In many classrooms across Aotearoa, digital devices are woven into everyday learning. Tamariki use spelling apps, play maths games, or practise literacy online. These tools can be helpful, but often they keep learners in the role of consumers — passively clicking and responding rather than actively designing, building, and problem-solving.

The Digital Technologies curriculum challenges us to move beyond digital literacy. It asks us to help tamariki develop computational thinking, design skills, and confidence in creating with technology. That shift doesn’t require a total classroom overhaul — it’s about small, intentional changes that add up to big impact.

Here are 10 detailed ways to move your learners from consuming to creating, supported by free, curriculum-aligned resources inside the Digital Pīkau 🎒.

“Before choosing a platform, ask: What role will my learners take? Will they be passive, or will they be active creators?”

1. Go back to the curriculum

Each Digital Pīkau resource page includes curriculum links, suggested age and difficulty level, as well as links to other curriculum areas.

It’s easy to assume that if tamariki are on devices, they’re doing “digital technologies.” But most of the time, they’re building digital literacy — important, but not the same as Digital Technologies. Apps that drill spelling words or websites that serve up maths practice don’t hit the Computational Thinking or Designing and Developing Digital Outcomes progress outcomes.

The DT curriculum expects tamariki to understand how computers work and create digital products. This could look like:

Writing algorithms to direct a robot.
Using Scratch to program an interactive story.
Designing a website prototype or digital artwork.

When planning, start by asking: Which progress outcome am I targeting? Then select tools and activities that build that skill.
The Digital Pīkau makes this simple, with resources having links to Progress Outcomes on each page as well as cross-curriculum links and suggested age groups.

The takeaway: Being intentional about curriculum outcomes ensures digital learning is about creating knowledge, not just consuming content.

2. Start with a kaupapa or theme

Learners are more engaged when their mahi connects to a meaningful kaupapa. Anchoring digital projects in a theme helps you integrate across curriculum areas while grounding the work in culture, identity, and real-world relevance.

For example, a Matariki kaupapa could include:

Science: exploring the stars.
Literacy: retelling pūrākau connected to te Iwa o Matariki.
DT: navigating the constellation with Bee-Bots or designing a 3D star map in Tinkercad.

An Anzac Day kaupapa could connect history with digital design, like creating a Remembrance Poppy Pin in 3D.

When DT learning is connected to kaupapa, it doesn’t feel like “one more subject” — it becomes a powerful lens for exploring culture, science, history, and more.

👉 Browse Digital Pīkau blogs for examples of kaupapa-aligned activities.

The takeaway: Themes make DT projects meaningful and memorable, weaving them seamlessly into the wider curriculum.

3. Go unplugged

Sometimes the best way to teach digital skills is by stepping away from the screen. Unplugged computational thinking activities let tamariki practise problem-solving, sequencing, and algorithms in tactile, playful ways. This helps them “think like a computer” before they ever code one.

For example, our Sorting a Timeline resource uses historical dates to explore sorting algorithms. Learners shuffle cards, compare data, and organise information, mirroring the exact process computers use. Other unplugged activities can involve giving each other step-by-step instructions, acting out “programs,” or designing grid-based navigation puzzles.

These experiences are powerful because they remove the distraction of screens. Tamariki focus purely on logic, precision, and collaboration. Once they return to coding, they have a stronger conceptual foundation.

The takeaway: Unplugged learning builds the mental models tamariki need to confidently code, design, and problem-solve later on.

4. Teach digital design skills explicitly

The myth of the “digital native” often makes us assume tamariki already know how to use tech creatively. In reality, most can swipe, tap, and watch, but fewer can plan a shot, record quality audio, or edit a sequence. These are learned skills that need teaching, just like writing or maths.

Start small:

Photography: Show learners how light, angle, and focus affect storytelling.
Audio: Teach clear enunciation, reducing background noise, and basic editing.
Video: Model storyboarding, shot sequencing, and trimming.

These skills underpin all forms of digital creation. A podcast requires good audio. A Scratch animation benefits from understanding composition. A documentary needs editing know-how.

👉 Try Accessible Gaming with Makey Makey, where tamariki design custom controllers and practise applying design skills to real prototypes. Or our DIY Photobooth to start having fun and honing the photography skills.

The takeaway: Creativity flourishes when tamariki have strong foundations in digital design. Don’t assume — teach the skills directly.

5. Build solid foundations first

Integration is the ultimate goal — weaving DT across curriculum areas. But before learners can integrate, they need solid foundations. Computational thinking, coding basics, and design skills should be taught explicitly before tamariki are asked to apply them in complex, cross-curricular contexts.

