Teach Design Magazine Issue 4 by Teach Design

ISSUE #4

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Teach Design Magazine Design & Technology and Engineering Education

Welcome: Teach Design By Teachers, For Teachers...

Its been a busy start back to this year with lots of stuff happening! One thing is Design and Make the Future 2015. The date has now been confirmed for 16th May 2015, so make sure you keep it free! Last year was a huge success and next years looks set to build on this. We have taken on board the feedback and we think that we have something absolutely fantastic prepared which embraces everything from teaching and learning in D&T to latest technologies to use in the classroom! Included with this issue is the first of three fantastic free themed posters supported by VEX Robotics. They can be used on your classroom walls to not only add some much-needed colour but also educate your students on the subject. You will find that the first poster has been created around the benefits of participating in robotics competitions. Look out in issues 5 and 6 for the matching posters to complete your robotic poster collection. Interested in FREE Autodesk Inventor training to accompany the FREE software now available to all schools in the world? Then make sure you check out how to access this free training opportunity [page 15] and get booked onto a course! What about a Plasma Cutter? This exciting new product from Boxford looks certain to become a popular option in schools across the UK [page 14]. Archbishop Sentamu Academy in Hull does

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things with building and construction that is really impressive. Simon Edwards discusses how his students use Autodesk Revit to produce some amazing architectural concepts that are very much immersed in technical knowledge [page 18]. If you are interested in Health and Safety and need a bit of advice or guidance, then CLEAPSS are looking to work with more D&T teachers and departments. Have a look at what they have going on over the next few months on page 20. 3D Printing is really something, which is taking off in our subject. But this amazing new product in development by a design graduate is truly amazing! Imagine being able to recycle all waste and old materials from a 3D Printer? This article [page 24] showcases this prototype!

On the topic of sustainability and Practical Action showcase how their resources are being used in one school in Somerset. If you are looking for ideas on how you could “design in context” and introduce some “real life” design, then look no further than page 28. The Teach Design magazine is very much made up of articles provided to us by teachers. In the next year, we need your articles! Make sure you take up the opportunity to contribute to an international CPD recourse and get involved today! As always, keep visiting our website at www.teachdesign.org.uk, to register and also join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter.

With our London School Excellence Programme now well under way, we have an update of what’s currently happening on page 42. With the focus of this on STEM, Alan Bright of Goldsmiths University looks at STEM in great detail in this months thinking forward article on page 5. Looking to teach sustainability, or beyond sustainability by introducing the circular economy? If so, check out this inspirational article [page 16], which looks at how a mobile phone could be designed for a circular economy!

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ISSUE #4 CONTENTS

for CPD events, updates, news & resources...

The Teach Design Magazine

What is the purpose of this magazine and how is it free?

Design Technology and STEM at Goldsmiths

An excellent article putting everything in context

So, What Makes an fun good effective D&T Project?

Thinking about the perfect D&T project

Get on board with VEX Robotics

How VEX robotics can be a key part of a curriculum

Developing a mobile device for a circular economy

Amazing product design of the future

Architecture, Engineering and Construction in the classroom

A different approach to D&T

Health & Safety

What place does this disruptive technology have in our subject?

Project Showcase

Rapid Education demonstrate fun electronics and programming with Fuse!

3D Printing Recycler

The excellent companion for a 3D Printer

Designing in Context

Do your pupils design for “real life” problems?

Cardiff High School

A departmental showcase from South Wales

@ClevedonDT using iBeacons

Futuristic devices arrive at this school in Somerset that talk to iPads!

Don’t limit your challenges, Challenge your limits

In insight of the UK’s most recent UTC

Fernwood School Design Show

This is a school design show like non other!

Robots land in London

Our London Schools Excellence Fund Programme improving STEM

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Magazine: Teach Design Showcasing Good Practice...

What is Teach Design? Teach Design is an initiative focussed on improving and modernising Design & Technology and Engineering education in the UK. The Teach Design team is made entirely of D&T and Engineering teachers, with an ethos of “for teachers by teachers”. We think Design and Technology and Engineering education is extremely important and plays a key role in producing the county’s designers and engineers of the future. We don’t believe in charging teachers extortionate prices for CPD and where possible we don’t like charging anything at all! We are funded through our kind partners, various grants and other companies that know the importance of making sure the next generation of employees is technological prepared.

is edited by the Teach Design Team, and supported by our partners. You will see a few advertisements but unlike other publications our magazine isn’t littered with these! D&T teachers, designers and engineers all contribute to the Teach Design magazine. The magazine has been designed so that each edition has specific articles for a specific purpose. Articles types include: Thinking Forward, Designer in Residence, Case Study, Secret Teacher, Thunking about D&T, Project Showcase, Departmental Showcase and Teach Design in Action, all explained in a little more detail below:

The Thinking Forward article is usually written by an academic researcher within D&T and aims to create thought provoking questions about D&T. The Designer in Residence shares industry standard experiences to help bridge the gap Since our formation in February 2013 we between education and the “real world”. have continued to establish a very strong Case Study articles showcase work from network of teachers, knowing that the best real teachers in schools and the not so source of CPD is from teachers themselves. secret, Secret Teacher article shares real experiences and worries about the D&T What is the Teach Design Magazine? profession. Thunking about D&T turns things upside down and asks searching The Teach Design magazine is free to questions about the subject’s purpose. every UK secondary school in hardcopy The centre pages pull out to become format, as well as being available in digital the Project Showcase, which includes format globally. There are three editions everything you need to know to kick-start per academic year (September, January and a new project in your department. The April), plus one special edition focusing or a Departmental Showcase is a virtual tour particularly important topic. The magazine (on paper) of a department we think are

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doing things pretty good. Finally, the Teach Design in Action explores everything we have been doing to help meet our aims since the last edition. We hope that you too will contribute to this CPD resource in the future and share your own good practice nationally. We believe in industry standard practice and think this should be the case in schools too where possible. This publication aims to lead by example and we really hope you think the same too! If you have any questions about the magazine or would like to contribute toward it, then please email steve@teachdesign.org.uk.

