Jorja Chellingsworth

EDCU12039 Assessment 1
Student No. s0286773
Multiple Movement Automaton
Gary Holmes
WEEBLY LINK - jorjachellingsworth@weebly.com

Part A The Benefit of Peer Feedback

Having a fellow student look over my design project allows you to learn
how others interpret your work and whether your design is being
understood to it full extent. This then improves your communication skills
in the future, showing you what you need to work on. My peer feedback in
this circumstance made me feel more confident about my communication
skills. In her feedback she stated that my Weebly was written in an easy-
to-understand and informative way and that my use of pictures helped
to clearly explain the concept. This came from creating a neat and bare
minimal style Weebly, meaning only putting in what was completely
necessary, making sure not to repeat myself more than needed. The only
communication issue that appeared in my design project was that I did
not have the same understanding of what was supposed to be included as
my peer assessor did. Having someone to communicate with in regards to
what was to be included did help with this evaluation though, and if I were
to repeat the creation of my design project on Weebly I would know what
was to be included and would confidently be able to communicate that in
a way that a wide demographic of people could understand.

Receiving and giving peer evaluations requires a certain amount of

consideration and grace. You must have a strong grasp of the criteria that
is provided for the task and be able to explain and back up your
interpretation of it. These abilities assist in the careful breakdown of
anothers design process as well as understanding what a peer may say
about your own. Judging a peer and seeing a peers assessment of your
own creative thought process and use of critical thinking helps you to
grow and develop these skills.

Through receiving feedback from my peer, she believed that I had left out
the critical thinking and planning aspect. Her interpretation of the criteria
and Moodle content caused her to believe that we were required to design
and build a unique model of our own as an example. However, I
interpreted the task differently, creating a base model and thoroughly
explaining and providing the participant with my own guidelines of what
was acceptable for the chosen movements and artistic addition on the
top. I used my own critical thinking and creativity to come up with a
unique idea that would suit my project and then had to use it again in
deciding whether I had made the correct judgement, which I believe I
have. With her ideas in mind though I can see how having an example
would have been beneficial. Through this receiving of feedback, I was then
able to analyse another individuals critical and creative thinking skills and
hopefully improve them by doing so.

The evaluation of my design project was very well done and was both
critical but professional, leaving me feeling relatively positive, despite my
poor mark. However, the fact that my peer assessor was a distance
student, did result in some varying views of what was expected in the
assignment. There were certain aspects that were explained differently in
class than to what was in the Moodle which may have influenced the
differences in our assignments. An example of this is having to create our
own unique design. I clearly covered what the base of the design would
look like, giving examples and clear diagrams, then left the artistic,
sustainable theme up to the participant, having them use their
imagination. In the eyes of my peer however, that was not close enough
to the criteria.

Another disagreement was the age aspect of the criteria. I was aware of
having to make it relate to adults and that it did not have to be in an
education setting, however from want I had researched about a multiple
movement automaton, its purpose was too entertain children and teach
them basic mechanics. Then, as it was the only way project made sense to
me, I presented it as if I were explaining to a teacher how to teach it to
her students. This appeared the most practical form of presentation to me
and my learning, however after consideration I can see that this still does
not entirely conform to the criteria.

Part B Examining my Technology Design Challenge and how it

could be adapted for an educational setting

My design challenge is artistically inclined and helps develop a basic

understanding of mechanics, introducing core concepts (Exploratorium,
2015). With that in mind year level four was selected to have the project
adapted for their use. As I misinterpreted the intended audience of the
design process, the project I developed in my Weebly is already relevant
to the year four classroom. Instead of writing from the perspective of an
average adult, I wrote as if I were informing a teacher on how to present it
to children. Only a few minor additions will be necessary, however the
links to the Australian Curriculum are not made clear in my Weebly and
therefore will be noted in the proceeding explanation. The design process
currently in place already has the participant using recycled materials, but
giving a brief lesson on why using recycled materials is preferable would
help solidify their knowledge of the environmental sustainability
implications, as stated in the Australian Curriculum (2017). Also, students
could also bring the recycled materials from home, as long as appropriate
notice was given to families, as a way of encouraging students to be
aware of sustainability issues in their own life too.