This means siloing DT at the start. Run unplugged activities to introduce sequencing and algorithms. Teach block coding with Scratch Jr before asking students to create full games. Practise simple design tasks with Tinkercad before attempting big projects.

With strong foundations, tamariki are more confident and willing to take creative risks. Without them, cross-curricular projects can feel overwhelming, leading to frustration instead of innovation.

👉 Start with our introductory unplugged resources before moving into integration.

The takeaway: Strong foundations empower tamariki to create with confidence, ensuring complex projects are exciting rather than overwhelming.

6. Define your creative space

Classroom culture begins with language and environment. Creating a “Makerspace” or “Creatorspace” signals to tamariki that technology use is different here: it’s about designing, tinkering, and inventing. This doesn’t need to be a whole room with fancy equipment; it could be a shelf with digital tools, a corner of the classroom, or even a time of day where the kaupapa is creating.

When tamariki hear the word “Makerspace,” they expect to be active. This shift in framing encourages them to take risks, collaborate, and experiment. You can even co-design the space with your students. Ask them what tools they need to create, what rules should guide the space, or what kind of projects they’d like to try.

👉 Explore our starter resources to stock your classroom “pīkau” with accessible entry points for creation.

The takeaway: Naming and framing helps learners shift their mindset from passive to active. They’re no longer just “using” tech, they’re creating with purpose.

7. Inspire with real-world examples

Tamariki are motivated when they see technology making an impact. Show them stories like the WasteShark robot, which collects rubbish from waterways, or local companies that’ve designed digital solutions for real-world issues. Examples show that digital tools aren’t just for fun — they’re for solving problems and shaping the future.

Link real-world examples to classroom projects. If learners see robots cleaning oceans, challenge them to design a Bee-Bot that cleans up a classroom grid. If they see a digital artwork raising awareness, encourage them to make their own using Scratch or Tinkercad.

👉 Use the Digital Pīkau blog for inspiration tied to kaupapa like Matariki and Anzac Day.

The takeaway: When tamariki understand the “why” behind creation, their projects move beyond tasks into purposeful innovation.

8. Swap apps for creation platforms

Many classroom devices are locked into consumer mode: apps that drill, websites that quiz, or games that entertain. These can reinforce skills but rarely encourage creativity. Making the swap means choosing tools where tamariki build their own digital outcomes.

Examples:

Instead of just playing an educational game, have learners design one in Scratch.
Instead of just watching a story, use Scratch Jr to code one.
Instead of just completing digital worksheets, use a design platform like Tinkercad to create something original.

This doesn’t mean abandoning apps entirely; it means balancing consumption with creation. The goal is for learners to see themselves not just as users of technology, but as makers of it.

The takeaway: Prioritise platforms where tamariki produce, not just consume.

9. Explore creative tools across the curriculum

Digital creation is not confined to “tech time”; it’s a tool for deep learning across the curriculum. Coding, robotics, and design can support literacy, maths, science, and the arts.

Some ideas:

Literacy: Use Scratch Jr to retell pūrākau or create interactive narratives.
Maths: Program robots to navigate grids, practising coordinates and angles.
Science: Use Tinkercad to model structures or design experiments.
Arts: Combine photography, audio, and Scratch animation to create digital performances.

👉 Explore Scratch Jr, Scratch, Tinkercad, and Bots inside the Digital Pīkau.

The takeaway: When DT becomes a creative medium across subjects, tamariki practise computational thinking in meaningful, integrated ways.

10. Choose tools that put tamariki in the driver’s seat

Not all technology is equal. Reflect on whether your chosen tools place learners in the role of responders or creators. Spelling apps and Kahoots make students consumers. Scratch, Tinkercad, and Bee-Bots position them as designers, programmers, and problem-solvers.

Before choosing a platform, ask: What role will my learners take? Will they be passive, or will they be active creators?

👉 Our Software & Hardware Spotlights can help identify tools that empower tamariki to design and build.

Unpack them here: Bee-Bots / Blue-Bots, Sphero, Scratch / ScratchJr

The takeaway: The tools you choose directly shape whether your class consumes or creates.

✨ Final thoughts
Shifting from consuming to creating doesn’t happen all at once, but with intentional steps, you’ll see tamariki grow in confidence, creativity, and computational thinking. By planning with the curriculum, scaffolding design skills, and giving learners meaningful kaupapa, you’re equipping them not just to use technology, but to shape it.

🎒 Dive into more free, Aotearoa-specific resources inside the Digital Pīkau.

10 Top Tips To Move Tamariki From Consuming Tech to Creating