Preparing for Disaster with a Digital Solution

Preparing for Disaster with a Digital Solution

Stage / Tools / Examples

Discover
-Define a problem
-Immerse
-Learn
-Ask questions
-Research
-Gain skills
-Form empathy / Immersion Excursion
Provocation whole day experience in which students are immersed in an experience relevant to the area being explored at the beginning of the inquiry. / Excursion to explore an iconic area that was dramatically impacted by a natural disaster such as flooding at Southbank in Brisbane.As students explore the flood markers from the 2011 floods they become aware of the impact a natural disaster can have.
At the State Library participate in Design Minds “Flood of Ideas” toolkit.

This tool kit aims to act as a vehicle for young Queenslanders to develop skills in planning and preparing for disaster in their community.
Visit “Digital Futures Lab” at SLQ
http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/whats-on/calevents/general/digital-futures/digital-futures/lab
Journey through what and how Queenslanders once imagined the future to be.Play, learn, make and explore images, locative games, talks, films and latest technologies. Various digital solutions that have been created and serve a purpose are available to explore.
Journey Map
Timeline of the users experiences over a relevant period of time. / Display a timeline of natural disasters over the last 50 years that impacted our community. As the various disasters are placed on the timeline, community impact is discussed and explored.
Ask the question, “What does the history of flooding in our region tell us?”
Guest Speakers
By inviting experts to discuss relevant life experiences regarding aspects of the inquiry, a deeper empathy and understanding is developed. / Example of experts that could enhance students understanding of this inquiry include; emergency workers, SES workers, Army representatives involved in disaster relief, Government disaster planning representatives, locals who have experienced natural disasters, hydrologists etc.
For example we had Major General McLachlan from the Army who coordinates natural disaster relief efforts in the Australasia area. We also heard from Dr. Chris Joy a Chief Queensland hydrologist. Heexplained why floods occur and what mitigation strategies are put in placein our region.
Previous to any guest speakers visit we discuss and write down questions that have been prompted by previous discoveries.
Hands on activities
These activities are aimed to help students;
Make decisions under pressure
Discover understanding of needs
Develop empathy
Critique ideas / Explore the 2011 Brisbane floods using the app “Flood lines”. Created by the State library of Queensland.
Show ad campaigns:

Ask the question, “Why does our government invest money into creating and sharing these ad campaigns?”
What’s in the box?
Activity to discover what is needed in an emergency kit.
Students are given three scenarios and they need to select 4 out of 12 items to use in each emergency. They are given 2 minutes to make these decisions. Students must then justify each item they have chosen.
https://getready.qld.gov.au/plan/step-2-emergency-and-evacuation-kits/
Create an emergency kit
Useful items: shoe boxes, glad wrap, cardboard, scissors, glue, string, plastercine, foil.
Groups are given a smallboxand need to create an emergency kit that will last a family of 4 for 3 days.
They need to consider the amount of food and water needed, issues that could occur. As this activity progresses, ask questions, prompt ideas. For example ask, “Does anyone know their neighbour’s phone number? Why might this be needed? How could we ensure in an emergency we know this?”
Interview/Survey
Brainstorm questions
Identify and order themes
Filter questions
Use an online survey to extend the reach of the desired audience.
A maximum of 5 questions has been shown to be effective in surveys. / Survey
In order to help prepare the community there is a need to find out how prepared they already are.
Students brainstorm areas of preparedness and write survey questions with multiple-choice answers. These can be collated and ordered into themes. These questions will also need to be filtered to ensure the most useful questions are used in the survey. A survey monkey ( is then created and shared with the community through a social network such as an online school newsletter.

