How machines work: App

Machines picture

Using the How Machines Work app

Subject: Design and Technologies

Year level: Year 3 – 4

Strand:
Engineering principles and systems

Sub strand:
3.4 They develop and expand design ideas and communicate these using models and drawings including annotations and symbols.

Link to resource:
http://www.teachingappz.co.uk/listing/how-it-works-machines/

Cross-curriculum priorities and general capabilities:
Literacy, personal and social capability and critical and creative thinking

Links to other learning areas:
Science, History and English

Classroom activity with using the app:
This application is a great assistance for teachers to use in a classroom activity. The app helps reinforce students learning on how machines ‘actually work’. It helps students to discover the different type of machines that surround students in everyday situations and the ones that are rare. Students are also able to assemble several different types of vehicles and machines such as a rocket, lawn mover, pump and a hair dryer.

As the app has a massive range of examples it helps the students be able to see how many machines are used in their own lives and how many machines are only able to be worked on as a profession such as engineers and mechanics.

Students are able to learn across a few learning areas such as;  the history of machines; how they are built, who builds them and the maintenance.

This application is perfect for teachers to help assist students in grasping the concept of machines through activity engaging with a visual aid. The use of this app is not only educating the students but they are able to enjoy learning about the machines around them.

How to use the resource 

  • Purchase and download the application
  • Open the app. This will enable directions on how the students navigate through the machines

Great Grub Club: a great way to teach healthy eating

Great Grub Club: a great way to teach healthy eating

Great Grub Club

Subject: Health and Design and Technology

 Year Level: Foundation to year 2

Strand: Design and technology knowledge and understanding.

Explore how plants and animals are grown for food, clothing and shelter and how food is selected and prepared for healthy eating (ACTDEK003).

Link:
http://www.greatgrubclub.com/?location_id=348

Cross-curricular links:
Literacy
Critical and creative thinking
Personal and social capability
Intellectual understanding
Sustainability

Link to other learning areas:
Science
Health
Society and environment

How to use in the classroom:
This website is well set out, with colourful attractive headings and images which are make it engaging for young students.  The Great Grub club also contains a number of different lesson plans and resources for teachers on healthy eating and healthy lifestyles. As a result of the numerous resources on this website, it covers most of the content from this strand, such as hygiene and equipment for food preparation as well as healthy food. These resources include Interactive whiteboard activities, recipes and make and do activity ideas.

By exploring the website with students, teachers would be able to explain and highlight the content which students are required to know and understand. The content on this website is organised under a number of different headings, which when opened provide more information and sub headings for students to explore.

One way this site could be used in the classroom is to explore the concept of how food is separated into groups and how to prepare healthy food. The “Keeping healthy” teachers resource provides a number of activities and ideas on how to engage students in this learning. Included in this section is the “healthy plate” activity, which is a perfect way to introduce the topic of food groups, in an interactive and engaging manner. Teachers could then use resources from the website to support and guide students learning as a follow up to this activity.

Finally, it also contains a number of educational games and activities for students to use, to support and develop knowledge and understanding of topic.

Creatorverse – An innovative way of exploring forces and motion.

Creatorverse- An innovative way of exploring forces and motion.

By Sarah-Jane

Source: http://pocketfullofapps.com/2013/04/03/creatorverse-from-linden-lab-is-now-free.html

Source: http://pocketfullofapps.com/2013/04/03/creatorverse-from-linden-lab-is-now-free.html

Subject: Design and technology

Year Level: 3-4 

Strand: Design and technologies knowledge and understanding

Investigate how forces and the properties of materials affect the behaviour of a product system (ACTDEK011)

Link: www.teachingappz.co.uk/listing/creatorverse

Cross-curricular links:

Numeracy

Literacy

Information and technology capability

Critical and creative thinking

Link to other learning areas:

Maths

Science

English

ICT

How to use in the classroom:
This is a paid app available from the App Store. Its bright and colourful content is engaging for students and is easy to use.

When using this app student’s are able to create their own unique, moving inventions. Students are able to add a number of different parts to their inventions such as joints and motors. They can then set their inventions into motion and discover the different ways forces and motions effect their inventions.

As the teacher guide, each student to use the app to create and investigate the effect of different forces on the way an object moves. Creatorverse allows students to explore the concept of forces and the properties of materials and how these affect the way in which an object moves in a somewhat hands-on context.

