, and meaningful decision-making.

Following this generic pathway is also a strong foundation for Level 3. The process and expectations align well with more complex outcomes, and it prepares you to communicate your thinking clearly — a key step towards senior digital technologies success and Scholarship-style way of working.

~ OVERVIEW OF COURSE ~

This course can be taught in a couple of ways, and your teacher will let you know which approach you’ll be using. This year builds on the fundamentals from Level 1 and moves into an advanced digital technologies project. This involves planning, designing, creating, and refining a substantial outcome, for example; a functional website with applied HTML / CSS and some interactive features, an interactive game with original assets and coded mechanics, a design for manufacture product with a 3D CAD model and exported production files, a multi-page print or digital media outcome, such as a magazine or comic, with original digital assets, a short film / video / animation with some original content, editing, and effects or an electronic device with programmed code and purpose-built housing.

A key difference is the timeline. You will either:

complete an inquiry phase, researching your context and focus area in depth before moving into design and development, or
do a smaller amount of project research and move more quickly into design and development.

Either way, you’ll follow a clear process: design → development (using sprints) → testing/trialling → refinement, with time set aside later for external assessment preparation.

If you’re considering Technology Scholarship at Level 3, completing an inquiry at Level 2 is excellent preparation, as it helps you build the depth of understanding and evidence you’ll need later on.

~ TIMELINE ~

~ Process You Will Follow ~

~ COURSE MATERIAL ~

Learn Advanced Skills
(approximately 5 - 8 weeks)

Learn advanced skills in an area or areas you are interested in. For students new to Digital Technologies you might need to find some basic skill videos or check out any of our Level 1 courses as they have basic skill pages on each course.

This time is a chance for you to experiment and practice refining your skills before you decide what direction your project will take.

* Make a copy of this document. Use it to document the below process while you work through the website material. *

L2 DT Project

Self Awareness & Inquiry

(approximately 3 weeks or a couple of lessons during skill development)

What type of project are you going to undertake?

Taking a moment to build self-awareness helps you recognise your strengths, challenges, and assumptions, so you can choose a project that fits you well and design for end users without relying on stereotypes or guesswork.

When you’re conducting an inquiry, you’ll choose a focus and write strong inquiry questions, research widely, organise and analyse what you find, then propose a digital technologies outcome that clearly responds to your findings. It’s also a great chance to figure out the kind of project you want to create and why it’s the right fit for your audience and purpose. You’ll keep to agreed milestones, and as you go deeper you’ll explore different perspectives and implications, discuss how your research shapes your proposal, and finish by drawing insightful conclusions that link your questions, evidence, and proposed outcome together.

AS91890 - Conduct an inquiry to propose a digital technologies outcome (6 Credits)

Project Management
(approximately 1 lesson)

Work out how you will manage the build.

Project management is where you’ll break your project into small tasks, prioritise what matters most, and organise your workflow across design and the development three sprints so you can build, test, and improve as you go. A strong plan helps you stay on track, make steady progress, and ensure your final outcome meets end-user requirements and addresses key implications, without leaving everything to the last minute.

AS91897 - Use advanced processes to develop a digital technologies outcome (4 Credits)

Design
(approximately 4 weeks)

Work out what you will make.

When you’re designing, you’ll apply your inquiry/research understanding and knowledge and relevant conventions to generate and model a range of ideas, improve them using feedback, then select and justify a final design that meets your end users’ requirements and addresses key implications.

AS91891 - Apply conventions to develop a design for a digital technologies outcome (3 Credits)

Development
(approximately 12 weeks)

Now its time to develop your project. You'll need to use project management to make sure you deliver on time, building your outcome over 3 x 4 week sprints. You'll need to test and get feedback at various points along the way to ensure you deliver a suitable outcome for your end users that you are proud.

AS91893 - Use advanced techniques to develop a digital media outcome (4 Credits)

AS91897 - Use advanced processes to develop a digital technologies outcome (6 Credits)

If for some reason the above assessments are not an option then the following Generic Technology Achievement Standard can be used instead:

AS91357 - Undertake effective development to make and trial a prototype (6 Credits)

Summary External
(approximately 4 weeks)

When you present your development summary, you’ll explain what you created and walk the reader through the key decisions you made as you built it. Because you know your project inside and out, your main job is to interpret the prompts and choose the best evidence to show how and why you developed it the way you did. For deeper responses, you’ll discuss how your outcome met requirements and addressed relevant implications, and for a comprehensive summary you’ll evaluate your decisions and explain what you would change next time to improve the outcome, using the insights you gained along the way.

AS91899 - Present a summary of developing a digital outcome (External, 3 Credits)

~ Big Ideas in Digital Technologies Projects ~

The discipline of Digital Technologies embodies whanaungatanga. Outcomes are made by people, for people, within cultural, social, and environmental contexts

Digital Technologies is all about people and the connections between them. Digital outcomes are created by people — designers, developers, artists, writers, and problem-solvers — for real users, in real contexts. Every choice you make (your layout, language, features, visuals, interactions, and even file formats) reflects values and perspectives, and can shape how others experience your outcome. When someone uses what you create, they’re engaging with your thinking and your understanding of the world around you.

Digital outcomes are created for a purpose by following established processes

Digital outcomes don’t happen by accident. They’re built through purposeful, repeatable processes. Creators gather insights, define a clear purpose, plan, prototype, build, test, and refine to make sure the outcome works well and meets user needs. Following a structured process helps you make informed decisions, manage complexity, and improve quality over time, whether your outcome aims to inform, support, entertain, persuade, or solve a real problem.

The discipline of Digital Technologies embodies auahatanga. Outcomes solve problems and enhance and expand human possibilities.

Digital technologies are more than just tools. They can help people solve real problems, express ideas, and do things that were difficult (or impossible) before. A well-designed digital outcome can support learning, improve access, save time, tell stories, build connection, and create new experiences. When you design and develop an outcome, you’re using creativity and problem solving together to make something that has value for real people in a real context.

All digital technologies are underpinned by algorithms and computer science principles

Behind every digital outcome are logical steps and computer science ideas that make it work, even if what you’re creating looks visual or creative on the surface. Algorithms and principles like input/process/output, sequencing, selection, repetition, data, and rules help your outcome behave the way you intend. Understanding how these ideas work helps you design more effectively, troubleshoot issues, and make smarter decisions as you build, test, and refine your outcome.

NZ CURRICULUM

Digital Technologies Progress Outcomes

Progress Outcome 5

In authentic contexts and with support, students investigate a specialised digital technologies area (for example, digital media, digital information, electronic environments, user experience design, and digital systems) and propose possible solutions to issues they identify.

They independently apply an iterative process to design, develop, store, and test digital outcomes that enable their solutions, identifying, evaluating, prioritising, and responding to relevant social, ethical, and end-user considerations.

They use information from testing and, with increasing confidence, optimise tools, techniques, procedures, and protocols to improve the quality of the outcomes.

They apply evaluative processes to ensure the outcomes are fit-for-purpose and meet end-user requirements.

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