DIGITAL SCIENCES

A new subject: Digital Sciences

What are Digital Sciences?

Since September 2021, the new subject “Digital Sciences” (“Sciences numériques”) is tested in 18 schools in Luxembourg.
Since September 2022 the subject has become part of the official curriculum in the classes 7ESC, 7ESG and 7VP.

A new high school subject, Digital sciences, for lower secondary classes, cultivates the wide range of skills that give access to the digital world. The activities proposed for one lesson per week, preferably in the form of project slots, revolve around six themes

  • communication with machines and between machines (algorithms, etc.) ;
  • the world wide web and its challenges (critical thinking, cyber security, ethics)
  • computer data and its management (databases, connected objects)
  • the game, analog or digital, (gaming, progammation, computational thinking, collaboration);
  • robots and their programming;
  • artificial intelligence.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Find the original text here.

Here and there you come across sites or documents that could be useful for this subject. An (incomplete) collection can be found on this website.

THE SIX THEMATIC ArEaS

MY DIGITAL WORLD AND ME

This thematic area is about how to raise awareness of the issues involved in using and communicating with machines. It covers topics such as algorithmic logic, problem solving, human-machine communication, search engines and the diversity of possible outcomes. In short, this thematic axis aims to help students better understand their digital world and communicate effectively with machines.

This text has mainly been written by AI (chatPDF.com).

THE WORLD WIDE WEB AND ME

This thematic area aims to increase the student’s awareness and knowledge about the World Wide Web. It consists of six lessons that are divided into three main topics: awareness of the potential dangers of the internet, an introduction to how it works, and how to create a website of your own. Throughout this axis, the student will learn about privacy, security, data protection, ethics, critical thinking, web architecture, HTML and CSS.

This text has mainly been written by AI (chatPDF.com).

DO YOU SPEAK INFORMATIQUE?

This area is a guide to understanding the basics of computing and data. It covers topics such as the digital representation of images, data compression and encryption, and the use of data in Big Data and the Internet of Things. The document also provides practical exercises to help build computer skills. In summary, this document aims to raise awareness of the different concepts of data that exist and how they are used in our daily lives.

This text has mainly been written by AI (chatPDF.com).

THE GAME, ANALOG OR DIGITAL

This thematic area is about games and game design. Students learn to distinguish between different types of games, understand the concepts of rules and game mechanics, and identify the four types of players identified by Bartle. They are also able to analyse games using Huizinga’s “Magic Circle” and to name their main characteristics. Students can develop their own game concept and implement it as an analogue or digital prototype using Scratch.

This text has mainly been written by AI (chatPDF.com).

ROBOTS: PARTNERS FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE?

This thematic area aims to raise students’ awareness of the usefulness of robotics in our world today. Students learn about robots, how they work and what they are used for, and the skills needed to work with them. They also think about sequential programming and conceptualise their own robot to solve a problem in everyday life. The axis also addresses issues such as the differences between humans and robots, and their respective strengths and weaknesses.

This text has mainly been written by AI (chatPDF.com).

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

This thematic area will raise awareness and introduces students to artificial intelligence (AI) and its basic mechanisms such as machine learning and bias. Students discover the presence of AI in their daily lives, get to know its definition and basic terms, experiment with how it works, understand the challenges of its use and imagine the future uses of new AI.

This text has mainly been written by AI (chatPDF.com).