This resource can be used in a technology and enterprise lesson. Have students look at how movement can be initiated by combining materials and forces. Start by having a class discussion on the concept, then teacher will display on the interactive whiteboard, using an iPad connected to Apple TV. Allow students to use the app to explore the concept individually, and then allow for students to share inventions with others.

Having fun with Numbers and Posters

Happy Girl Hopscotch in Strawberry Free Creative Commons Photo Credit: Pink Sherbet Photography via Compfight

Rationale for Digital Technologies:

Years: 5 and 6
In Year 5 and 6, students develop an understanding of the role individual components of digital systems play in the processing and representation of data (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). Digital Technologies rationale, 2013).

Strand: Digital Technologies Knowledge and Understanding

Sub strand: Representation of Data

Elaboration:
6.2 Investigate how digital systems use whole numbers as a basis for representing all types of data

General Capabilities:
Literacy (LIT), Numeracy (NUM), Information and communication technology (ICT) capability, Critical and creative thinking (CCT), Personal and social capability, Ethical understanding

Subject areas:
Technologies, Mathematics, English, Humanities and Active Citizenship

In-class activities:
Different coloured hair census (whole class activity) (Adaptation of the eye colour census taken from the Australian Bureau of Statistics)

 

Ask the students to form groups of three to create a census survey of how many students in the school have different types of coloured hair that is listed on the census that includes; brown, blonde, red, black or other. The census will also include unnatural hair colours. Each group will be sent out to different classes during their lesson time and go around to different classrooms and year levels to collect their information. For the census they will be asked to record the year level, number of students and count how many people have different coloured hair that correspond to the colours listed on the census. The purpose of the group project is to collect data and then transfer it to a spread sheet document that students have been learning about how to use in previous lessons. Students will be advised to display the information as a table and then use the links within the excel programme to create a pie chart that will show the proportions of how many people have a particular kind of hair colour. Students are expected to transfer and display the information collected from the census. By using digital software students are able to demonstrate their skills and understanding of how they use of digital software to represent data.

Extension:
An extension of this activity would be for the whole class collate all of their census data and transfer the whole class data onto a spread sheet, and display all of their information as a whole school scope pie graph. They could then undergo some scientific research about the reasons behind the different types of hair colour that they see and then write a report using  the Microsoft Word software.  (Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2013).

Resources:

Australian Curriculum links:

Lesson Planning Ideas:

Software links:

 

Photo Credit: Faith Goble via Compfight

Happy Thanksgiving

Design and technologies

Years 5 and 6 Rationale:

Learning in Design and Technologies builds on concepts, skills and processes developed in earlier years, and teachers will revisit, strengthen and extend these as needed.

By the end of Year 6 students will have had the opportunity to create designed solutions at least once in four technologies contexts: Engineering principles and systems, Food and fibre production, Food specialisations and Materials and technologies specialisations. Students should have opportunities to experience designing and producing products, services and environments (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). Design and Technology rationale, 2013)

Strand: Design and Technologies Knowledge and Understanding

Sub strand: Food Specialisations

Elaboration:

6.4. Investigate the role food of food preparation in maintaining good health and the importance of food safety and hygiene (ACTDEK022)

General Capabilities:

Literacy (LIT), Information and communication technology (ICT) capability, Critical and creative thinking (CCT), Personal and social capability, Ethical understanding

Subject areas:

English, Technologies, Civics and citizenship

In-class activities: What should I eat? (Taken from the Good for kids website)

http://www.takeatest.com.au/sitefiles/GoodForKids/documents/Schools/Stage3[1].pdf 

The students work collaboratively in groups of 3 or 4 to brainstorm some ideas of questions related to healthy eating practices, and the importance of it. The teacher will put view the healthy eating guide on the interactive whiteboard and will pose questions to the students about the relevance of the information that is presented on the poster. The students will be given think and share time with other people at their table, and be given 10 minutes to answer the question that is given to them and present their ideas on an A2 piece of paper. Each group will brainstorm their ideas in the form of dot points. The groups will be given time to present their ideas and have a discussion with the class.

Purpose:

The purpose of this activity is to diagnose about what they already know about healthy eating practices, by answering specific questions related to Eating Healthy. They will also develop a deeper understanding of their topic as they brainstorm ideas together, and develop mastery over the topic question.

Extension activity: (In groups of three or four)

The students can be given the task to research a topic related to healthy lifestyles and present their information as a poster. This activity will reinforce and scaffold their current knowledge and understandings about their topic.

