Author: michellewilson4

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Technology as if people and planet mattered

Technology saving millions of lives.

As simple as a smoke extraction system?

Over four million people die each year after inhaling smoke from kitchen stoves and fires.

Most victims are women and young children. But these are deaths that could be prevented – using simple solutions.  

Have you been looking for authentic content?

Technology as if people and planet mattered – catchy title? I was hooked…

Who would have ever known that the world of Technology was so HUGE!  It’s not really enough to write just one or two blog posts for a university assignment, to reflect the distraction that all this new information has inflicted on my days.

With a strong passion for justice and equity I am thankful for the Australian Curriculum, General Capabilities for giving me permission to incorporate Ethical Understanding, Intercultural Understanding, Personal & Social capability and Creative and Critical thinking into my professional life as a teacher. Whilst I am thanking the Australian Curriculum, let’s say YAY!! for the Cross-Curricular Priority of Sustainability.

If you are looking to broaden your perspectives on Technology and its uses, check out this website. http://practicalaction.org

“Practical Action is an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) that uses technology to challenge poverty in developing countries.

We find out what people are doing and help them to do it better. Through technology we enable poor communities to build on their skills and knowledge to produce sustainable and practical solutions- transforming their lives forever and protecting the world around them”.

Subject:                 Design and Technologies

Year Level:          Teachers of all year levels

Strand:                  Knowledge and understanding 

Sub strand:         Technologies and society

Technologies contexts

  1. Engineering principles and systems,
  2. Food and fibre production
  3. Food specialisations
  4. Materials and technologies specialisations

Strand: Processes and production skill

Sub strand: CREATE SOLUTIONS

  1. Investigating and defining
  2. Designing
  3. Producing and implementing
  4. Evaluating
  5. Collaborating and managing

Using this resource…

Build your content knowledge and be supported with ready-made resources.

Practical Action is just one of many organisations promoting the positive use of technologies in developing countries. It offers many ideas and resources to use as inspiration for your technologies content. A free book (link below) on the subject of social justice is also available through their website. Supporting power point presentations and resources from Practical Action can be found on the TES website.

https://www.tes.com/member/PracticalAction

“A powerful new book sets out the need for looking at technology from human and environmental perspectives, and how to change the status quo”.

http://practicalaction.org/rethink-retool-reboot

Free download of the book at this address

http://www.developmentbookshelf.com/doi/book/10.3362/9781780449043

An article on Technology perspectives from Simon Trace – author of Rethink, Retool, Reboot

https://www.eiuperspectives.economist.com/simon-trace

 

Did you know?

‘that burning an open fire in your kitchen is like burning 400 cigarettes an hour”

Dr Kirk Smith – Professor of Global Environmental Health.

BE CHALLENGED AND BE INSPIRED

 

 

                                            

 

 

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Decoding code without touching a computer.

 

As a novice in the world of coding, I was looking for activities that made sense to me. Starting where most children start their learning journey, I went back to Foundation skills to look for inspiration.

To understand the abstract idea of something (a symbol) representing something else, I searched for concrete materials, to express the idea. What I found was a ‘decoder’.

This is a simple activity you can do with students to teach some basic principles of coding, without touching a computer :). A good confidence builder, children who believe they know nothing about coding, will be provided with opportunities to be successful. Strong links to History – decoders and deciphers were used, pre-computers, to communicate.

Subject:           Digital Technologies

Year Level:      4-5

 Strand:            Knowledge and understanding

Sub strand:      Representation of data

Data can be represented in different ways (ACTDIK008)

Data is represented using codes (ACTDIK015)

Strand:              Processes and production skills

Sub strand:      Producing and implementing

Select, and safely use, appropriate components and equipment to make solutions

To incorporate the use of computers and digital technologies in this activity, children can be directed to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the USA’s website and engage with their online decoding games. The decoding games build on the same principle the children have just explored with their own handmade decoders.

The use of this resource extends and expands the children’s experience with coding in an historical and real world context.

 

Resource links.

 http://frugalfun4boys.com/2014/04/15/code-activity-kids-make-spy-decoder/

 https://www.teacherlists.com/blog/de-coding-coding/

http://igamemom.com/kids-activities-learn-coding-without-computer/

https://www.cia.gov/kids-page/games/break-the-code/code-1.html

General capabilities: Literacy, ICT, Numeracy, Critical & Creative thinking, Personal & Social capability

Links to other learning areas: History, Maths, Art

 

To make a decoder, you will need: 

School technology

  • Cardboard
  • Coloured pencils
  • Scissors
  • A compass
  • A pencil
  • A ruler
  • A paper fastener
  • A fine tip marker

 Step 1:  Cut out three circles per decoder out of cardboard.  You will need one that is 8cm in diameter, one that is 6cm in diameter, and one that is 4cm in diameter.   Note:  The size of the circles is very important!  If you change the size of the decoder, you will have to change the measurements for marking off the letter sections.

Detail is important in this step

 Step 2:  Colour your circles with coloured pencils, if desired.

 Step 3:  On the largest circle, make small pencil marks on the outside edge.  You should end up with 27 sections. Detail is important in this step! 

 Step 4:  Poke a hole through the center of the largest circle and the middle circle.  Attach them with the paper fastener.  The best way to find the middle of the circle is to use the compass. Then, use the ruler to draw a straight line from the paper fastener to each edge mark.  Again, detail is important.  You really want each of the sections to be equal in size, or your decoder will be difficult to use.

 Step 5:  Write the alphabet on the outside circle and put a ? in the 27th section.  For the middle circle, you can either write the alphabet in order or mix it up. Then add the smallest circle to the decoder.

 To write a message:

First, set the code.   There are several ways to set the code.

  1. Set the decoder where the “A” on the outside circle matches the first letter of the day of the week.
  2. Use a “code word” with each message and set the decoder where “A” on the red circle matches the first letter of the code word.
  3. Or, come up with your own system!

To write a message, find the letter you want on the outside (red) circle and write down the corresponding letter on the middle (blue) circle.

 To read a message, find the letter on the middle (blue) circle, and write down the corresponding letter from the outside (red) circle.

Have fun decoding 🙂