Connect
-Connect discoveries
-Compare
-Judge
-Analyse
-Consider
-Find needs / VIP (Very Important Problem) – Survey follow up
After collecting survey results and analyzing graphs of results, chose 3 VIP’s. Write them on three separate sticky notes and add them to agroup VIP line. / Display the survey results on a variety of tables, charts and graphs then discuss.
Use a VIP line that has degrees of importance displayed (eg. Useful…Important... Vital)
Each group choses three problems that they have determined from the survey results. Eg. Very few people have emergency kits. Problem: If a natural disaster struck they wouldn’t have food, water and supplies to survive three days.
Each group takes a turn of adding VIP’s to the line at a specific location and explaining to the group why they have chosen the problem and why it lies at the point on the VIP line that they have chosen.
Discussion about “NEEDS” and “INSIGHTS” are explored throughout this process.
MudMap
Activity to deeply explore discoveries (user, context, tools) and make connections. / Demonstrate how to do this activity as a group first.In this activity objects are used to represent various discoveries and arranged in meaningful ways. Discoveries from the last few weeks are connected and compared. By the end of this activity it is hoped that the students will have a deep understanding of the needs of our community and a problem we need to create a solution for.
Useful items: mini figures, glue sticks, scissors, small toys, trinkets, large piece of paper, pens, sticky notes.
As the activity progresses there is opportunity for assessment as students share their understanding through the MudMap.
“How Might We” Question
This question is a powerful summary of the inquiry and guides ideation and prototyping outcomes. / It is important to be specific about the verb and audience so the aims of the inquiry can converge at this point.
It is also possible to have one question for the whole group or each group can develop a question.

ACTION
One adjective / WHAT
What’s the ‘thing’ you’re doing? / WHOM
Who is it for? / CHANGE SOMETHING
What will be the result you’re hoping for?
Write the inquiry question:
How might we ______for ______in order to______

Ideate
-Generate idea
-Non-judgmental
-Consider skills
-Chose an idea / Brainstorm
Brainstorm digital solutions for a natural disaster that might help our community.
Complete 2 rounds of 5 minutes. / Use a bag of adjectives/tech words to assist the brainstorming process and to help the flow of ideas. Eg. Fast, small, connect, complicated, simple, cutting edge, game, Hopscotch.
Some more tech words can be found:

Brainstorm, share ideas and look at a couple of stimulus then brainstorm again.
Example stimulus:
https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/prepare-floods?utm_source=innovation&utm_medium=promo&utm_term=-&utm_content=text-version&utm_campaign=promo_innovation_interactive_house
Look at 3 of the projects from previous years group (Makeymakey, Hopscotch and mBot).
Idea Selection
Chose 3 of the groups favourite ideas from the brainstorming activity.
Use a filtering tool such as a judging chart to score each idea as to the degree it is new, useful and feasible. / Judging Ideas: After discussing and choosing 3 ideas students then judge these ideas using the following chart:
Idea / NEW / USEFUL / FEASIBLE / Score
1 / /10 / /10 / /10 / /30
2 / /10 / /10 / /10 / /30
3 / /10 / /10 / /10 / /30
(Tool 1: Idea Selection Tool)
Collaboratively each idea is judged out of 10. These scores are added for each section giving an overall score for each idea.
From this chart, groups choose an idea to prototype.

Prototype
-Create
-Test
-Evaluate
-Re-create
-Improve / Rapid Prototype
The first iteration of the digital solution is an opportunity to write initial ideas on paper. / Discuss user interface and look at a variety of interactive technology the students are familiar with. Fill out a chart:
Game / Tech / Instructions / Navigation / Characters/Background
Interactive animation
Game
Quiz
(Tool 2: User Interface Analysis)
Prototype 1: 15-20 minutes to design the user interface and label
(Worksheet 1: Design a User Interface)
Test/Feedback/Improve
Groups will enter a cycle of creating, receiving feedback and improving the solution. / Discuss the requirements for the digital solution. Plan the requirements needed for the solution.
(Worksheet 2: Digital Requirements)
Prototype 2: Students have time to begin programming a digital solution with the relevant technology.
Once a prototype is complete, each group will use a “Feedback Grid” to gather information on the prototype and how they can improve it.
A “Feedback Grid” requires an A4 page divided into quadrants; positives (+), constructive criticism/wishes (#), questions the experience raised (?) and ideas (light bulb)
(Worksheet 3: Feedback Grid)
Each group will have this filled out by 3 peers and one year 6 student.
Prototype 3-?: Each iteration of the digital solution is critiqued with a feedback grid, reflected upon and improved.
Prototype Algorithms / Revisit algorithm diagrams by looking at three different coded scenarios in Scratch, each with varying degrees of branching (create them as you discuss the level of difficult: simple, repetition, if/then statement). As a class, complete flowcharts of the three scenarios.
(Worksheet 4: Algorithm flow charts)
Have students look at the code they have used for their own digital solutions. Students individually complete the worksheet to assess understanding of algorithms in terms of repetition and if/then statements.