Resources:

Links to Australian Curriculum:

Lesson Plan Ideas:

Lesson Plan ideas for Eating Healthy

Teaching Resources:

Healthy eating guide

Websites for teachers resources and information

Healthy Eating Facts

Healthy Checklist Food preparation poster

5 ways to a healthy lifestyle

The Hatchery

Chicks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Creative Commons License
Photo Credit: Laura Canovaro via Compfight

Subject: Digital Technologies

Year Level: Year 2

Strand: Design and Technologies knowledge and understanding

Sub-Strand: Food and fibre production

2.3 Investigate sustainable systems of care for plants and animals that are grown, raised and processed for food, clothing and shelter for an identified purpose

Resource Links:
http://chickscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/explore/embryology/ (life cycle)

http://www.msichicago.org/online-science/videos/video-detail/activities/the-hatchery/ (video of chicks hatching)

Cross Curricular Priorities and General Capabilities:
ICT, Science, Personal and social capability, critical and creative thinking, ethical understanding.

Classroom Activity:
These resources allow students to develop an understanding of how a chick grows and develops within the egg each day during the process. The video shows students how a chick hatches out of the egg.

Moomilk

The Cow Whisperer
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Juan Lois via CompfightSubject: Digital Technologies

Year Level: Year 2

Strand: Design and Technologies Knowledge and Understanding

Sub-strand: Food and Fibre Production

2.3: Investigate sustainable systems of care for plants and animals that are grown, raised and processed for food, clothing and shelter for an identified purpose

Resource Links:

http://www.moomilk.com/virtual-tour

http://www.discoverdairy.com/

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s2252434.htm

Cross-curricular Priorities & General Capabilities:

ICT, Science, English, Personal and social capability, Critical and creative thinking, Ethical understanding.

Classroom Activity:
As a whole class activity, students will gather information from provided digital resources about how cows are cared for and how the milk we buy at the supermarket is produced. Students will then produce a poster that illustrates the process of how milk is produced from the farm to the supermarket shelf. Students will also be encouraged to consider how the animals are looked after, which will develop personal ideas about animal welfare. This can be further developed through appropriately selected literature that allows students to explore and develop an understanding through discussion and the sharing of experiences of the ethical treatment of animals.

 

Technology at work

Technologies At Work

Subject: Technologies

Strand: Design Technologies

Year level: K-5

Substrand: Technology and society

  • Recognise factors that impact on the design of products, services and environment includes meeting local community needs

Link:
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/technology-at-work-2.cfm

Links to other areas:

  • Literacy
  • Art
  • History

Overview:

This is a great activity that allows students to explore how modern technology has benefited humans/society. It also explores the negative effects technology has on society. A great extension activity or follow-up lesson is to have students explore, generate and design solutions to these problems.

Native Webquest and ShowMe app!

Brightness
Photo Credit: Marina del Castell via Compfight

Subject: Design and Technologies

Year Level: 7

Strand: Design and Technologies – Processes and Production Skills

Sub strand: Using Digital Technologies

8.8 Generate, develop, evaluate and communicate design ideas, plans and processes for identified needs using manual and digital technologies and collaborative techniques.

Link to Source:
http://science.uniserve.edu.au/school/quests/nativeplants.html

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/showme-interactive-whiteboard/id445066279?mt=8

Cross curriculum priorities: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures

General capabilities: Intercultural understanding (ICU), Critical and creative thinking (CCT), Ethical understanding (EU), Personal and social capability (PSC), Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Literacy (LIT), Numeracy (NUM).

Links to other learning areas: Science, History, Maths

Overview:
This activity integrates two digital technology resources: Web Quest and ShowMe app.

Firstly, in small groups students will take part in a Web Quest. The Web Quest is an authentic, fun and engaging activity that requires the students to take on different roles whilst encouraging higher order thinking, communication and cooperative learning skills. It is easily accessible for teachers and students and is free.  The Web Quest also offers a direct link to an online dictionary if the students find some of the words and reading challenging.

This Web Quest requires students to explore and investigate plants used by Australian Aborigines for food, shelter, medicine and utensils, and the technology they employed to fully utilise the resources available. Groups will then work as a team to design a garden for their school that will illustrate the native Australian plants and their uses by the Aborigines. During the Web Quest students are required to answer questions, take notes and highlight any important information that will assist them when deciding on the type of plants they believe should be included in their school’s garden e.g., some plants are easy to obtain and grow while others are very difficult because of climate conditions ( will they need a lot of shade or sun).

