Stage 3 – Digital Technologies

Stage 3 of the Digital Technologies strand focuses on understanding the role individual components of digital systems play in processing and representing data. Students design, modify and follow algorithms involving branching and iteration. Stage 3 of this strand further develops students’ knowledge and understanding of project management, abstraction and the relationship between models and the real-world systems they represent.

Your Task:

As we return from our school holidays we have heard devastating stories associated with recent bushfires. There has been loss of life and family homes. Many people had their holidays effected by the bushfires. Some were caught in them during their holidays and had to be shortened or did not go away at all, while others were affected by the smoke and ash. You are tasked with exploring the recent bushfire crisis. You are to follow the engineering design process and you must record your journey along each step.

• Define the problem - What have you heard from parents, friends, on the TV or Radio about bushfire problems. What problems did people face? What problem is of greatest concern to you? How can this be avoided in the future? Interview family members what is the greatest area of need?

• Do your research - You need to find out about bushfires. Why do they occur? What effects do they have? Look at processors associated with them from around the world? What already exists to help people? Could these be used or adapted?

• Develop possible solutions - Once you have decided on a core problem you must come up with solutions that could work. You will need a design brief and design ideas. You will need to share these design ideas with the class.

• Design your solution - From your list of possible solutions and feedback from sharing your designs you pick your best solution. You develop planned drawings and diagrams and you construct a logical plan.

• Build a prototype - You follow your plan to make the solution demonstrating technical skills. You must justify any changes to your plan.

• Test it - You test if your prototype works. Does it do what you want it to do? Does it look like how it is meant too?

• Evaluate your solutions - Were you successful? How can it be improved? What impact will your solution have on the area? What did not go well?

Stage 3 – Bush Fires STEAM Project Outline of Lessons

Week 1

Learn about the topic, discuss prior knowledge, share photos and ideas, watch video clips, share stories. Form a team to work together, you want great learning partners who will evenly share the work load and contribute together.

Week 2

Define the Problem – What specific problem are you as a group going to target? Not the topic, but specific problem. Was the communication system the problem, the roads, how to defend a home or farm, how to help a fire fighter actually fight a fire, or something different? Record your work and ideas!

Week 3

Do your research – What materials already exist to fix your problem? How can they be improved? Why aren’t they currently used? What do you need to find out to solve your problem? If you are looking at materials look at burning temperatures, communication systems how far the sound may travel. You as a group need to decide what you need to know. Record what you find and the questions you searched for!

As a group record minimum 30sec maximum 2mins a video outlining what you have done so far! Share it with me!

Week 4

Developing a Solution – Start thinking of ideas to solve your problem. You want plenty! Make sure you have recorded your work. Talk to people about why your ideas would and wouldn’t work, record what they say and what changes you make to your idea because of this. This is the hardest part and it isn’t easy because if it was it would already exist. Today is all about thinking and brainstorming.

Week 5

This week is about the design. You must create a brief outlining your overall goal and what you are doing. Your design specifications. This is your goal in much more detail. What will your real design (not model) need to work? How does it work if it existed? How will it look? You may draw or use an app for visuals or a combination of drawing and apps. Create drawings and diagrams of exactly how you expect it to look, what size it will be and what materials you will use. For a lot of these tasks you will need answers both for the real design and for the model. Find another team and share your idea with them. The team needs to give you feedback on what will and wont work and you must record this information along with what changes you have made based on their feedback.

As a group record minimum 30sec maximum 2mins a video outlining what you have done since your last video! Share it with me!

Week 6

Share your idea with the class showing the work you have completed. The class gives feedback and decides as a group if the group has a solid solution to their idea and can move onto the build stage. Bring in materials for your build.

Week 7

Build a Prototype – Using your design specifications you build your design. Any changes you make must be recorded and listed why you changed. Your plan should look like your model! And what doesn’t should be identified why it doesn’t, justify these changes and try to demonstrate technical skills and abilities.

Week 8

Continue your build and design a way to test if your build is successful? What could your model do to show your design as successful?

As a group record minimum 30sec maximum 2mins a video outlining what you have done since your last video! Share it with me!

Week 9

Test it! What should your model look like or do to be considered successful?

Week 10

Evaluate your project. What went well? What didn’t work? Why? What would you change? How did your group work together? Was the work shared evenly? Now with a design that works have you solved the answer to your problem or is more required for future engineers? Can you make these changes?

As a group record minimum 30sec maximum 2mins a video outlining what you have done since your last video! Share it with me!

Week 11

Share your project with the class. This is your chance to present all the amazing work you have done. Be proud of what you have achieved, congratulations you have just completed an engineering design process!