Design Technology and STEM at Goldsmiths Alan Bright

Programme Leader PGCE D&T Dept of Design, Goldsmiths University of London

In September 2013 the government finally published theframework for the national curriculum to be taught in all state schools from September 2014. The national curriculum for design and technology recognised design and technology learning could not take place in isolation and that there was a natural link with a number of other curriculum areas. In the final document published in Sept 2013 the purpose of study for design and technology stated that ‘ Pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. They acquire a broad range of subject knowledge and draw on disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art.’ Three of these disciplines already exist together in the context of the STEM agenda which has been a national focus in secondary schools for several years. In order to support the STEM agenda and prepare design and technology trainee teachers at Goldsmiths to work with the new national curriculum framework in September 2014 we organised a day-long session where trainees had the opportunity to look at possible links between design and technology and science. To help us we invited David Barlex, an educational consultant with a special interest in

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Figure 2 - Pupil design decisions

Constructional How it fits together

Marketing Who itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s for

Conceptual What it does

Aesthetic What it looks like

Technical How it works

Pupil design decisions

David began with the presentation examining the origins/principals of science education and more recently the development of design and technology education. He spoke about the STEM agenda and began to investigate links between the POS for both design and technology and science. He was very clear that although there are legitimate

SCIENCE

To emphasise this point he used the slide shown in Figure 1 that indicates that they can be seen as journeys in opposite directions with science starting with the concrete and travelling to the conceptual whereas d&t starts with the conceptual and travels to the concrete. He put forward a model of the design decisions made by pupils (shown in Figure 2) and offered a vision of how pupil’s achievement could be enhanced by the collaboration with elements across other curriculum

Ideas as to what might be

Observation leading to descriptions i.e. data

A description i.e. specification

Abstract models providing understanding, explanation and prediction

Novel, real outcomes – artefact, system or environment

From concrete to conceptual

From conceptual to concrete

to the new Physics POS at KS3. Each group presented their ideas at a plenary session. They answered questions and took feedback from David and trainees from the other groups. It was encouraging to learn that during their first school placement over half of the trainees had consulted with science colleagues about how to plan and deliver various schemes of work. They saw that links between science, design and technology teaching were clearly possible,

areas (shown in Figure 3). Following his presentation students were asked to develop a unit of work that ‘exploits links between science and D&T’. Students worked in small groups to consider the new national curriculum of science and design & technology and identify possible areas where links might be made and then develop units of work to promote learning. These include projects that focused on nutrition, the properties of materials, sustainability linking with Chemistry while projects, focusing on motion, forces and structures clearly linking

Clarifying contributions

D&T The model

Figure 1 - Descriptions of science and D&T

Phenomenon

connections between science and d&t they were in fact quite different entities.

In design & technology

The mutual benefit

The challenge

Purposeful activity in one subject The making of design decisions

is enhanced by

the utility of other subjects

the utility of science (and mathematics)

The utilisation of science and mathematics enhances pupil achievement not only in design & technology but also in science (and mathematics)

Demonstrating the enhanced achievement

Figure 3 - The purpose – utility model for science – D&T collaboration.

STEM, science education and design and technology to lead the session. We invited design and technology trainees from Greenwich University with their tutor Jim Golden to join the session.

to be encouraged and had the potential to enhance the achievement of their pupils. They felt that these conversations and collaborations will become increasing important as the new POS are implemented from Sep2014. As well as helping pupils understand the links between curriculum areas, increased collaboration should also help our pupils comprehend the complexities of designing solutions for real problems in the real world.

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So, what makes an fun good effective D&T project? Ed Charlwood

Co-Founder Design Education @mrcharlwood

Introduction: With the myriad conflicting demands on D&T teachers it’s no wonder that there is a national shortage of new teachers choosing to teach our subject. New academies and free-schools are simply not offering D&T. With 5 very separate subject areas (RM, Textiles, Food, S&C, Graphics) under one umbrella, it is often too tricky and expensive to deliver. The stuttering and ultimately unsuccessful introduction of the EBacc was, in many cases, another nail in the coffin. Speaking in broad generalities, D&T is normally taught on a carousel of designing & making projects and it is these projects which are the lifeblood of the subject. There are of course are other ‘learning methods’ available to compliment designing and making e.g. making without designing, designing without making and exploring technology and society so an effective learning journey would consist of a judicious mix over time. For designing and making projects the major consideration should be (1) what are the pupils learning and (2) how does this relate to what they have already learned and (3) what they will be required to learn in the future. So what makes and effective D&T project? Here is my quick, non-prioritised

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brain dump. You may like to prioritise these yourself balancing out pragmatic considerations, for example pedagogy, physical resources, intellectual resources and time allocation. (1) Does it combine the intellectual (and conceptual) with the practical? (2) Is it (really, honestly) relevant? This requires real self-reflection. Is a clock, an automata, a bottle opener or a moodlight really relevant to your students If it’s less relevant, do the skills learned make it worth the focus on such a product. How can you judge relevance? (e.g. take-home rate, pupil voice). (3) Does it offer complexity? Does the task require transferable skills e.g. application of Mathematics, Physics or Art? (4) Can it challenge and does it have open-endedness? Are there authentic risk taking possibilities, chances for failure and opportunities for proper iterative design? Or do you pretty much know what the result is going to be? Is failure an option and how will you embrace if it it happens? (5) Scaffold-ability? Does the teacher have the skills, confidence and resources to scaffold the task? Do the students? Can you leverage technology to scaffold the task? Who owns the information necessary to allow progression? (6) Is it time sensitive? 6 / 6.5 / 7 weeks / a term... Does it have to be delivered in traditional lesson structures? Would a half/ whole day/week be more suitable? (7) Can it be shared? Are there critique opportunities, do you allow allow for celebration of both the finished work and process? Are there marketing/enterprise opportunities?

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(8) Are there ‘rich’ resources available? Can you access high quality video / text / apps? Are there affordable stimulus products for deconstruction and analysis? (9) Can it be personalised? Are there team working opportunities, that move beyond aesthetic choices, can students make significant choices? Who is making the decisions? Who is taking the risks? (10) What is the assessment provision? What is assessed: outcome, process, presentation of work? Where are the feedback opportunities? Is the outcome more important than the process? (11) Are there links to ‘wider world’ issues? Is the task scalable and cross-curricular? Does the task support work that is going on elsewhere in your organisation? (12) Is there balance? Does the project balance skills vs. processes vs. applications vs. outcome? How does this fit into the wider Scheme of Work? (13) How much scope is offered? Not so much what is included, but what is left out. How does this fit with your departmental and school aims? (14) Take home? Is there a take home, is it a ‘thing’, does it need to be a physical product? Does the need for a take home trump the process? (15) Competition. Can you easily buy the same thing, well made, at a low price? How does that effect ‘value’? A further important consideration must be how the learning journey prepares pupils for their GCSE course and if there are a variety of options – Textiles, RM, Electronics then the range of designing and making assignments must provide some sort of balanced experience to enable pupils to make a choice.

A final important factor is the extent to which the designing and making will engage the pupils and build in a desire to do more of the same so that they are very keen to opt for a GCSE course at the end of Year 8/9. This may involve a) canvassing pupil expectations for designing and making activities and how these might be ascertained and perhaps challenged and b) parent perception of their worth and again how these might be ascertained and perhaps challenged. There is not, of course, a set of perfect projects. Every school has its own unique personality and set of circumstances but this list may provide a useful taking point to reflect on where you are now, and what you might need to consider to move forwards. Thanks to David Barlex for useful discussion that informed this piece.

