Big Ideas
Big Ideas
Design for the life cycle
taking into account economic costs, and social and environmental impacts of the product, from the extraction of raw materials to eventual reuse or recycling of component materials
includes consideration of social and environmental impacts including manufacturing, packaging, disposal, and recycling considerations
.
Personal design interests require the evaluation and refinement of skills.
Tools and technologies
tools that extend human capabilities
can be adapted for specific purposes.
Content
Learning Standards
Content
complex circuit design and construction
Ohm’s law, Watt’s law, and Kirchhoff’s law, and the conservation of current and energy within electrical circuits
functions of logic gates and devices
for example, buffer, inverter, AND, NOT, NAND, OR, NOR, XOR, XNOR
chemicals
for example, solvents, solder, etchant chemicals
used in electronics
testing equipment
for example, oscilloscopes, multimeters, voltmeters, ammeter
for measurement and comparison of expected values
computer software for designing printed circuits
circuits for analog systems
for example, power amplifier, FM transmitter
circuits for digital systems
for example, digital alarm clock, multi-segmented light-emitting diode (LED) chasers
uses of microcontrollers
for example, programmable logic controller (PLC), peripheral interface controller (PIC)
alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) circuit comparison and analysis
electromagnetic induction as it relates to motors, electrical generation, and distribution
standard layout and symbols for wiring and schematic diagrams
interpretation of schematic drawings
use of fibre optics in communication
design for the life cycle
future career options and opportunities in electronics
interpersonal skills
for example, professional communications, collaboration, ways of explaining visuals
for interacting with colleagues and clients
Curricular Competency
Learning Standards
Curricular Competency
Applied Design
Understanding context
- Engage in a period of user-centred researchresearch done directly with potential users to understand how they do things and why, their physical and emotional needs, how they think about the world, and what is meaningful to themand empathetic observationaimed at understanding the values and beliefs of other cultures and the diverse motivations and needs of different people; may be informed by experiences of people involved; traditional cultural knowledge and approaches; First Peoples worldviews, perspectives, knowledge, and practices; places, including the land and its natural resources and analogous settings; experts and thought leadersto understand design opportunities
Defining
- Establish a point of view for a chosen design opportunity
- Identify potential users, intended impacts, and possible unintended negative consequences
- Make inferences about premises and constraintslimiting factors such as task or user requirements, materials, expense, environmental impactthat define the design space, and develop criteria for success
- Determine whether activity is collaborative or self-directed
Ideating
- Identify and examine gaps for potential design improvements and innovations
- Critically analyze impacts of competing social, ethical, and sustainability considerations on design
- Generate ideas and add to others’ ideas to create possibilities, and prioritize them for prototyping
- Evaluate suitability of possibilities according to success criteria, constraints, and potential gaps
- Work with users throughout the design process
Prototyping
- Choose an appropriate form, scale, and level of detail for prototyping, and plan procedures
- Analyze the design for the life cycle and evaluate its impactsincluding social and environmental impacts of extraction and transportation of raw materials; manufacturing, packaging, and transportation to markets; servicing or providing replacement parts; expected usable lifetime; and reuse or recycling of component materials
- Visualize and construct prototypes, making changes to tools, materials, and procedures as needed
- Record iterationsrepetitions of a process with the aim of approaching a desired resultof prototyping
Testing
- Identify and communicate with sources of feedbackmay include peers; users; First Nations, Métis, or Inuit community experts; other experts and professionals both online and offline
- Develop an appropriate testincludes evaluating the degree of authenticity required for the setting of the test, deciding on an appropriate type and number of trials, and collecting and compiling dataof the prototype, conduct the test, and collect and compile data
- Evaluate design according to critiques, testing results, and success criteria to make changes
Making
- Identify appropriate tools, technologies, materials, processes, cost implications, and time needed
- Create design, incorporating feedback from self, others, and results from testing of the prototype
- Use materials in ways that minimize waste
Sharing
- Decide how and with whom to sharemay include showing to others or use by others, giving away, or marketing and sellingcreativity, or share and promote design and processes
- Share the product with users and critically evaluate its success
- Critically reflect on their design thinking and processes, and identify new design goals
- Evaluate new possibilities for plans, products and processes, including how they or others might build on them
Applied Skills
Apply safety procedures for themselves, co-workers, and users in both physical and digital environments
Individually or collaboratively identify and assess skills needed for design interests
Demonstrate competency and proficiency in skills at various levels involving manual dexterity and complex circuitry techniques
Develop specific plans to learn or refine identified skills over time
Applied Technologies
Explore existing, new, and emerging tools, technologies, and systems to evaluate suitability for design interests
Evaluate impacts, including unintended negative consequences, of choices made about technology use
Analyze the role that changing technologies play in electronics-related contexts