Design and technologies / Year 7 and 8 / Design and Technologies Knowledge and Understanding

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Curriculum content descriptions

Analyse ways to produce designed solutions through selecting and combining characteristics and properties of materials, systems, components, tools and equipment (ACTDEK034)

Elaborations
  • 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 and selecting from a broad range of technologies − materials, systems, components, tools and equipment − when designing for a range of technologies contexts
  • 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 the countries of Asia; the properties of textile fibres and fabrics determine end use
  • considering safe work practices, for example producing a safety information video that details risk management practices for using a piece of equipment in the classroom or within a community
  • evaluating products and services for the individual and the community considering ethics and social factors, for example a short video encouraging individuals to increase their use of public transport in the local area
  • evaluating environments that have been designed in consultation with community groups, for example a bush tucker community garden developed in consultation with local Elders
General capabilities
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
  • ICT capability Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capability
ScOT terms

Materials,  Fibres (Materials),  Engineering,  Tools

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20 direct matches to ACTDEK034

Interactive

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

  • TLF-IDM020970

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 ...

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Video

Different paper plane designs

  • TLF-IDM020570

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?

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Video

How to design and build a robot in six weeks!

  • TLF-IDM020671

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 ...

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Video

Reverse engineering

  • TLF-IDM021415

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.

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Video

Growing carbon nanotubes

  • TLF-IDM021124

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 ...

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Video

Engineering clean rivers

  • TLF-IDM021121

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 ...

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Video

Different types of telescopes

  • TLF-IDM020914

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?

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Interactive

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

  • TLF-IDM020885

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.

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Video

Precision Sheep Management: video

  • TLF-IDM020774

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 ...

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Video

Smart Water - Precision Irrigation: video

  • TLF-IDM020773

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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Video

Know your robotics materials

  • TLF-IDM020667

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?

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Video

Catalyst: Shining the light on a more sustainable globe

  • TLF-IDM018361

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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Interactive

Wing loading

  • TLF-IDM021343

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.

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Text

Broken down breakdown | Questacon

  • TLF-IDA006031

In this activity, students deconstruct broken household items and investigate their component parts, how items are constructed and the materials used, especially in relation to the challenges in repairing and recycling items made from multiple materials. The activity includes a list of what is required, suggestions of what ...

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Video

Anne Chair by Gareth Neal

  • TLF-IDA005942

This resource includes films showing Gareth Neal’s processes in terms of designing furniture. Use it to demonstrate ways of recording creative ideas and observations in sketchbooks, journals and other media. Students also discuss the films about Neal's use of traditional sources in his design.

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Text

PRIMED Technologies - Year 7

  • TLF-IDA005660

This set of learning activities focus on the materials and technology aspects of forestry and the timber industry. Students explore the timber industry and its related social, environmental and economic factors; explore the properties of various timber species and make links between material properties and common uses; ...

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Text

Sustainable classrooms

  • TLF-IDA005797

In this set of learning activities, students explore how the environmental impact of human development can be reduced in the context of their school’s use of energy and material resources. Students have the opportunity to make positive, practical and actionable changes at a school level. They engage in planning for greater ...

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Text

Costumes of the Performing Arts Collection

  • TLF-IDA004898

Explore some of the costumes curated from the Adelaide Festival Centre’s performing arts collection. Find supporting information and discussion questions to inform conversations about design, and the ways in which performances are conceptualised.

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Text

Sandcastle ratios

  • TLF-IDA004621

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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Text

Industrial design challenge – separating materials lesson

  • TLF-IDA002725

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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