Get on board with VEX Robotics! Al Robinson @Mr_Al_Robinson

Do you feel like you are sinking under the pressure of changing your projects (or writing new ones) in time for September? Well read on; Teach Design and VEX Robotics have a solution. I first came across VEX in 2012, when a friend recommended the kit for an extracurricular club. Consequently, we got a ‘super-kit’ ordered and ran a robotics club, competing in the Vex Robotics ‘Sack-Attack’ competition. The students absolutely loved it; spending all of their free time on the robot, eventually reaching the quarter finals of the National Competition. It wasn’t long before the announcement was made that we were to undergo a change to the National Curriculum. Consequently, I started to look at how we could meet it, realising that I needed to update/create new projects. I imagine right about now, a lot of you are probably doing exactly that. We are all in the same boat! Fortunately, I prepared for this last year and have been running the new projects this year. One of the projects I have been running is the Vex Robotics Tumbler Curriculum. I ordered some kits at £200 each from rapid, downloading the curriculum from the teach design website (although I have shortened it so that if could be taught over 8 hours). I’ll tell you a little bit about the curriculum itself. The students work in groups of 4 to 6, first of all building the tumblers. As the students build each of the separate

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sections (structure, motion, power and control), they learn the theory behind it. For example, in structures they will learn about load, how to strengthen structures, the different forces involved etc. (I strongly recommend you go onto the teach design website and look at the curriculum to see all of the areas involved). Once built, the students will learn about systems, using software to program the robots themselves. Still in their teams, the students program the robots to navigate a course including both sharp and curved turns.

equipment. It is hugely satisfying to see all of the teams working together, relating their learning to the build, before becoming massively competitive trying to complete the programming course before the other teams.

If you are able to run a longer Vex project, there is an additional sensor kit available to purchase, meaning that the students can complete even more challenges using sensors such as limit switches and bump switches. There are a few different versions of software available to use for programming; having tested 2 of them I find easyc is the most suitable for my studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs (see the rapid website for package options).

Why not check the teach design calendar (on the website) and see if any of your local tech centres are running a workshop? I will be running one on Thursday 3rd July for those of us who live in the North East. Book onto the course on the website and come along!

Although I use the tumbler curriculum, there are others available. I am a huge advocate of the tumbler kits, however. I love that I can order a ready-made kit, download the resources and go straight into teaching it. On top of those things, the Tumbler Curriculum meets every single point of the National Curriculum, even using a shortened version like mine. I love teaching the students using the Vex

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If you are looking for a project which is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;plain-sailingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to introduce, one which will excite the students (and you!), engaging them along with teaching them key skills and knowledge, then the Vex equipment is for you.

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Orderline: 01206 751166 www.rapidonline.com teach design

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Shaping a brighter future Our fully enclosed Plasma Cutter is the only large format CNC machine designed specifically for education –– cutting steel up to 12 mm thick. If you’d like to talk to us about shaping the future of your students, please call +44 (0)1422 324810 or visit boxford.co.uk

Education and training shaped by our experience 014

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New Plasma Cutter

FREE CAD teacher training and certification Register for a new series of FREE industry standard training using Autodesk速 Inventor速 for 3D modelling and Autodesk Maya速 for 3D animation. All attending teachers will receive FREE vouchers for sitting the Autodesk Certified User exam. Limited places available, register at: autodesk.com/designthefuture

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Image courtesy of Astro Studios

Developing a mobile device for a circular economy Flora Poplaars

Schmidt-MacArthur fellow 2013 representing the TU Delft (the Netherlands)

Mobile phones are complex and valuable pieces of technology. Over 200 components are packed into these compact products and approximately 40 chemical elements from across the globe are necessary to make them function properly. Changing trends and technology developments in the mobile phone industry are stimulating consumers to dispose of their product after only two years of use to replace it with a ‘prettier’ and faster one. Now try to imagine the size of the pile of discarded phones when you know that Europe has over 426 million mobile phone users (with at least one phone per user). Only 10% is going to be reused or recycled, the rest will be put back into the ground in landfills or burnt for energy. The Project Facing these major losses in resources, the price volatility of resources, the increasing e-waste issue, but also the pressure on the environment, the current life of mobile devices made no sense to me. Within the Schmidt-MacArthur Fellowship - an international programme for postgraduate students on creative and innovative thinking around the Circular Economy (CE) - I was given the freedom to conduct my own project enabling a transition towards a more circular world. As my graduation project for my Integrated Product

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Design master, I took on the challenge of developing a mobile device for a CE. As mentioned in previous issues of Teach Design Magazine, CE products and systems are made to eliminate the notion of waste - all the input materials should be ‘perpetually’ reused. In this case, this means the phone and the system around it should be designed to extend the life of the device through reparation, reuse and refurbishment. On top of this, if the phone cannot subsist as it is, parts could be remanufactured into other products. Worst case scenario, when the parts are not repairable or cannot be repurposed, they should be recycled. Circular Design Process Since the Ellen MacArthur Foundation reports are fore mostly focussing on the business side of the theory behind CE, a circular design process first had to be developed. Based on schools of thoughts such as Cradle-to-Cradle and Biomimicry, the following design framework was proposed: • Analyse the current design of the product • Define the strategy and the system around the product • Develop an idealistic vision of a circular version of the product • Develop a realistic roadmap to work towards this vision

• Use circular design guidelines • Get inspired by the Design Spiral, Life Principles and AskNature (Biomimicry) • Evaluate your concepts using the C2C certification criteria Key characteristics of a circular mobile device were summarised to: built to last, easy to disassemble, modular parts, standardised components and joints, upgradeable components, materials cycle through the various CE circles (‘waste’ is used as input), uncontaminated material flows, and finally, tight CE circles (see the ‘butterfly model of CE’) are preferred throughout the life of the product. These characteristics were translated into a set of circular design guidelines organised according to their relevance to: product structure, components, materials, joints and accessories. Results The proposed circular design process was followed and refined along the way. A roadmap helped to visualise the distinct steps that had to be done on a product and system level. The first milestone focuses on the low hanging fruits. The second and third ones are concentrating on making the most important components circular. In an advanced scenario (fourth milestone),

all components are becoming circular. Finally in a truly circular economy (fifth milestone), the whole system and product are designed to create no waste.

The BlackbOx would be viable in around ten years. Some key characteristics are:

The first milestone and the advanced scenario were further developed into two designs to illustrate what could be done on a short term and on a longer term. To bypass the complexity of the consumer market, the mobile devices were designed for the public sector and enterprises.

Manual disassembly is easily done thanks to the use of a hot wire and smart snapfits. Active disassembly is used to sep¬arate all the components at the end-of-life.

