Computer Studies
ICD2O
Digital Technology and Innovations in the Changing World
This course helps students develop cutting-edge digital technology and computer programming skills that will support them in contributing to and leading the global economic, scientific and societal innovations of tomorrow. Students will learn and apply coding concepts and skills to build hands-on projects and investigate artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and other emerging digital technologies that connect to a wide range of fields and careers. Using critical thinking skills with a focus on digital citizenship, students will investigate the appropriate use and development of the digital technologies that they encounter every day, as well as the benefits and limitations of these technologies.
Tuition
$580
One Ontario credit, enrolled online.
- Grade
- 10
- Credit
- 1.0
- Delivery
- Online
No prerequisite. Open to all eligible students.
About this course
This course helps students develop cutting-edge digital technology and computer programming skills that will support them in contributing to and leading the global economic, scientific and societal innovations of tomorrow. Students will learn and apply coding concepts and skills to build hands-on projects and investigate artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and other emerging digital technologies that connect to a wide range of fields and careers. Using critical thinking skills with a focus on digital citizenship, students will investigate the appropriate use and development of the digital technologies that they encounter every day, as well as the benefits and limitations of these technologies.
What you'll learn
Learn coding concepts and apply them to build hands-on programming projects.
Investigate emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and the fields they connect to.
Examine the benefits and limits of the digital tools you use every day.
Develop the judgment and digital-citizenship skills to use technology responsibly.
Curriculum expectations
The overall expectations set by the Ontario curriculum, grouped by strand. Drawn from The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9–10: Computer Studies (2023).
A. Computational Thinking and Making Connections
- A1apply computational thinking concepts and practices, and use various tools and processes to plan and develop computational artifacts for a wide variety of contexts, users, and purposes
- A2demonstrate an understanding of important social, cultural, economic, environmental, and ethical issues, as well as contributions and innovations involving diverse local and global communities, related to digital technology
- A3demonstrate an understanding of real-world applications of digital technology and programming, including within various industries and careers
B. Hardware, Software, and Innovations
- B1demonstrate an understanding of the functions and features of the hardware and software they encounter in their everyday life
- B2demonstrate an understanding of various ways to use hardware, software, and file management, and of research practices to support their own use of digital technology
- B3demonstrate an understanding of safe and effective practices related to data and cybersecurity in various contexts
- B4investigate current and emerging innovations in digital technology, including automation and artificial intelligence, and assess their benefits and limitations
C. Programming
- C1explain fundamental programming concepts and algorithms
- C2use fundamental programming concepts to write simple programs
- C3demonstrate an understanding of program components and modules
How you'll study
- DeliveryOnline
- Delivered fully online through Vaughan College's learning platform, with live teacher support. Online students can also call into the live in-person classroom through Google Classroom anytime they want extra guidance.
- Fast-trackAvailable
- Complete the credit in a condensed schedule. Useful for upgrading, course recovery, or summer acceleration.
- Credit value1.0 OSSD credit
- Counts toward the 30 credits required for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma.
Assessment and evaluation
Every Vaughan College course follows Ontario’s Growing Success policy. Assessment is continuous: teachers gather evidence of learning through observation, conversation, and student work, and give feedback that helps a student improve before the work is graded.
Evaluation — the judgement that produces a mark — measures achievement of the Ontario curriculum expectations across four categories: Knowledge and Understanding, Thinking, Communication, and Application. A student’s grade reflects how well they have met the expectations, with greatest weight given to their most consistent and most recent work.
The final grade
The final percentage grade is based on two parts. Seventy percent comes from work completed throughout the course, weighted toward more recent and more consistent achievement. The remaining thirty percent comes from a final evaluation near the end of the course — an examination, performance, essay, or other culminating task suited to the subject.
Grades are reported against the provincial standard, where Level 3 (70 to 79 percent) represents the standard expected of students at that grade. A grade of 50 percent or higher earns the credit.