To further the promotion of the environmental sustainability, students are

required to choose a major environmental issue, currently effecting
Australia, and/or the Asia region and incorporate it into the theme of their
multiple automaton. This should be expressed in a way that sheds light on
the issue and will require creativity and imagination, just as the Australian
curriculum (2017) insists. Students should be provided with a list of these
issues, which can be found on the document Asias Wicked Environmental
Problems, written by the Asian Development Bank Institute (2012), and
the website WWF Global under Australia: problems (2017). Then they
should research these further, helping them to see real world implications
of environmentally unstable designs, as stated in the Australian
Curriculum (2017). To cover the self-reflection component of the Australian
Curriculum (2017), students will be required to present a brief reflection
on the ethical, environmental, aesthetic, cultural, functional and social;
and sustainability of their design as stated by Wendy Fasso, course
coordinator of Design and Digital Technologies (2017). They should make
suggestions of what and how they could improve.

How can I make this project more relatable to Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander students?

To engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, it would help to

incorporate some important environmentally relevant issues that they
currently face. These issues could be added to the list and given equal
priority to those faced by Australia and Asia. Some may even overlap, just
as the Australian and Asian issues do. This would hopefully create a
feeling of unity in the classroom, proving that we are all working toward a
common goal sustain and protect the earth. Torres Strait Islander lands
are currently at risk of being flooded at high tide due to the effects of
climate change, and it is speculated that the Islands could one day
become completely submerged if nothing is done to counteract it. Erosion,
rough seas and high storm frequencies are some other examples of the
effects of climate change on Torres Strait Island communities (Creative
Spirit, 2016). This could not only mean a loss of land and homes, but a
loss of a way of life, of culture. This information was easy to find through
online search engines and therefore would be an interesting and not
overly complicated topic for any student to research and design a multiple
movement automaton around.

Tourism and its detrimental effect to certain Aboriginal sacred sites, such
as Uluru is another sustainability topic that can be used. Uluru is
considered the heart of the earth to Aboriginal people and having people
that dont understand or respect its significance climb all over it and
commit other acts of ignorance upon it, degrades its cultural importance
and non-Indigenous peoples consideration for Indigenous cultures
(Creative Spirits, 2016). Other examples that could be used are littering,
the resource industry such as mining in sacred areas, causing damage to
ancient artefacts, and construction and development which can also cause
damage to sacred artefacts (Creative Spirits, 2016). Embedding
Indigenously relevant content in the classroom helps improve the
relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, helping
Indigenous students to feel more connecting to schooling, and helping
non-Indigenous students gain respect for their cultures. It is important
that a range of perspectives are presented to students to enrich their
understanding of Australia and all its people (ALEA, 2013).

How can I ensure that time is used efficiently in the design

process for students?

In a project that requires a lot of planning and building time, time

management is key to an efficient and successful end result. Some small
strategies that can be implemented to conserve time throughout the
design process are, make your criteria very clear to the students, (Griffith
University, n.d.) and monitoring every students progress from the start of
the project to the end (Semantic Scholar, 1988).

A comprehensive explanation of what is expected for an assessment task

prevents later confusion or blame for the assessment being completed
incorrectly. It is important that students are aware of the level of
performance they wish to meet. A criterion provides a clear outline of that
(Griffith University n.d.). This saves the students time while designing and
creating their project and helps them to complete it with confidence. It
also relieves stress from the educator with students not having to ask a
multitude of questions while already having begun their project possibly
incorrectly.

As for monitoring students throughout the entire assessment process, this

means that even if students dont complete the whole of their actual
implementation process, the teacher can confidently grade them on the
work they have done as they have sufficient evidence of it (Semantic
Scholar, 1988). Monitoring throughout requires the educator to ask
students to interpret or summarize material covered in relevant lessons or
about their chosen topic; ask students to explain their design throughout
different stages of its completion; and walk around the class, observing
concentration of students, checking designs and alerting students of their
errors if any are present (Semantic Scholar, 1988).

Part C - How can I ensure the students safety throughout the

design process?

A comprehensive risk assessment of each step in the design process

should be completed. When students begin researching their
environmental issue it is important to monitor their internet activity. This
can be done easily if the school has NetSupport, allowing teachers to view
the screens of their class through their own computer (NetSupport School,
n.d.). If there is not this option for teachers, all Queensland state schools
have their internet usage filtered blocking certain sites they deem unfit for
students to be accessing as they may be unsafe (Queensland
Government, 2017). This is a very helpful educational tool for teachers
and ensure the safety of students while accessing the internet at school.

