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IB Digital Society Plan

IB DIGITAL SOCIETY is a two-year course and this is a proposed schedule to cover all the content efficiently and to meet the requirements of the IB. DIGITAL SOCIETY topics are organised into distinct sections:

  • introduction,

  • concepts,

  • content,

  • contexts and

  • HL challenges and interventions.

DIGITAL SOCIETY topics are intended to be studied in an iterative and integrative manner. In this way, all topics can be addressed more than once and considered from multiple perspectives.

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DIGITAL SOCIETY requires 150 teaching and learning hours for SL students and 240 for HL students and is designed to be delivered over two years â€‹and organizes the student journey using the curriculum framework (concepts, content and contexts)

ib dp digital society unit planner guide

Inquiry Unit Planner (Template)

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Unit Tile:

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Time Allocation:

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Resources:

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Concept: 2

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Content: 3

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Contexts: 4

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Inquiry Question: 

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Inquiry Stages:

Stage 1: Inquiry Focus

  • Inquiry Question

  • Initial real-world example(s)

  • Digital Society Content - Define/Explain key digital tech words/tools (demonstrate your depth of knowledge)

  • Digital Society Contexts: Local and global contexts

    • Explore from the perspective of multiple course contexts.

    • Contextual connections bring vibrancy and life to otherwise abstract topics and authentic contexts supports the development of international-mindedness and an awareness of our common humanity.

    • Link current events involving digital technologies and systems to contrasting course contexts.

    • Shifting a course context to stimulate different kinds of inquiry questions or impact analysis.

    • Identifying, challenging and reflecting on contextual bias associated with a real-world example.

 

Stage 2: Exploring with Sources

  • Digital Society Concept:

    • Conceptual understanding is a higher-order outcome and process in which details, events and real-world examples interact with broader, more abstract categories and ideas. This movement between factual, procedural and metacognitive understanding creates powerful new associations that can be transformative. In the social sciences and humanities, conceptual understanding foregrounds the threshold insight that facts are never neutral. In these disciplines, facts are always situated within complex and contested layers of interpretation involving social forces larger than any one individual or community.

    • Conceptual understanding indicates the big ideas (enduring understandings) as well as open-ended big issues (areas for inquiry) worthy of deep thinking and exploration.

    • Conceptual understanding in digital society is not limited to the course concepts. Each concept, however, points to powerful theories and frameworks that are often used in the social sciences.

  • Primary and Secondary Research:

    • Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy and Purpose (CRAAP)

    • Origin, Purpose, Value and Limitation (OPVL)

    • Literature Review

 

Stage 3: Investigation

  • Analysis/evaluation

  • Identify impacts and Implications on people and communities

  • Identify and investigate various perspectives

  • Address COUNTER-CLAIMS (Paper 1 Section B (HL))

 

Stage 4: Reflection and Concluding the Inquiry

  • Identify emerging trends (short-term futures)

  • Identify future developments (longer-term futures)

  • Provide further insights

  • Return to the initial question and respond

  • Make RECOMMENDATIONS & investigate TRADE-OFFs (Paper 3 Question 4 (HL))

 

Stage 5: Sharing Discoveries

  • End of unit test (summative)

  • Project (formative) - consider:

    • Purpose - inform, explain, persuade, etc

    • Audience

    • Venue/platform 

    • Mode and media

    • Organization & communication

    • Coherence - use of media in a compelling, clear and coherent manner

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IB Digitals Society calendar

Digital Society Unit Planner: Content Focus

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YEAR ONE

Unit One: 1.1 What is a digital society?

  • Time Allocation: 2 weeks

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Unit Two: 3.1 Data 

  • Concept: 2.6 Systems

  • Context: 

  • Time Allocation: 4 weeks 

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Unit Three: 3.6 Artificial intelligence

  • Concept: 2.7 Values & Ethics

  • Context: 

  • Time Allocation: 4 weeks

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Unit IA: Internal Assessment ​PART ONE

  • Time Allocation: 2 weeks

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Unit Four: 3.3 Computers

  • Concept: 2.1 Change

  • Context: 

  • Time Allocation: 3 weeks

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Unit Five: 3.5 Media

  • Concept: 2.2 Expression & 2.3 Identity

  • Context: 

  • Time Allocation: 3 weeks

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Unit IA: Internal Assessment ​PART TWO

  • Time Allocation: 2 weeks

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Unit Six: 3.7 Robots and autonomous technologies

  • Concept: 2.4 Power & 2.7 Values & Ethics

  • Context: 

  • Time Allocation: 3 weeks

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Unit Seven: 3.4 Networks and the internet

  • Concept: 2.5 Space

  • Context: 

  • Time Allocation: 3 weeks

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YEAR TWO

Unit Eight: 3.2 Algorithms

  • Concept: 2.3 Identity

  • Context: 

  • Time Allocation: 4 weeks

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Unit HL: HL Extension: Extended Inquiries​

  • Time Allocation: 6 weeks

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Unit IA: Internal Assessment PART THREE​

  • Time Allocation: 2 weeks

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Unit HL: HL Extension: Extended Inquiries​

  • Time Allocation: 6 weeks

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