Poppy is envisioned to be in use by employees in the public sector and enterprises within two years. It: • Is built from the inside out (meaning the fragile touchscreen does not need to be detached to replace the camera for example) • Decreases costs on maintenance and refurbishment operations. The ratio between the labour needed to retrieve components and the value of the involved components and materials is improved for the touchpanel (snapfits), LCD screen (snapfits), battery (snapfits), CPU (snapfit & screw), memory chips (snapfit & screw) and casing (snapfits) • Lowers the barrier for customers to hand in their old devices (integrated special customer software to wipe all data and the memory can be directly taken out)

• Fast and simple disassembly:

• Standardised 3D printed components • Customisable aesthetics • Local production • Durable and self-healing materials • Potentially completely recycled and recyclable • Composed of less than five polymers • Magnetic resistance as a power source • Reduces inside air pollution thanks to special surface The designs are merely propositions for improvements of the current mobile devices. The product developments helped in defining a circular design process and guidelines specific to mobile devices. Nevertheless, with further research on circular design processes, I believe adequate tools and methods will be generated for designers and engineers to develop all kinds of circular products and systems.

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Architecture, Engineering and Construction in the Classroom Simon Edwards

School of Art, Design and Engineering. Archbishop Sentamu Academy, Hull.

Year 9 pupils at Archbishop Sentamu Academy have been completing the Design, Engineer, construct Curriculum from Class of Your Own Education. The aim of the project is to link with industry professionals and use cutting edge 3D modelling software and Building Information Modelling techniques to produce a sustainable school of the future. During the project, pupils have investigated the needs of their community, researched sustainable building techniques and materials and learned about net-zero energy buildings. They went on to use Sketchup and Autodesk Revit to ideate and develop their designs using a technique known as Building Information Modelling or BIM. “We’ve had the chance to work with professionals from the Architecture, Engineering and THE Construction industry throughout the project”, said 14 year old Robert Bennett. “Through the support of our teachers and Alison Watson from Class of your Own, we have had the chance to see some amazing things and meet some fantastic people. We are all very keen to pursue this as a career”

including the Teentech Awards held at the Royal Society in London. They have also been invited to present at a high profile international conference in November. Mr Edwards, who is an authorised trainer for Autodesk Products said “This project has allowed our students to access the absolute best Computer Aided Design software available to produce designs that have left industry experts breathless. They have worked with companies such as Mott McDonald and Topcon in the process of completing their projects”. Autodesk, the world’s third largest software designer has also asked members of the class to produce a series of tutorial videos to run alongside their new secondary education curriculum which will encourage young people to look at the AEC industry as a career option. For more information, contact Simon Edwards at edwardss@sentamuacademy. org.uk

The project, which has GCSE equivalency, has already seen the pupils present their project to officials at the House of Lords, open the largest BIM exhibition in the world in front of 600 industry professionals and taken them to 2 national finals,

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Health and Safety in the workshop... CLEAPSS T: 01985 251 496 W: www.cleapss.org.uk E: dt@cleapss.org.uk

CLEAPSS works with government organisations to develop guidance suitable for schools and colleges, most recently CLEAPSS has been involved in updating the British Stand-ard for health and safety for design and technology in schools and similar establishments, the latest version which is available from the BSi website; BS4163:2014 CLEAPSS guidance is adopted by employers in schools and colleges as a cost effective way for them to fulfil their legal duties under the 1974 health and safety at work act. Courses Over the past year CLEAPSS has run 15 courses for DT teachers and technicians across the country covering a range of topics:

CLEAPSS is a national advisory service offering advice and support and guidance for practical work in Design & Technology and Art for schools and colleges in England wales and Northern Ireland. We have been providing this service in various guises since 1963.

1. Health and Safety Management for Heads of DT 2. The Safe and Effective DT Technician 3. DT Workshop Maintenance 4. Auditing H+S in DT 5. Assessing and Managing Risk in Primary DT Safety Audits We have also carried out around 30 safety audits of DT facilities in the past

12 months. An audit is usually completed on one day; we will spend 2 or 3 hours in the depart-ment, talking to staff, going through H+S documentation and checking the facilities. Photographs are taken which form part of a formal report that includes recommendations on what needs to be done to comply with the latest regulations and/or BS4163. Publications CLEAPSS has developed a wealth of guidance which is available from our website. The most recent of which is a ‘Health and Safety Passport’ developed to record pupils’ pro-gress in the safe use of equipment and facilities in DT. Some useful CLEAPSS publications for D&T Model risk assessments for design and technology (MRATs) L260 Model health and safety policy for D&T departments G235 Managing risk assessment in design and technology G254 Health and safety maintenance of D&T workshop equipment G079 Auditing health and safety in a secondary school D&T department Note: the members’ section of website is password protected. Telephone or e-mail CLEAPSS for the password for your school or ask one of the science technicians!

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Project Showcase... This project is an introduction to the fun and sense of achievement you can have when you mix basic electronics with programming. We show you how to make your own circuit of LED’s, then write a simple program to control them.

Pedagogy This project shows how well CS and DT go together and how easy it is to programme with FUZE BASIC. It’s a great project for teaching some fairly simple commands, along with the excitement of controlling the circuit of flashing lights you have just made. No soldering iron is required but students still learn about simple electronic circuits. Understanding how digital devices work and how they are made and used is an important part of the new curriculum.

How it Works?

(that’s se three FOR loops four loops, in this ca p,1) tells de( Mo Pin h > Th is program has wit e on main loop. The ﬁrst 5 for confusing!) and one IO digital pins 0 to want to use the GP we t tha er the comput uld be for input! CLE and ends with digital output. (p,0) wo FOR p = 0 to 5 CY the h wit ins nds in beg p loo > The l repeat the comma nd. The LOOP wil . on ve mo n the REPEAT comma the l wil unted to 5 where it p between until it has co nted it as // main loo one – we have comme big the is p loo t e loop so it will nit inﬁ > The nex an is is Th . p at the bottom and // end of main loo il we exit by pressing rything in between unt eve g nin run on p just kee round the Esc key. loop. They both loop loops within the main R e of FO o aus tw bec s are ard ere Th > s backw the second one count a number of times but nd. then the STEP -1 comma rite (p,1) to an LED wer signal (DigitalW po a d sen ps ). loo (p,0 th > Bo off signal second and sends an waits for a tenth of a

Showing students how to control these devices by writing their own simple program is a valuable part of understanding how the world of technology works and some practical applications. Once students have learnt the basics of text based programming and electronics using this project and others like it, they have the understanding and confidence to further expand their knowledge and then write more complex and interesting programmes to control even more exciting electronic projects.

