Digital Society Command Terms
Assessment components of the IB DP DIGITAL SOCIETY course use specific command terms that direct students to demonstrate their learning and understanding across multiple levels of increasing complexity. IB DS examination questions and assessment tasks use command terms. DIGITAL SOCIETY command terms used in the course are indicated and defined below.
AO1: Knowledge & Understanding Definitions
Define = Give the precise meaning of a word, phrase, concept or physical quantity.
Identify = Provide an answer from a number of possibilities.
Describe = Give a detailed account.
Outline = Give a brief account or summary.
State = Give a specific name, value or other brief answer without explanation or calculation.
AO2: Application & Analysis Definitions
Analyse = Break down in order to bring out the essential elements or structure.
Distinguish = Make clear the differences between two or more concepts or items.
Explain = Give a detailed account including reasons or causes.
Suggest = Propose a solution, hypothesis or other possible answer.
AO3: Evaluation & Synthesis Definitions
Compare = Give an account of the similarities between two (or more) items or situations, referring to both (all) of them throughout.
Compare & Contrast = Give an account of similarities and differences between two (or more) items or situations, referring to both (all) of them throughout.
Contrast = Give an account of the differences between two (or more) items or situations, referring to both (all) of them throughout.
Discuss = Offer a considered and balanced review that includes a range of arguments, factors or hypotheses. Opinions or conclusions should be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.
Examine = Consider an argument or concept in a way that uncovers the assumptions and interrelationships of the issue.
Evaluate = Make an appraisal by weighing up the strengths and limitations.
Justify = Give valid reasons or evidence to support an answer or conclusion.
Recommend = Present an advisable course of action with appropriate supporting evidence/reason in relation to a given situation, problem or issue.
To what extent = Consider the merits or otherwise of an argument or concept. Opinions and conclusions should be presented clearly and supported with appropriate evidence and sound argument.
AO1: Knowledge & Understanding ~ Example Questions & Responses
Q. Define machine learning in a health-related context.
R. Design a meme demonstrating understanding of machine learning in the assigned context.
Q. Identify autonomous technologies useful in education.
R. Compile a photomontage of smart devices found in the school.
Q. Describe the role of digital media in your everyday life.
R. Partner with a classmate and describe three forms of digital media you encounter on a daily basis.
Q. Outline the history of computers.
R. Create a timeline of six generations of computer history.
Q. State the name of an important digital innovation.
R. With classmates, conduct a question-and-answer guessing game based on your chosen innovation. After twenty questions, state the name of the innovation.
AO2: Application & Analysis ~ Example Questions & Responses
Q. Analyse what happens when a piece of online content goes viral.
R. Create a visual map that breaks down the process of an online video gaining rapid popularity.
Q. Distinguish two disciplinary perspectives on the future of work.
R. Perform a roleplaying exercise in which you and a partner take on the perspectives of an economist and a sociologist.
Q. Explain a negative impact on mental health related to the internet.
R. Record a short podcast that showcases the relationship between online social media and anxiety.
Q. Suggest a quick fix to a digital design flaw that you have encountered with one of your digital devices.
R. Provide an elevator pitch presentation to your classmates showcasing your proposed solution.
AO3: Evaluation & Synthesis ~ Example Questions & Responses
Q. Compare two technological revolutions.
R. Design a digital presentation that explores the similarities between the industrial and the digital revolution.
Q. Compare and contrast the stance of two different platforms on user privacy.
R. Create an online game that allows users to match relevant terms of service language with each platform.
Q. Contrast analogue and digital recorded music.
R. Hold a listening party with classmates to explore the differences between a song played on a vinyl record and the same track provided by an online streaming service.
Q. Discuss how digital technologies make growing up in the 2020s distinctive from the 1980s.
R. Interview someone who grew up in the 1980s (or before) and document their memories of a pre-internet childhood. Share your interview with peers.
Q. Examine the claim that technology is ethically neutral.
R. Select an older technological innovation, such as the lightbulb, and examine its impact over time according to the perspectives of two different ethical approaches.
Q. Evaluate what is more important for a historian to consider: qualitative or quantitative data.
E. Select an event in the recent past and compile two sets of data — qualitative and quantitative. Invite your classmates to explore these resources and discuss which is most valuable and why.
Q. Justify a company’s choice to de-platform one of its users.
R. Create a mind map that highlights all of the possible reasons that may be used by a platform to remove a user.
Q. Recommend some ways that student perspectives might be considered in the development of a school’s technology policy.
R. Conduct student-led focus groups that explore a draft technology policy and use feedback to create a list of next steps and recommendations.
Q. To what extent is computational thinking a form of critical thinking?
R. Research the history of both terms and hold a classroom symposium that discusses the usefulness of each for contemporary young people.