To create and present their garden, students will use the ShowMe app. This free and easy app allows students to record voices whilst presenting their presentation over a whiteboard. Students can draw or import images from the library, camera or from online resources. The ShowMe allows students to conveniently watch their presentations whenever they want and at any point they can pause or erase. These particular features make it convenient for the teachers to go back and ensure criteria has been met.

How to use the resources:
The Web Quest provides step by step instructions, however teacher scaffolding may be required depending on students needs. I recommend placing students into teams with varying learning abilities. Prior to the Web Quest I would ensure the students are familiar with the ShowMe app. Although the app is very easy to use, some students may need support.

 

 

Tellagami & WebDAV

Tellagami 

Subject: Digital Technologies

Description: This iPad/ iPhone application allows students to present information in a different way. Students can access their camera roll to select a photo to use at the background or simply select a preset one through the app. The avatar can be customised with selections for clothing, gender, size as well as facial expressions. Students can record their own voice or type text which will be converted to audio. When the audio is played, the avatar moves as if they are speaking. The finished product can be saved to the camera roll.

Link to curriculum: 2.6 Visualise, generate, develop and communicate design ideas through describing, drawing and modelling

Year level: Years F-2

Strand: Design and Technologies processes and production skills

Sub strand: Generating

Cross curriculum priorities: Critical and creative thinking, Information and communication technology, Literacy

Links to other learning areas: English, The Arts

A classroom activity featuring this resource: This app can be used in a variety of tasks, allowing students to share their knowledge in a story telling manner without having to stand up in front of others and present. While studying the life cycle of a butterfly, I have seen this app used as a form of formative assessment with Pre Primary students. Each student had an opportunity to use the iPad independently and describe the life cycle of a butterfly in their own words. This was exciting for them because they were demonstrating their learning in a new way. The teacher then viewed all of the saved animations and judged which stages of the butterfly life cycle had been missed out and what needed to be retaught.

Additional information:
http://ipadlex1.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/tellagami-to-tell-story.html
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tellagami/id572737805?mt=8

WebDAV

WebDAV Navigator

Subject: Digital Technologies

Description: This application is similar to many others in that it is a way to store and access information stored by peers and teachers. It allows for easy sharing of information which increases the students responsibility for their own learning. It also provides teachers with easy access to work which means assessments can be conducted throughout the tasks.

Link to Curriculum:
 6.3 Acquire, store and validate different types of data, and use a range of commonly available software to interpret and visualise data in context to create information

Year level: Years 5-6

Strand: Digital Technologies processes and production skills

Sub strand: Collecting, managing and analysing data

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cross curriculum priorities: Information and communication technology

Links to other learning areas: English, Mathematics, Humanities and Social Sciences

A classroom activity featuring this resource: There are countless ways for this app to be used in the classroom, especially if the students have a 1-1 iPad program. It is a way for students to access their work, their peers’ work as well as anything the teacher wishes for them to access to assist with learning activities.

To give an example of the use of this app, students could save results they gathered from an experiment on to the class WebDAV and this data could then be analysed by everyone in the class. This makes it easier to share results and well as peer-assess work.

Additional information:
http://seanashton.net/webdav/
http://ipadlex1.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/webdav.html
https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/webdav-navigator/id382551345?mt=8

Prezi

image

Year level – 5-6

Strand – Design and Technologies Processes and Production Skills

Sub-strand – Generating a range of design ideas for products, services or environments using prior knowledge, skills and  research

Link to resource: http://prezi.com/

Cross-curricular priorities and general capabilities – Literacy, numeracy, ICT, critical and creative thinking, personal and social capability, ethical capability, sustainability.

Links to other learning areas – Can be used for all learning areas

Overview:
Prezi presentation software can be used on personal computers or iPad devices. It is cloud based therefore can be accessed and presented from any device. You will need to register for a free account in order to use Prezi, however you can save all your documents in one place. One of the main features of Prezi is that you can zoom through your presentation and visually explain how your ideas relate. There are many other design features to make your presentation captivating and engaging. You are able to add images from the internet or from your personal files. Another great feature of Prezi is that groups can work together and access the Prezi they are working on from a number of devices.

Using the resource:
 Once you have created a free account you begin by selecting a template suited to your topic or create your own to suit your topic. It is an easy to use resource which can be used individually or as a group. Once you have created your prezi all you need to do is present it.