The report card
Achievement is reported on the Ontario Provincial Report Card, which records the percentage grade and the credit earned for each course. Grades for completed credits carry forward onto the Ontario Student Transcript, the official record used for graduation and post-secondary admission.
The report card also reports six learning skills and work habits, separately from the academic grade: responsibility, organisation, independent work, collaboration, initiative, and self-regulation. These describe how a student approaches their learning, and universities and colleges do read them.
Considerations for program planning
The Ontario curriculum asks every course to account for a set of cross-curricular considerations — the ways a subject connects to students’ broader development and to the world beyond the classroom. They shape how each course is planned and taught.
Students with special education needs
Teachers plan for the full range of learners. Where a student has an Individual Education Plan, the accommodations, modifications, or alternative expectations it sets out are built into how the course is taught and assessed, so the student can demonstrate learning in the way that works for them.
English language learners
Students who are still developing their English receive scaffolding — adjusted materials, extra time, and language support — while working toward the same curriculum expectations. Assessment separates what a student knows and can do from their stage of English acquisition.
Environmental education
Wherever the subject allows, coursework draws connections to the environment and sustainability, helping students understand how the topics they study relate to the natural world and their responsibilities within it.
Healthy relationships
Every course contributes to a school culture built on respect. Students practise the communication and collaboration skills that underpin healthy, equitable relationships with peers and teachers.
Equity and inclusive education
Materials and discussion reflect a range of experiences and perspectives so every student sees themselves in the work. An inclusive classroom holds high expectations for all learners and treats difference as a strength.
Financial literacy
Where it fits the subject, students apply mathematical and analytical thinking to real financial questions — budgeting, credit, and informed decision-making — so the skills carry into life after graduation.
Literacy, mathematical literacy, and inquiry skills
Reading, writing, oral communication, numeracy, and structured inquiry are developed in every subject, not only in English and mathematics. These are the cross-curricular skills that make learning in every other course possible.
Critical thinking and critical literacy
Students learn to weigh evidence, question assumptions, and interpret what they read, watch, and hear — distinguishing fact from opinion and recognising point of view and bias.
The role of the school library
Library and information resources support research and independent reading. Students learn to locate, evaluate, and use sources responsibly, building the research habits that post-secondary study assumes.
Information and communications technology
Technology is used to support learning and to build the digital skills students need, alongside an understanding of how to work online safely, responsibly, and with attention to their own well-being.
Education and career/life planning
Coursework helps students connect what they are learning to their goals beyond high school, so each credit is a step in a deliberate plan rather than an isolated requirement.
Cooperative education and experiential learning
Where a subject supports it, hands-on and experiential learning connect classroom study to real settings, giving students a clearer sense of how the material is used in work and in the community.
Health and safety
In any course involving activity, equipment, or materials, safe practice is taught and expected. Students learn the procedures that protect themselves and others.
Ethics
Many subjects raise questions of right and wrong. Students learn to examine ethical issues thoughtfully, consider more than one position, and support a view with reasons — including academic honesty in their own work.
Teaching and learning at Vaughan College
Courses are taught in small classes, which lets teachers adapt to how each student learns. A single lesson might combine direct instruction, discussion, independent practice, collaborative work, and hands-on or inquiry-based tasks, chosen to suit the material and the students in the room.
Students receive regular, specific feedback and can move at a pace that fits their goals, whether they are working ahead, recovering a credit, or balancing school with other commitments. The aim is that every student understands not just what they are learning, but why it matters and where it leads.
In-class learning, from anywhere
Be in the classroom from anywhere in the world.
Some of our online courses run alongside a live class in our Vaughan classroom, and which ones changes each semester. When a course offers it, you’ll see a Live now tag on the course or a Hybrid toggle on its page. Turn it on and you can join the real in-person lesson through Google Classroom instead of a separate online-only section, with the same teacher as it happens. Add it when you enrol or anytime after; in-person students can join the same way on the days they study from home.
Next Step
Ready to add this credit?
Add the course to your cart for enrolment, or speak with our admissions team about pathway sequencing, prerequisites, and credit equivalency from a previous school.