Design and Technologies / Year 7 and 8 / Knowledge and understanding / Technologies context: Materials and technologies specialisations

Curriculum content descriptions

analyse how characteristics and properties of materials, systems, components, tools and equipment can be combined to create designed solutions (AC9TDE8K06)

Elaborations
  • investigating the significance of hafting in First Nations Australians’ traditional toolkit, including how the characteristics and properties of materials are combined to create a designed solution, for example modern hatchets have seen little innovation since the hafted stone hatchet that combines the benefits of a lever and a wedge to create durable tools that reduce effort
  • investigating aspects of technologies specialisations, for example in architecture, critiquing the design of an existing building to identify features of passive design or, in fashion, evaluating the sustainability of different fibres
  • investigating a broad range of technologies – tools, equipment, processes, materials, systems and components − when designing for a range of technologies contexts, for example analysing the benefits and disadvantages of building an animal shelter such as a dog kennel with wood, metal and synthetic fabric in terms of function, tools and equipment needed to produce it and expected durability
  • considering the ways in which the characteristics and properties of technologies will impact on designed solutions, for example the choice of building materials and housing design in Australia and a country in Asia; the properties of textile fibres and fabrics that determine end use in a range of settings such as architecture, medicine, sport and automotive
  • explaining safe work practices for using specific equipment or materials, for example producing a safety information video that details risk management practices for using tools or equipment including considering how the properties of some materials suit certain designs and may cause harm if manipulated in an unsafe way in the classroom or within a community such as ventilation when sanding timber
  • testing and selecting the most appropriate hand tools, equipment, processes and materials to produce a product, for example a stool or smartphone stand that can be assembled from bending and interlocking cardboard pieces or from wood using a laser cutter or other digital tools
  • investigating carbon fibres (reinforced polymers) and graphite fibres which are strong, stiff, lightweight material used in specialised high-performance products, for example on the design of sporting equipment
General capabilities
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Literacy Literacy
ScOT terms

Systems thinking,  Materials,  Fibres (Materials),  Engineering,  Tools

Video

Smart Water - Precision Irrigation: video

This is a video (5:08 min) about the importance of water to a fully-irrigated 1600ha farming and wine-producing enterprise on the banks of the Murray River and the effectiveness of its fully automated irrigation system. The enterprise is Andrew Peace Wines and the system was developed by WiSA. The video iillustrates viticulture ...

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Industrial design challenge – separating materials lesson

is lesson provides a great introduction to the idea of separating mixtures and enables students to consider separation as a process that operates on macroscopic levels. Students also learn about waste management and recycling processes in Australia. The lesson provides students with an opportunity to engage in hands-on ...

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Engineering solutions for platypus protection

Students learn about the important role engineering plays in conservation. They explore how engineers, industrial designers and ecologists collaborate to mitigate the impact of human activity on different species.

Interactive

Kitchen gardens – sustainability action process (Years 7–10)

This resource guides students through an extended school-based or local investigation focussed on kitchen gardens using the five-step sustainability action process. The resource supports the investigation of a real-world issue or problem. Students develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate and ...

Interactive

Thermal comfort – sustainability action process (Years 7–10)

This thermal comfort learning resource will guide students through an extended school based investigation. Students will develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate and reflect on their success and their learning.

Video

Different paper plane designs

How many different paper plane designs are there? Lots! Watch as Dylan Parker, paper plane expert, demonstrates some of his favourites. Notice the way the different shapes and features of the planes cause them to move through the air in different ways. Which one do you like the most? Why not have a go at making something similar?

Video

Precision Sheep Management: video

This is a video (4:09 min) about the University of New England’s Kirby Research Station and how its work with sheep has been transformed by technology, particularly the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag. The video is presented by members of the Enhanced sheep wellbeing and productivity research program and includes ...

Video

Engineering clean rivers

Figuring out how to clean up contaminated rivers is a big challenge. It's also tricky to work out where the most contaminated parts of a river system are and whether its fish are safe to eat. Watch this video and learn how engineering has helped to solve these problems. Why do you think engineers looked to the bottom of ...

Video

Know your robotics materials

Sean, a robotics mentor for FIRST Robotic Competition's 3132 'Thunder Down Under', worked on the robot's intake system which allows it to take in the 'boulder', or the ball, so it can then shoot into the high goal or the low goal. What were some of the challenges he faced in designing and building this feature?

Video

Growing carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes are a very tiny but super strong material used in manufacturing to create strong, lightweight products. Besides sporting equipment, find out what other kinds of products are made using these tiny molecules. What other qualities (besides size and strength) do carbon nanotubes have that makes them even more ...

Video

Reverse engineering

This series of short videos from Khan Academy deconstruct and explain the way household items are designed and how they work including a digital alarm clock radio, a coffee maker, a tap light (a toggle switch light), a hair dryer, a DVD player, a universal remote and a digital camera.

Video

How to design and build a robot in six weeks!

Evan, a mechanical mentor for FIRST Robotic Competition's 3132 'Thunder Down Under', outlines the processes involved in designing, building and testing a robot in six weeks. What influences the team in their design and building processes? Can you think of anything else that might influence the design and build of the robot ...

Interactive

Wing loading

Wing loading is a measurement that relates the mass of an aircraft or bird to the total wing area. This resource provides an interactive for students to compare flight capabilities of planes with birds, matching those that are the most similar.

Video

Different types of telescopes

You can find both refracting and reflecting telescopes at Sydney Observatory. How are they different in the way they work and look? What can you find in nature that is like a telescope? Which type of telescope is it like?

Video

Catalyst: Shining the light on a more sustainable globe

Artificial lighting methods have changed with the invention of new lighting technologies designed to be more energy efficient and to reduce the use of resources. Since electricity has been used as an energy source, incandescent and fluorescent globes and, more recently, light emitting diodes (LEDs) have been used in our ...

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Biomimicry glider

In this lesson students explore the dynamics of flight by examining animal adaptations and apply their learning to think like an aeronautical engineer and design their own glider

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Sandcastle ratios

In this lesson students think like geotechnical engineers, exploring the properties of sand and the ways in which those properties can be used in building and construction.

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Asunda review: STEM integration

This article explores the benefits of an interdisciplinary STEM program in the quest for providing students with a holistic approach to problem-solving that reflects real-world practice. This is supported by a conceptual framework that comprises four constructs: systems thinking, situation learning theory, constructivism ...

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Lockwood & Mooney review: Computational thinking

This article provides a literature review of how computational thinking fits into a school curriculum. The aim of the report is to provide educators with an overview of the current research in this field and the work that is being done in teaching computational thinking.

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Faith Lutheran College – Timeline

This document presents the milestones in Faith Lutheran College's participation in the Digital Technologies in Focus project.