In regards to the use of coloured pencils and scissors in the design and
implementation processes, students in grade four should not have trouble
with this and it should be considered a low-level risk. It is possible
however, if this is a concern of a parent or fellow teacher, to purchase
cheap safety glasses for the students, preventing them from poking an
eye with any of the rough cardboards, pencils, scissors, or other pointy
materials (Sciencing, 2017).

For the purpose of this assessment students are to bring recycled

materials from home, which will hopefully encourage them to become
more aware of the sustainability issues that are present in their own lives.
This can been seen as a safety concern as the materials have not been
pre-approved or checked by a teacher, and could have certain unnoticed
safety threatening characteristics. To prevent this from happening a strict
list of materials should be sent out to the parents via letter and email. This
list should stress the importance of following its instructions to avoid
hazards in the classroom. Allergies of students, breakability of recyclable
items and general sanitary and hygiene requirements should be
considered in this list (FARE, n.d.). This comes with a certain amount of
trust of the parents want to keep their children and other children safe.
Having students bring in materials from home should be checked by a
supervisor or principal prior to sending out letters as some may not feel it
is worth the risk. To prevent the need of the use of stanley knives,
students will use thinner cardboard that is able to be cut with a pair of
scissors. This will also be specified in the list that is sent home to parents.

Having and keeping clear working spaces marked out is important.

Students should have designated stations for each activity, keeping
recycled materials in neat containers, organising sharp tools into one safe
and monitored area and having a supervising adult in each area to ensure
correct health and safety procedures are being upheld.

Student allergies should be monitored and taking into account in every

step of the design process. These would include allergies to food cartons
brought in from student homes, glues or tapes, paints, glitters, chemicals,
or plastics. While working with liquids with certain chemicals present, it is
important to do so in a ventilated environment. This means that the
classroom should have all the windows open and the fan going. This
should be treated with extra caution if asthmatics are present in your
classroom. The teacher aids and other supervisors as well as the lead
teacher should also be considered in the is allergen check to be thorough.
Having qualified supervisors in the classroom with current blue cards is
also a strong safety requirement in school and the classroom.

Considering what kind of students you have in your class is important

also. This means that if any students have behavioural concerns such as
anger management or are easily overwhelmed, they should be monitored
carefully to make sure they are coping well under the stress of this multi-
step design process.
Reference List

ALEA. (2013). Bringing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives

into the classroom:

Why and how. Retrieved from

https://www.alea.edu.au/documents/item/775

Asian Development Bank Institute. (2012). Asias wicked environmental

problems. Retrieved

from https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/156203/adbi-
wp348.pdf

Australian Curriculum. (2017). Design and technologies years 3 and 4.

Retrieved from

http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/technologies/design-and-

technologies/curriculum/f-10?layout=1#level3-4

Creative Spirit. (2016). Threats to Aboriginal land. Retrieved from

https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/land/threats-to-
aboriginal-

land#axzz4dXdwrTPH

Exploratorium. (2015). Tinkering studios - cardboard automata. Retrieved

from

https://tinkering.exploratorium.edu/cardboard-automata

FARE. (n.d.). Managing food allergies in schools. Retrieved from

https://www.foodallergy.org/file/school-parent-guide.pdf

Fasso, W. (2017). EDCU12039 Design and Digital Technologies: Study

guide. Rockhampton,

QLD: CQUniversity
Griffith University. (n.d.). Assessment matters. Retrieved from

https://app.griffith.edu.au/assessment-matters/docs/design-

assessment/principles/transparent

NetSupport. (n.d.) Monitor and control. Retrieved from

http://www.netsupportschool.com/monitor.asp

Sciencing. (2017). Safety rule for a sharp object lab. Retrieved from

http://sciencing.com/safety-rules-sharp-object-lab-6401080.html

Semantic Scholar. (1988). Monitoring student learning in the classroom.

Retrieved from

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/2e9c/b513948f7b0a40a79c63b3a9f
0e61a916d8a.f

WWF Global. (2017). Environmental problems in Australia. Retrieved from

http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/australia/environment
al_problems

_in_australia