Design and technologies / Year 5 and 6 / Design and Technologies Processes and Production Skills

Curriculum content descriptions

Generate, develop and communicate design ideas and processes for audiences using appropriate technical terms and graphical representation techniques (ACTDEP025)

Elaborations
  • generating a range of design ideas for products, services or environments using prior knowledge, skills and research
  • developing alternative design ideas and considering implications for the future to broaden the appeal and acceptance of design ideas
  • analysing and modifying design ideas to enhance and improve the sustainability of the product, service, environment or system
  • representing and communicating design ideas using modelling and drawing standards including the use of digital technologies, for example scale; symbols and codes in diagrams; pictorial maps and aerial views using web mapping service applications
  • experimenting with materials, tools and equipment to refine design ideas, for example considering the selection of materials and joining techniques to suit the purpose of a product
General capabilities
  • Literacy Literacy
  • Numeracy Numeracy
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
ScOT terms

Problem solving,  Technical drawing,  Modelling,  Graphic arts,  Computer graphics

Text

Design a Phone and Set the Standard

Engineers work to solve problems across disciplines by developing technical standards. In this activity, students will design and build a mobile phone to be compatible with a new kind of charger. After designing their phone, they will develop a technical standard describing what is required for a mobile device to be compatible ...

Interactive

Waste and materials – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

This resource guides students through an extended school-based or local investigation focussed on waste and materials 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 ...

Interactive

Thermal comfort – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

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.

Interactive

Kitchen gardens – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

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 ...

Video

Creating computer games

How are computer games made? Find out about the skills and knowledge required to create a computer game in this video. What are some of the roles of the people interviewed? See if you can find out more about what kind of skills and knowledge might be required in each role.

Online

Investigating technologies in agriculture

This is a teacher resource containing a series of inquiry teaching sequences about the role that technologies play in the production of food and fibre in Australia. It contains material to assist the planning, implementing and assessing a study of a range of primary industries and the innovative methods and equipment they ...

Video

Getting satellite design right

Is it a good idea to build a complex and expensive machine without carefully checking the design first? This animated clip describes some of the steps NASA took during the design review process for the development of a new satellite. Can you think of any other steps in design reviews?

Video

Learning from design 'mistakes'

Finding the solution to a design problem involves generating creative ways to address a need or difficulty. Design is the key and it often involves an engineer. In this clip, explore what an engineer is and what they do, and see an example of how NASA engineers might plan, create and test an idea to fix a space station.

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 ...

Video

Use your creative thinking skills!

Ashwini Ranjithabalan from Women in Engineering and IT at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) sees engineering as the business of solving future problems. What are some of the challenges we (and our societies) might face in the future? Get some friends together and see if you can brainstorm a list. Now choose one ...

Online

Design dilemma

This series of lessons aims to develop awareness of the needs of diverse commuters on our public transport system. Students investigate the challenges involved in getting on and off public transport for users with additional needs, for example commuters in wheelchairs. They work collaboratively in teams to investigate possible ...

Interactive

Chicken farming in the living world: Stage 3

Chickens are fascinating animals and provide students with an interesting subject matter to discuss the many aspects of our living world. This interactive course for students explores the question 'Why is it important for food and/or fibre to be produced sustainably?' and comprises a series of modules and supporting videos. ...

Online

Programming for Water Management

This unit of work introduces students to the potential of digital technologies to manage and conserve water resources in Australian agriculture. It assumes that students and teachers have little or no prior programming experience and provides a series of introductory activities to build students' understanding of the basic ...

Video

Scratch coder

Build a simple yet engaging game from the ground up, all within the free block coding program Scratch.Scratch is a browser-based open-source game engine free for anyone to use. Scratch uses block coding, meaning you can learn how to code us-ing pre-programmed blocks, rather than typing out long lines of code to create a ...

Video

Expert webinar video: Nathan Alison, Digital Learning and Teaching Victoria (DLTV): Focus on systems thinking. How do we teach it well?

Nathan Alison from Digital Learning and Teaching Victoria (DLTV) explains what systems thinking is and how it is used in the context of Digital Technologies. Nathan explains what we need to consider when teaching digital systems, covering topics such as networks, hardware and software protocols, people and processes.

Text

Voskoglou & Buckley review: Problem solving and computational thinking

This article explores the relationship between computational and critical thinking as it applies to solving technological problems. Research evidence derived from classroom experiments strongly suggests that using computers to solve problems enhances students’ abilities in solving real-world problems involving mathematical ...

Audio

Faith Lutheran College – Podcast

This podcast includes information about the aims, challenges, insights and accomplishments of Faith Lutheran College's participation in the Digital Technologies in Focus project.

Text

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.

Video

Expert webinar video: Dr Karen Joyce: Map my school

Dr Karen Joyce from STEM education provider She Maps discusses geospatial mapping and methods for teaching underpinning concepts to primary, secondary and tertiary students. Her presentation provides opportunities to think about how we might teach digital systems, data collection and interpretation to our students in context.

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Faith Lutheran College – – Final report

This report provides details of Faith Lutheran College's participation in the Digital Technologies in Focus project, including a Research question, criteria for success, data collection, resources, challenges, milestones and next steps.