Featured image for “Creative CAT Projects Inspired by Checkers Mini Shop Stickies”

Creative CAT Projects Inspired by Checkers Mini Shop Stickies

Turning Checkers Mini Shop Mania into Meaningful CAT Lessons It all started rather innocently. My wife and I began collecting the Checkers Mini Shop Stickies for our nine-month-old son — and before we knew it, we were completely hooked. Each new mini sparked a bit of excitement (and maybe a
Featured image for “Struggling to Come Up with Exam-Worthy CAT Theory Questions? Say No More, Teacher!”

Struggling to Come Up with Exam-Worthy CAT Theory Questions? Say No More, Teacher!

Let’s be honest — writing exam questions can sometimes feel like trying to get your printer to work five minutes before moderation. You’ve got the CAPS document open, Bloom’s taxonomy verbs all over your desktop, and somehow your caffeine level isn’t helping your creativity. If you’ve ever found yourself thinking,
Featured image for “Turning Theory into Adventure: Why I Gave This CAT Game as Homework (and Why You Should Too!)”

Turning Theory into Adventure: Why I Gave This CAT Game as Homework (and Why You Should Too!)

As a CAT teacher, I’m always on the lookout for new ways to bring theory to life in a way that’s fun, memorable, and genuinely exciting for learners. Let’s be honest — we all know that explaining things like storage units or input/output devices can sometimes feel a bit dry
Featured image for “Burned Out and Logged On: The Untold Struggles of a CAT Teacher”

Burned Out and Logged On: The Untold Struggles of a CAT Teacher

We teach learners how to survive the digital world. But who helps us survive it?As CAT teachers, we often carry more than just lesson plans. We carry cables, crash reports, forgotten passwords, corrupted files, broken printers, and late-night panic messages from learners who “swear they saved their PAT.” We’re the
Featured image for “Assessments That Don’t Suck: Creative PAT Ideas That Still Meet the IEB Standards”

Assessments That Don’t Suck: Creative PAT Ideas That Still Meet the IEB Standards

Let’s be honest—by the time we reach Term 2 and learners hear “PAT,” half the class has already mentally checked out. For many learners, the Practical Assessment Task (PAT) feels like a never-ending mountain of Word reports, Excel sheets, and Access databases that somehow manage to drain the joy out
Featured image for “Ctrl + Alt + AI: Rebooting the CAT Classroom”

Ctrl + Alt + AI: Rebooting the CAT Classroom

Let’s be honest—when we first signed up to teach Computer Applications Technology, we thought we’d mastered the curriculum the moment we could rattle off the difference between RAM and ROM. But now? Artificial Intelligence has entered the chat, and suddenly, we’re all Googling terms like machine learning, natural language processing,