S h oppin g Lis

Rapid Order

Code FUZE-T

FUZE T2 Case, Raspberr y Pi B, Keyboard, FUZE IO boar d + analogue , USB Hub and power supply, 8GB SD Card pre-loaded w ith Solder-less Br eadboard, Mouse & mat , Electronic com ponent kit FUZE BASIC Programmer’s Refe

t (pic 2) Assessmen

t, LED’s to eigh e number of Increase th . ed all animat sure they’re e ak m d an loop ease the et to incr Don’t forg u ode loop. Yo d the PinM an r te un co ets to the sock add cables will need to and 7. numbered 6

Connec as followt the cables s; (pic 1)

GPIO 0 to the ﬁrs t LED GPIO 1 to the seco n d LED GPIO 2 to the th ir d L ED GPIO 3 to the fo u rt h L GPIO 4 ED to the ﬁft h LED GPIO 5 to the six th LED

Glossary

Cycle/Loop – This tell the computer that beginning of a loop – a repeated action Repeat – Tells the computer to go back to statement and “repeat” anything in between PinMode - Conﬁgures the GPIO pins to

#1 Full assembly of th

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receive DigitalWrite – Sends a digital signal to speciﬁed FOR (FOR LOOP) – Tells the computer that loop the speciﬁed number of times moves on to the next command WAIT – The wait command is exactly as 1 = 1 second & therefore 0.1 is one tenth of

2-A

FUZE BASIC ,

Editor CLS FOR p = 0 TO 5 CY CLE PinMode (p,1) DigitalWrite (p,0) REPEAT CYCLE // main loo p FOR p = 0 TO 5 CY CLE DigitalWrite (p,1) WAIT (0.1) DigitalWrite (p,0) REPEAT FOR p = 4 TO 1 ST EP -1 CYCLE DigitalWrite (p,1) WAIT (0.1) DigitalWrite (p,0) REPEAT REPEAT // end of ma in loop END

#3 Sample PICAXE Prog

Useful Links:

-Search for pidonline.com http://www.ra 82 Part 70-56 formation .uk for more in www.fuze.co and free ZE, updates about the FU projects.

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GETTING STARTED! Firstly power on your FUZE unit and start FUZE BASIC

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F2 and type in the program as displayed on the right (only enter the text in Pink & indenting and capitalisation is not to RUN the program. The ﬁrst time you do this it will ask you for a name to save it as, just use your initials or something simple. All going well you will have a line of ﬂashing LEDs – well done!

#2 Populating the PCB allo ws the pupils to demons trate soldering technique and processes

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3D Printing Recycler Alexander Marler BSc Design Graduate

3D printing has grown in popularity and familiarity over recent years, the topic is broad with many tangents and opportunities, with news of people making the weird and wonderful daily. Only a few decades ago 3D printing technology and the machines used for the processes were used within a handful of industries, however in modern times the technology has accelerated and made an ingress into many businesses, schools and homes. The focus on the technology and the ability of interested people has taken 3D printing into new realms such as, printing living cells, houses and components for fighter jets. There are many variations in technique and a plethora of machines under the 3D printing umbrella but arguably the type of 3D printing most schools and home users are familiar with is Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM), which can be described in basic terms as the controlled squirting of heated plastic to build 3D objects layer by layer, originally designed on computer software. There are now a wide range of 3D printers suitable for the home environment, fitting any budget, size or application. Likewise with any great technological step there are hundreds of accessories and tools which are sold alongside the printers. There is one area that has seen less investment and progress than the rest, namely the recycling of 3D printed waste. The plastics that FDM 3D printers ‘feed’ on comes nicely

reeled on a spool ready for use, for this the manufacturer will typically charge between £20 and £40 for 700g of plastic. Unfortunately the amount of useful objects produced isn’t equal to the amount of plastic fed into the printer, a percentage of the, ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), PLA (Polylactic Acid) and other common materials, is not used in the final object. This is due to a few factors, first the need for raft material, the base layer most printers will print in order to guarantee a flat surface, and the second is failed prints, like most hobby projects not everything works first time. This material, on average 40% of each reel, is often disposed of in household waste, looking at it another way that could mean you are throwing away £16 of each reel purchased! As a keen hobby 3D printer enthusiast myself this did not sit well, from the beginning I was not happy to simply discard my plastic/money. The other angle to this problem is the environmental impact of the plastics, the majority of which have poor biodegrading characteristics, including PLA which is sold as bio-degradable but which uses a lot of chemical processes in its creation. This problem, for me, came to a head in August 2013. I had amounted shoe boxes full of ABS waste which I was unable to do anything with. This time coincided with choosing a topic for my final year University project at De Montfort University. So I decided, with my Product Design tutors backing, to produce

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The XTRUDA, a machine which would in essence recycle the failed 3D prints into useable filament. This idea was not a new one, others have created machines which complete this operation to differing degrees of success. On researching these machines I believed it could be done better, cheaper and I could produce a machine that would look aesthetically pleasing on a desktop. In order for the XTRUDA to be claimed a success it would have to excel technically against the existing machines along with being affordable, eye catching and include extra features the current machines did not. My research showed that the target users of this machine, those people who used a desktop 3D printer such as (but not limited to) a Makerbot or Ultimaker, considered the quality of filament the most important factor for a machine such as The XTRUDA. This attribute to the filament and the machine as a whole was an important focus from the commencement of my work. You may be surprised to know that up until the point of starting the XTRUDA project none of the available machines would, crush, heat extrude and reel the plastic all in one machine. Most would heat and extrude it leaving the user to crush and reel, and for the privilege of using a machine that only does half the job they would charge £400 - £800. With my research, passion and the backing of other enthusiasts and tutors I began the 8 month project to produce the XTRUDA. As the XTRUDA would crush > heat > extrude > reel the waste plastic it was logical to start with the first process,

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crushing. It was important to establish a benchmark in terms of particle size that could be produced, without this knowledge the next stages are guess work and inevitably blockages would form and the machine would fail. A design of sharpened blades rotating against a stationary block was the chosen method. The heating and extruding systems are natural closely linked. After simple testing I installed an electronically controlled linear actuator, using simple electronics this would push molten material through the nozzle. At the end of its stroke it would retract to allow more waste to fall into the heating chamber. The heating chamber, a milled block of aluminium contains two highly efficient heaters, these radiate heat into the block and melt the plastic. The user is protected from the great heat through the innovative use of insulation, preventing burns. The XTRUDA can either extrude 1.75mm or 3mm diameter filament, the standard, this new filament is then attached to the reel. The reeling system works alongside the extrusion process, when material is extruded the reeling system will reel, when retracting the reeling motor will stop. This ensures a continuous strand of filament. The XTRUDA’s wires and electronics systems are hidden in the two steel legs, these provide a stable footing for the entire machine, at the bottom of which the crushed waste material can be stored safely. The machine features subtle details such as the X grill and a bright customisable colour scheme. This along with the simple four switch operating system keeps everything simple, low cost and in keeping with most 3D printers. Summary of features and Statistics:

• Crush a maximum piece 20mm x 5mm x 10mm into 2mm x 2mm x 3mm • Crush rate: 1.2kg per hour • Extrusion rate: 0.7kg per hour (constant waste supply) • Filament diameter tolerance +/- 0.2mm • 1.75mm or 3mm filament produced • Size: 600mm tall, 210mm wide, 240mm deep • Weight 8.2kg • Suitable for ABS and PLA waste (Current machine specification) • RRP of £300 It had taken a lot of work and many different prototyping experiments and design changes to get to this point, however I had managed to produce a machine that had not only met all of the existing machines on features, but exceeded them with additional features, elegant design and a quality finish. Admittedly the design and some ideas, as with any product design challenge, had to be altered in order to fit with the manufacturing methods and technology utilised. The end result was a working machine, able to produce filament. That is the brief history, invention and explanation of The XTRUDA. After receiving great praise from my tutors and exhibiting the machine at New Designers Show in London, a showcase for product design, I have new ambition to drive The XTRUDA on to the production stage. This will run alongside a full time job at Promach 3D, Derby, a precision engineering firm, and a PhD at De Montfort University, where I will be researching into 4D printing, the next step on from the 3D world and a subject I guarantee you will be reading about in the future.