Share
-Share/Pitch the creations to an audience / Pitch Digital Solution
Students pitch the solution to relevant people in the community who have some expertise in the area studied. / The digital solution is pitched to the teacher, including some experts encountered throughout the inquiry. Eg. Emily from coding kids, Major General from the army, Hydrologist etc.
The presentation includes:
-The “How Might We….” Question.
-A summary of the digital solution and why it is needed.
-An explanation of how the digital solution is helping people to be prepared for a flooding event.
-An evaluation of the digital solution including possible improvements.

WORKSHEET 1Group Members:

DESIGN THE USER INTERFACE

Plan what the user will see and do when they interact with the digital solution.

Draw a diagram of the user interface to show what the user will see.

Describe how the user will interact with the user interface: ______

______

WORKSHEET 2Group members:

Digital Requirements

Which coding program willthe design team use? (eg. Scratch) ______

What type of digital solution will the design team create? (eg. Game) Game______

Define the requirements for your digital solution using the chart below.

Who will use this digital solution?
Why do we need this digital solution?
How will this digital solution solve a problem? / Purpose
Plan the functional requirements you will need to code, listing each element in order (eg. Sprites, sounds, levels, scores etc): / Functional Requirements
This digital solution will use different types of data (eg. images, sounds, sensors, questions).What data will you need to collect or create? / Data Requirements

WORKSHEET 3Group members:

FEEDBACK GRID

Prototype number:

++Positive things about the digital experience++ / ##Constructive Criticism##
??Questions the experience raised?? / Ideas

WORKSHEET 4Group members:

ALGORITHM FLOWCHARTS

Simple Algorithm / Branching Algorithm with
BRANCHING (IF/ELSE) / Branching Algorithm with
REPETITION
Describe the algorithm in words
Draw a flow chart of the algorithm

TOOL 1Group members:

IDEA SELECTION TOOL

Favourite Ideas / NEW / USEFUL / FEASIBLE / Score
1 / /10 / /10 / /10 / /30
2 / /10 / /10 / /10 / /30
3 / /10 / /10 / /10 / /30

Which idea has the design group selected to prototype?

Give three reasons why the design group has selected this idea?

TOOL 2 Group members:

User Interface Analysis

Technology / Instructions
How does the user know the aims of the technology? / Input
How does the user know how to interact with the technology? / Characters/Background
How do the characters, objects, colours and backgrounds relate to the aims of the technology?
Interactive animation
Summary:
Game
Summary:
Quiz
Summary:

CRITERIA: Preparing for a disaster with a digital solutionGroup members:

HASS / Digital Technology
Inquiry and Skills / Defining: Evaluating / Designing: Implementing / Collaborating and presenting
Questioning, researching, analysing, evaluating, reflecting and communicating. / Defines problems in terms of data and functional requirements and explain how their solutions meet needs. / Designs solutions by developing algorithms to address the problems. They incorporate decision-making, repetition and user interface design into their designs and implement their digital solutions, including a visual program. / Management and communication of ideas in collaborative digital projects.
Effectively connects ideas about natural disasters, survey results and a digital solution towards a “How might we” question.
Communicates these ideas through a digital solution. / The digital solution has programmed elements (animations, sounds, levels, scores etc) that support a solution that meets a need. / Creates a user interface relevant to the digital solution that is easy to navigate.
Algorithms are efficient through repetition and branching. / Presents an overview of the project with a clear visual and verbal explanation of how the digital solution meets the needs of the defined audience. / A
Analyses ideas and justifies the choice of a digital solution to prototype.
Creates appropriate survey questions and applies survey data to influence choices in an inquiry. / Data (sound, images, text, numbers etc) support the usefulness of the digital solution.
Explains how the digital solution could be improved to better meet needs. / Designs algorithms that align with the purpose of the digital solution.
Correctly represents algorithms diagrammatically and in English. / Presents the digital solution verbally with visual aides to describe the digital solution. / B
Reflects on learning to define a need. Communicates ideas about the problem and a possible solution. / Describes data and functional requirements for the digital solution.
Explains how the digital solution solves a problem for a user. / Designs the user interface for a digital solution.
Creates algorithms using a visual program that include branching and repetition. / Members of the design team verbally communicate ideas about the digital solution.
Member’s collaboratively contribution throughout the project. / C
Collects information from a source and produces some questions. / Identifies basic requirements for the digital solution. / Designs the user interface for a digital solution and modifies algorithms. / Identifies some ideas verbally. / D
Some information is collected. / Identifies a requirement that meets a need. / Identifies aspects of the user interface. Follows an algorithm. / Conversationally discusses ideas related to the project. / E

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