NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS CURRICULUM SUPPORT
Computing Science
Hardware: Exemplar Project and
a Suggested Learning Approach
[NATIONAL 4]
This advice and guidance has been produced to support the profession with the delivery of courses which are either new or which have aspects of significant change within the new national qualifications (NQ) framework.
The advice and guidance provides suggestions on approaches to learning and teaching. Practitioners are encouraged to draw on the materials for their own part of their continuing professional development in introducing new national qualifications in ways that match the needs of learners.
Practitioners should also refer to the course and unit specifications and support notes which have been issued by the Scottish Qualifications Authority.
Acknowledgement
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HARDWARE (NAT 4, COMPUTING SCIENCE)1
© Crown copyright 2012
Contents
Introduction4
Exemplar project description5
Possible learning andteaching approaches7
Exemplar teaching materials9
HARDWARE (NAT 4, COMPUTING SCIENCE)1
© Crown copyright 2012
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
This advice and guidance providesan exemplar project and suggested learning and teaching approaches thatmaygive learners the opportunity to carry out, research and gain understanding of computer systems and hardware technology.
The suggested learning and teaching approaches and materials could be used as guidance andmay be applied to a number of areas within the Computer Science course.This suggested learning andteaching approach could support learnersin developing an understanding of key principles and will allow them to carry out meaningful research in order to gain a deeper understanding of contemporary systems and hardware. Learners will also gain experience and confidence in comparing and evaluating hardware technology and be given a chance to demonstrate this knowledge.
The exemplar project structure allows learners to demonstrate their understanding through a number of collaborative tasks and the development of a contemporary solution. This contextualisation means that the project could be used to reinforce previous skills and give learners a number of ways to develop and demonstrate progression on their journey towards a secure understanding of the Computing Science course.The project will be learner driven and should allow flexibility with a focus on active learning approaches and opportunities for learners to identify their own areas of interest and carry out appropriate research into hardware and develop their own solution to the project brief.
HARDWARE (NAT 4, COMPUTING SCIENCE)1
© Crown copyright 2012
EXEMPLAR PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Exemplar project description
Learning and teaching approaches
The aim of this exemplar project is to allow learners to gain knowledge ofcontemporary hardware technology, understand their features and how to compare and evaluate some of these features, and gain an insight into emerging technologies. The emphasis is on learner-led research so learners should have enough flexibility to allow them to identify requirements and develop a solution that is relevant to their own experience or interests. Thestarting point for this exemplar project is the use of technology from the point of view and experience of the learner, looking at the current applications of technology as well as new and emerging technologies. The key areas should highlightwhatthe learners are required to focus on in their research inorder to gain the information that will be required for the product they will design and create. Learners should gain an understanding of contemporary and emerging technology, a range of hardware devices and the waythese devices fit into their modern lives.
In thisexemplar project the areas of focus will bethe learners’ research into and comparison of hardware technology.The identification and choice of hardware types can be driven by the learners’experience and research into the current trends and future developments. This can be used as an opportunity to reinforce good research technique, resource evaluation and online safety as learners will have already been exposed to these concepts.
At each stage of research learners will gain an understanding of the key areasand could be introduced to and apply a number of skills, such as planning and communication. Research and development could be carried out in small development teams, encouraging collaboration, the sharing of tasks and high-level thinking skills. There is also the opportunity to transfer a shared responsibility for learning through team development, and the allocation of roles within each team and collaborative working encourages a more active approach by the learners.
The exemplarproject brief asks for the development ofshort technology reviews in the form of videos or animations delivered via a website. These videos or animations should make use of the research into current and emerging technology products as well as being informed by any research into
current trends, future trends, user needs and comparison criteria. Thesite containing the videos or animations could be delivered in the form of a small stand-alone website, but would perhaps provide a better, more realistic learning context when delivered as an integrated part ofa larger website that may be createdinthe information systems development unit. The form the final piece of work takes may also be determined by the learner’s prior experience.
This advice can be used as a starting point for thedevelopment of the exemplarproject to promote problem-solving skills and reinforce the learners’ understanding of all the stages involved in the development of a web-based solution and the required video content.