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Designing in Context Brian Hellier

Education Ofﬁcer Practical Action

At Clevedon School in North Somerset, design and technology teachers Helen Tebbutt and Alison Mower were looking for a new project to run at their lunchtime STEM club and Year 8 design and technology lessons. Helen a regular user of Practical Action’s website that offers materials for teachers on sustainability and global contexts for designing and making plunged for the STEM challenge, Beat the Flood. ‘The challenge offered our students the opportunity to work on the real-life problem of flooding, an issue that is affecting people locally here in the UK and in many parts of the world. The pupils enjoyed the feeling they were making a difference.’ Helen Tebbutt The context was introduced to the pupils with a photograph-based starter activity that looks at where flooding is happening in the world and some of the ways in which people lives are affected. ‘We started this project by asking the teams to research recent incidents around the world involving flooding. This included the local flooding that affected here in North Somerset. Once some awareness had been gained, we encouraged them to consider what it would be like to be affected by flooding.’ Helen Tebbutt, D&T teacher. The students then started to identify some

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of the key problems and issues faced by people living in flood-prone areas and researched into some of the existing technologies designed to help people. These included houses that float and communication systems to warn people that the river levels are rising! We learnt how houses and community flood defences elsewhere are currently being built to protect against flooding’ Amy Eager, Year 8 Meeting needs of the community After researching into flooding in different parts of the world, a more specific context of Watu Island and how communities living there are losing their homes to flooding was introduced. The students researched the more detailed scenario of the island and communities living there before developing a brief to develop flood-resistant homes for their chosen community. Their specification details reflected an excellent understanding of people needs, local conditions, materials and skills available to develop appropriate housing. Before developing any design ideas, the students carried out a number of focused tasks based around structures and materials testing and costing to inform students’ ideas for developing ideas and modelling their flood-proof homes.

Making it more real Two STEM ambassadors Andy Hamblin and Matt Gore from GE Oil and Gas came to the school to support the students at various stages of their project. They offered advice and guidance on the students proposed design ideas and introduced engineering concepts such as a structured design process and how to balance different requirements such as cost, strength and material availability. ‘We didn’t realise how much the materials impacted on the building of flood proof homes and how important it is to get the location of the building correct.’ Mary Tilling Empowered with their increased technical knowledge of structures and materials, the students worked in teams to develop a range of impressive design proposals.

immersing the models in water and spraying with a hose-pipe! It’s been inspiring to see innovative design work that genuinely reflects students understanding of people’s needs to address a real-life problem. ‘The Beat the Flood challenge not only put the students designing skills, forces and structures knowledge to the test, but challenged their abilities to produce effective solutions in unfamiliar context’.Helen Tebbutt For further information on Practical Action’s Beat the Flood challenge and to see examples of design work from Clevedon and other schools go to http://practicalaction.org/beattheflood.

‘The students now realise that design solutions often have boundaries and it’s not a case of simply just coming up with the ideas. They have genuinely applied their knowledge to develop possible solutions to the problem!’ Helen Tebbutt Using modelling materials that represent real-life materials, the students worked in teams to develop models of their floodproof homes. To evaluate their models the homes were exposed to a ‘flood test’. This involved

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Departmental Showcase Jonathan Martlew Cardiff High School @DesignTechCHS

Introduction Cardiff High School is an 11-18 Comprehensive School with approximately 1600 students based in the north east of Cardiff in the suburb of Cyncoed. The Design Technology department has seen major staffing changes in the last 4 years with three out of the six members of the department’s teaching staff being appointed during this time. In the Design Technology department at Cardiff High School we do no teach students or children, we teach young designers. Creativity and problem solving is at the heart of our subject and as a result of this we have developed (and are continuing) to deliver the subject in such as way that students become more resilient, well rounded, independent, open minded and confident learners… I mean designers. As styles and trends change/develop in the design world so does our curriculum. The delivery of our subject is always current in order to cater for the needs of the designers of the future. It’s all about providing our designers with the skills, exciting and enjoyable experiences with the correct mind-set that instils the aspiration to become the next Jonathan Ive,

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Phillipe Strack, Stella McCartney,Heston Blumenthal, Norman Foster or James Dyson. Facility We are fortunate to have excellent facilities and accommodation that are well kept and maintained. For Product Design we have 5 main learning spaces that are fully utilised. Three are considered manufacturing spaces, one versatile CADCAM & Manufacturing Suite and a sole purpose CAD-CAM Studio. In addition to these teaching rooms we have provided our A Level Product Designer with an independent Design Work studio for use during their free periods. There is one Food Technology kitchen in Cardiff High School that has recently undergone refurbishment. This now, impressive work-space has accommodation to allow up to 20 students to cook at one time. Our Textiles room is located in the newly built section of the school and therefore a purpose built facility fully equipped sewing machines and a CAD/ research area. We are currently looking at methods of further modernising Textiles. The displays throughout our department are undergoing an absolute overhaul and are of an extremely high quality. We are using staff expertise within the department to produce high quality graphic posters rather than the traditional school displays. These displays are contributing in providing an informative and inspirational environment for designers to become engrossed in relevant surroundings throughout the department. Transition In order to prepare our young designers for the transition into Cardiff High School we are currently piloting an initiative that will enhance students’ experiences and the

teaching of Design Technology in each of the feeder primary schools. Every term all departments hold a meeting with the primary school representatives to discuss Transition. The focus of these Design Technology meetings have been to share how each school covers the subject and to arrange a taster day for Year 6 students in the summer term. The discussions often swayed towards discussing how primary teachers could further skill up to teach Design Technology with necessary confidence and skill set. Time always seemed to be an issue. As these meeting always seemed to result in the same outcome it was decided that we were to take an alternate yet beneficial and innovative approach to Transition Meetings. We would no longer hold a meeting or the separate taster days, instead we would use the meeting time to perform training sessions to further support the needs of those primary schools teacher so they can teach our subject to a standard that will compliment and further prepare them for Design Technology at Cardiff High School. Every session is delivered by members of the Design Technology department and is specific to each of the primary school’s curriculum, topic and needs. These would be communicated prior to each session to ensure maximum productivity. An exciting pilot that will hopefully fully prepare our even younger designers for their experiences at Cardiff High School. Key Stage 3 At Key Stage 3 we categorise our projects as Product Design, Food Technology and Textiles. We deliver each on the rotational basis (x3 18week rotations). I am aware that this system has been scrutinised and questioned by many but we feel that it is the best way to ensure that our young designers experience high quality teaching from specific specialists within Design Technology. Each year demonstrates major progression