HARDWARE (NAT 4, COMPUTING SCIENCE)1
© Crown copyright 2012
POSSIBLE LEARNING AND TEACHING APPROACHES
Possible learning and teaching approaches
Focus / Suggested learning and teaching approaches and evidence of progressionKey points (learning intentions):
- understanding of current technology use
- comparison criteria for technology and user needs
- critical evaluation of both contemporary and emerging hardware
Class discussion
Group discussion
Group list creation and ‘superlist’ class collaboration
Search technique and resource evaluation, including critical evaluation of web design and existing video review sites
Group research to gain information on the current use of technology
Identification of the popularity of hardware and the impact it has on the lives of learners through the use of modern online survey techniques
Identification through research and survey comparison criteria for hardware, eg processor speed, memory, network/internet access, interface, portability, display quality
Identification of key user requirements
Planning and creation of project solution / Target audience identified by small project teams of perhaps two or three, delivery medium,visual layout designed through story boarding. Suitable navigation also identified by learners to encourage ownership
Storyboarding and scripting of video/animation and website
Project teams manage themselves to create the solution usingweb development software
Evaluation / Peer evaluation and testing throughout development followed by ‘live’ testing
Blogging could also be used as a diary throughout the project and used in the evaluation of performance for each group
The blog location could also allow the presentation and promotion of the completed project to gain feedback from a wider audience, including parents
HARDWARE (NAT 4, COMPUTING SCIENCE)1
© Crown copyright 2012
EXEMPLAR LEARNING AND TEACHING APPROACHES
Exemplar learning and teaching approaches
Slide 1
Introduction to some of the key questions raised through this project.
The idea of being a ‘smart buyer’ could be introduced at this stage, as could the outline of the project brief if this is appropriate.
Slide 2
Explore technology use within the class.
Conduct a poll to find out what types of computer devices people own or have access to and which they use most frequently.
Ask learners to add a tally to the Venn diagram to illustrate ownership and use. This could be done using an interactive whiteboard or a flipchart.
Slide 3
Discuss modern survey techniques.
Ask learners to create a short survey using an online survey tool to gather information from their friends and family, eg surveymonkey.com, kwiksurveys.com.
Slide 4
In groups of four look at what is popular based on some survey results.
Do big numbers, eg fastest processors, most memory, biggest screens, connectivity, cool factor, physical size, and battery life, lead to popular devices?
Identify and list what is actually important to buyers. What does the smart buyer buy?
The ‘superlist’ of important specifications from all groups can be placed on the classroom wall and can be added to if anyone identifies additional important criteria.
Slide 5
Learners pair up and each chooses a smartphone or tablet (this would also work well for consoles, eg PS3 vs Xbox 360, or any other piece of technology) and carries out some research into its important specifications.
Which device is ‘better’ or has the highest specification?
Should ease of use be added to the list of categories? What about portability?
This task could also be presented as a TopTrumpsstyle game.
Slide 6
Create a class ‘coolwall’ and add pieces of technology and hardware on the left if they are cool, on the right if they are uncool and higher up if they are considered to be quality pieces of technology by the class.
This can be an ongoing process even past this project to encourage awareness of technology and constant re-evaluation of existing products.
Technology sites such as TechCrunch.com, AllThingsD.com, Mashable.com, and provide some resources.
Slide 7
Learners should analyse the problem and create a brief storyboard, plan or script for their videos. A good starting point may be to look at published examples on review sites such as those mentioned in the slide and BBC click etc. They could be encouraged to look at the ‘superlist’ on the wall of the classroom generated by the previous task.
Additional research will be required to gain the knowledge of the system the teams are reviewing, although if at all possible some time to actually use the current device being reviewed should be allowed, for example time to test an iPad. Access to emerging technology will be more difficult so animations of still images and video sourced online could be used.
Depending on the video-editing experience of the learners they may require support but the assumption is that they will have had at least some exposure to video-recording equipment and editing software to allow them to produce a video clip that is in a format suitable for publishing on a website and fits the time restraint. There is opportunity to talk about file formats, compression and storage requirements.
Development teams could be chosen to include mixed abilities and experiences, and a project manager could be identified (in a fixed appointment or on a rolling basis throughout the project) to take responsibility for progress and blogging the team’s progress.
Slide 8
and may be of some help here to support existing skills in web development. This is a good opportunity to discuss standards online (w3c etc) and the development of different platforms for maximum exposure.
FTP and FTP clients could be introduced here and their suitability, ease of use etc.
Slide 9
Peer evaluation of the sites produced. If possible the learners could be given the opportunity to upload their solution to a server to allow them to fully test links and compatibility issues.
In addition to testing within the establishment the sites could be added as the final post to the ongoing project blog with a self-evaluation of the final product, an evaluation of the team’s success and a summary of the knowledge gained.
HARDWARE (NAT 4, COMPUTING SCIENCE)1
© Crown copyright 2012