and allows students to experience the vast opportunities that Design Technology has to offer. The experiences further prepare the designers for the challenges that they will encounter at GCSE. We ensure that the experiences are exciting and real. There is no point in simply delivering the subject so that students think the subject is something that its not simply to bid for numbers during the options process at Key Stage 4. Our subject is exciting, engaging and highly rewarding. Our Key Stage 3 Curriculum reflects this approach in terms of its delivery and high quality outcomes. Key Stage 4 We offer three subjects at Key Stage 4 all of which are GCSEs; Product Design, Textiles Technology and Food Technology. Each subject is growing in terms of popularity and success. Design Technology subjects have the reputation of being a highly rewarding subject delivered by excellent teachers. Our Food Technology students experience annual success in a Cardiff School’s Rotary Club competition and most recently have had a former student appointed as apprentice chef at a newly opened Miller & Cater Restaurant. In addition to studying a GCSE each of our Food Technology students have the opportunity to obtain a Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate. Product Design at Cardiff High School has changed a lot and has had a positive effect on results. The cohort has also changed with overall numbers and number of girls who opt to study subject rising significantly over the past 3 years. 2012 : 49 students (2 girls) 2013: 69 students (24 girls) 2014 : 78 students (28 girls) This we feel is a result of our exciting key stage 3 curriculum and experiences that demonstrates the true capabilities of Design Technology.

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In 2012 we achieved Arkwright affiliated school status. Each year since achieving this status we have had students, both male and female, achieve prestigious Arkwright Scholarships. We know that the subject is not just for boys. Our results, data and achievement now prove this! Key Stage 5 I know that I speak on behalf of all members of the Design Technology department when I say that we are genuinely excited when teaching A Level Product Design. This appears to be the most influential time when our young designers become advanced problem solvers and intelligent product designers. A lot of our emphasis is using sketchbooks to communicate and develop ideas. We are moving towards delivering A Level Product Design in a similar style to that you would find at a University. We utilise external speakers and professionals to discuss projects with our product designers. They also undergo critiques and regular presentation sessions throughout the duration of the course. We firmly believe that the way in which we delivery Product Design at A Level prepares our students for their university studies. One of our 2014 A Level students has recently experienced great success with this project with not only being selected for the Innovation Awards Exhibition but also nominated for an award (award type TBA). His work has also successfully been selected for a funded patent application for his product. Zach Cater; you heard his name here first! Innovative Teaching If you were to enter our department and walk into any lesson I have no doubt that you would be impressed. Engagement levels are maintained by how students are

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challenged and excited by the subject. We know that our lessons have a profound impact on students learning and wider school experiences. We develop positive working relationships with all of our students to foster their skills and ability to have the confidence in problem solving. As a department we are creative and innovative. This approach role models to students that success doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always happen first time. Perseverance and persistence is key in all aspects of Design Technology. We like taking learning risks and students are highly rewarded by this approach. Over the past 2 years we have been developing the use of new technologies within our subject. Our subject is already highly rewarding so the injection of iPads into our curriculum has had a positive impact. The main impact has been the opportunity to promote independence through the use of QR Codes and the Aurasma App. Since using QR Codes linked to annotation sentence starters it has hugely improved the quality of students work. The Aurasma App has allowed us to display demonstration videos as and when necessary. This has been very popular especially during electronics projects. In addition to these two techniques we have had our A Level Product Designers using the iPad to introduce an innovative approach to CAD even at the design ideas stages. This is particular evident in our Textile specialistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; work. Social Networks Cardiff High School fully embraces the use of social networks, especially Twitter. Our Twitter account is being used to celebrate studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; work both written and practical. Pupils are delighted to see their work appear on our wall and will often retweet it. Twitter is not only used as a celebration of success but also as a communication tool for our exam classes to remind them of deadlines or point them in the direct of

the VLE. The popularity of our Twitter account continues to grow on a daily basis with currently 1000 followers. We consider how we use Twitter to be exemplar from an educational perspective. If you would like to see this in action follow us @Design TechCHS The Future We are passionate about the development of the department and taking it to the next level. The design industry is continually progressing and never stands still and therefore it is important that neither does design education. We currently have a curriculum in place with projects that are engaging and innovative but this is not enough. We are always looking ahead. Always looking at improving and modernising our facilities to ensure our learners are having an experience/ education that will direct positively into their careers as the designers/ engineers of the future.

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@ClevedonDT using iBeacons Dave White

Teach Design Tech Centre Director Subject Coordinator for D&T

At Clevedon School we are very lucky to have our students using iPads or other mobile devices to enhance their learning. In D&T we are experimenting with a variety of design apps but a new development in school has been the introduction of iBeacons. iBeacons are tiny devices located around school that have been set up to broadcast over Bluetooth to iPads or iPhones running a special app. When a student moves into range of the iBeacon it will display on their iPhone or iPad the information that the beacon has sent to it.

not head over to the iClevedon website www.iclevedon.co.uk/category/ibeacons/ Whilst talking about iBeacons in D&T at Clevedon School I really must mention and thank Lewis Smallwood. Lewis is one of our year 11 Product Design students and a Digital Leader who has written the Handbook app, created the iBeacon backend/infrastructure and the web app for teachers to set up the resources and timetable for pushing content via the iBeacons.

The iBeacons can be set up by teachers to send all sorts of information to the students, it might be a link to our blog (http://clevedondt.wordpress.com/) or other website, a file for downloading that has been stored on the school network, a lesson resource or almost anything else. And even better these items can be organised to be sent out only at particular times. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s early days in the use of iBeacons at Clevedon School and we are very excited about the use of this technology in D&T, we are constantly thinking of new ways to utilise it, as well as the distribution of teaching and learning resources we are already considering using it to send out D&T Newsflashes, showcases of student projects, and more. If you would like to find out even more about iBeacons at Clevedon School why

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Don’t Limit your challenges, Challenge your limits Phil Holton

Teach Design phil@teachdesign.org.uk

On the 7th of September 2014, the Leigh UTC opened its doors to students aged 14 to 19 years old from the surrounding schools, 17 in total, and became the first UTC to open in Kent. Whilst other schools failed to hit their launch deadline, the Leigh UTC, under the guidance of Steve Leahey, now Principle Designate, opened ahead of a scheduled 7th of October start. As a former Head of Technology and an SSAT Lead Practitioner, he now leads the new college, which joins the prestigious and successful Leigh Academy Trust. The Leigh UTC opened with one aim, to transform education in the area, and offer a technically orientated range of courses. The business partners behind the development all agreed that from day one, UTC students would be treated as trainees, young engineers and future employees in Dartford, in support of the planned significant expansion for the area. Context The Dartford area is due to grow substantially as part of the ambitious Thames Gateway development. Dartford Borough’s plan through to 2026 predicts a 43% increase in population and 17,000 new homes, plus up to a million square metres of new commercial and factory space. Linking local growth to national need, it is essential to the plan that the education system supplies the engineers and technicians to encourage new

manufacturing businesses to locate in the area. A plan for an outstanding UTC The Leigh UTC would be centrally located in Dartford on a six acre site in the new Bridge development and would offer an environment in which young people would want to learn and where their achievements will be planned, recognised and celebrated. The traineecentred approach to learning would seek to constantly challenge and encourage, reflecting the trusts’ belief that all young people can achieve, irrespective of prior aptitude, home background, gender or ability. The Leigh Academies Trust, University of Greenwich, Bluewater (Lend Lease), Eurostar, Dartford Borough Council and several local Dartford engineering companies committed to the idea of establishing an outstanding UTC. Employerand HE-led specialisms of Engineering and Computer Science would seek to develop social skills and the attributes allied to practical skills to bring economic prosperity to the community. A UTC would be pivotal in raising standards, locally and nationally, by providing different learning experiences in a ‘centre of excellence’ within a context that mirrors the best of commercial and industrial practice. Why engineering and computer science? The national engineering and computer

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science sectors needs a fresh flow of new recruits in place to maintain a competitive engineering industry when the economic situation recovers. We must therefore, ensure that we are educating and training world-class engineers to support this growth across a range of UK industries from nanotechnology to green energy production. The Leigh UTC wants to support young people and local employers to develop the engineering skills required, so that graduates from 2015 onwards can seek local employment. One progression route developed through our engagement with industrial employers is the extensive Advanced apprenticeship programme leading to a Higher apprenticeship in conjunction with the university partners. Launching with a bang During the first week, the lead subjects of Engineering and Computer Science delivered a 3 day WOW event, based around the application of both VEX and VEX IQ, by Innovation First. Every single student in the school was trained to expertly build and programme the robot for both autonomous and operator drive. Teams of students from all backgrounds and with a range of abilities were able to collaborate and work together to compete in competition heats over a VEX field. The finalists of the Sixth form event, taking on the name of The UTC TrailBlazers, won with a unique and robust design solution that delivered professional control and

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operation. In year 10, all teams managed to build and compete, with some excelling to be worthy of a range of prizes from the UTC sponsors. One week on Now on timetable, students continue on from the excellent start to their new college life. Students continue to join the college from neighbouring schools as the positive word of mouth spreads through social media. Sixth formers have begun building national competition level VEX robotics solutions, the Greenpower car, and over 40 are tackling the Extended project qualification by exploring a personal Engineering based product artefact brief. Btec Engineering Level 3 students began the year working with the MOD to build and develop a new IED disarming robot, with soldiers from the local Ruislip barracks demonstrating how they tackle the challenge. In 3 months, the team will return to judge the project outcomes to disarm a â&#x20AC;&#x153;realâ&#x20AC;? IED buried into a mock terrain on site. The Future As the college continues to grow in stature locally and nationally, staff are working hard to ensure that the excellent programme provides a cross curricular approach to delivering all forms of STEM. With subjects sharing the delivery of Mathematics and Science between workshops, classrooms

and science labs, students sitting 2015 examinations are already on to a new and more holistic journey to exam success. Growing numbers of local and national sponsors continue to contact the college looking to become involved, with Siemens and BAE Systems the latest companies to add their own value to the curriculum offer. For those local to Dartford and keen to develop their teaching and practice, a programme of free Autodesk, VEX and 3D printing training will begin in the Spring term. Contact: Philip.holton@theleighutc.org.uk for more details.

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Fernwood School Design Show Chris Halliday Design Show Co-ordinater

The inaugural ‘Design Show’ was held on Saturday 12th July at The Fernwood School, Nottingham. Purpose made display boards showcased an amazing display, an awesome variety work of all Year 11 students in Art Design and Technology. In addition there was a selection of superb Product Design AS and A level work, courses which we facilitate and deliver on behalf of Bilborough College, Nottingham. All ADT examination courses were represented. Students took responsibility for selecting, organising and displaying samples of their work, and included some great ‘selfies with their displays. Student Design Leaders, Staff and our technicians were in support. The show was hugely successful receiving many plaudits from visitors, parents, pupils and of course on ‘Twitter’ (@fernwooddt).

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Robots land in LONDON!

Jon Taylor

Teach Design jon@teachdesign.org.uk

Robots have been snapping together all over the capital with over 40 schools now part of the London STEM Leaders programme. The programme launched in June and has been gathering momentum ever since. Schools were supplied with enough VEX IQ robotics equipment to launch a STEM club with two competing teams alongside training and support throughout. The teams will compete in the 2014-15 VEX Robotics Highrise Challenge. The object of the game is to attain the highest possible score by moving cubes into the Scoring Zone and by building Highrises of cubes of the same colour on the Highrise Bases. Teams will compete collaboratively with a robot from another

team in a driver controlled teamwork challenge or individually in the autonomous programming based challenge. Interest from pupils across London has been outstanding with schools reporting considerable uptake to their STEM clubs and more students wanting to join. As soon as the easy to assemble VEX IQ robots appeared in assemblies and playgrounds pupils flocked to be a part of this exciting opportunity. One pupil at La Sainte Union Catholic School in Camden said: “I am really enjoying this Robotics club, I think it’s a great chance for different people from each form to come together and team up to build a robot… I love the feeling when you have managed to accomplish something and your team is proud of you!” You can’t ask for more than that can you? It’s not just the pupils that are learning through the London STEM Leaders programme either, we are providing training for each school’s nominated STEM leader too. Alongside the initial training on the launch days we provide twilight sessions to deliver robotics based CPD to the London STEM Leaders. These twilight sessions have proved immensely popular and allow likeminded teachers to discuss and share ideas relating to the programme and ultimately increase popularity and uptake within STEM based subjects, clubs and careers. Teachers across the capital

have been getting stuck in and getting to grips with VEX IQ and Modkit. Are you thinking this sounds great but have no idea where to start? One of the teachers from our latest launch said “It made something that previously seemed quite daunting into something quite manageable!” no excuses! It is clear that even after just a few weeks of the VEX IQ robots entering schools they are making a huge difference to the popularity of STEM. We have a diverse range of schools taking part in the programme with both co-ed and single sex, state and independent all reaping the benefits of such an exciting programme. Everyone is now gearing up towards the competition dates in January where all of the London STEM Leader schools will compete for places at the National Final’s which take centre stage at The Big Bang Fair. It is important to stress though that the competition element is just a small part of this ever expanding programme which will continue to inspire throughout the academic year! Keep an eye out on our website, www. londonstemleaders.co.uk and follow us on Twitter, @LSLeaders for the latest updates! Are you a London school that would love to be part of the London STEM Leader programme? If so get in touch, send Jon Taylor an email Jon@teachdesign.org.uk places are limited!

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