THE WORLD SEEMS TO BE GETTING SMALLER Contents

The World Seems to be Getting Smaller � 1

THE WORLD SEEMS TO BE GETTING SMALLER

A level 4 Information Strand unit of work focusing on:

� communications; and

� the field of Communications Engineering

Contents

Section 1: The Unit of Work ............................................................ 2

1a: Getting the message (or some background information about com-munications) .............................................................................. 2

1b: The design brief ..................................................................... 10

1c: What happens in the four phases? .............................................11

1d: Technical knowledge and skill content ....................................... 12

Section 2: The Engineers .............................................................. 17

2a: Steve .................................................................................... 17

2b: Rye ....................................................................................... 18

Section 3: Technical Resources ...................................................... 19

3a: Suggestions on how to solve the problem.................................. 19

3b: The binary number game ......................................................... 21

Section 4: Assessment ................................................................. 26

Section 5: Further Options ............................................................ 31

5a: Integrating learning areas......................................................... 31

5b: Working with students of differing abilities ................................ 31

Section 6: Some Useful Information ............................................... 34

6a: Question sheet � Steve ........................................................... 35

6b: Question sheet � Rye.............................................................. 36

6c: Letter for the student�s parents ................................................ 37

6d: Barcodes ............................................................................... 38

6e: ASCII Code ............................................................................ 39

6f: The binary number game ......................................................... 40

6g: The decimal to binary conversion record sheet ........................... 41

6h: Code sheet ............................................................................ 42

6i: Encoding sheet ....................................................................... 43

6j: Desktop Publishing hints .......................................................... 44

6k: Introducing the design brief in Section 1 ................................... 48


Section 1: THE UNIT OF WORK

Warning – health hazard(Read this before you continue.)

The background information is there to get you quickly up to �expert�level, or in other words one page ahead of the students. The informa-tion provided is certainly more than you would use in one unit ofwork. The advice, which you could ignore with disastrous results, isto select what you think you need. Choose carefully what you wantthe students to learn and focus on that. Don�t try to do everything.There will be other opportunities. When in doubt read the instruc-tions, in this case the introduction.

1A: GETTING THE MESSAGE (OR SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION

ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS)

There are things called electronic communication sys-tems. These are the systems we use for communicatingwith people (as well as machines and other equipment)in the next room, building, city, country and across theother side of the world. It is done through satellites andtelephone systems.Engineering in this area makes it possible for us to seeoverseas sport or a concert �live� on our TV. We canspeak to family and friends on the telephone �via satel-lite�. It is important in defence, transport and civil avia-tion, and it helps in the development of medical equipmentsuch as the �bionic ear�, pacemakers and life supportsystems. People working in this area are involved in de-signing and making different forms of electronic sys-tems.Some people are involved in the design and development of the miniature electronic systems thatmake the larger systems work. This is an area called micro-electronic engineering.

COMMUNICATION

Communication is something all humans and animals do. We constantly send and receive informa-tion. In the simplest sense we use our senses in this communication process.

� We speak and listen� We observe signals and read written and graphic symbols� We smell things� We feel

Our ability to communicate has been improved by the use of technology. We often think of technol-ogy and communication as something fairly recent with radio, telephones and satellites. Perhaps weneed to revisit the concept of technology again before going any further.

CAUTION

THIS COULD

EASILY BECOME

A HEALTH HAZARD


Defining technology can be difficult because every expert has a different definition, but there aresome common elements.

� Technology is a process used to solve problems of human need.� Technology involves the use of materials.� Technology involves the use of tools (ranging from the very basic tool to the most complex

machines).� Technology involves the application of knowledge.

Armed with this simple definition we can look at how technology has been used to improve commu-nication over the years.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION

Once people had discovered a spoken language they could communicate with each other as long asthey were within hearing distance. The need was then to find ways of communicating with peoplewho were beyond shouting range.

Visual and audio communication systemsSome of the earliest methods of communication involved the use of visual and audio signals. TheNorth American Indians developed a system of smoke signals and some African tribes were able tocommunicate with drumbeats. In both cases the communication was restricted to a few very simplemessages. Oral messages could be sent over long distances with messages carried by runners orriders. One famous message was the one carried by runners from Marathon to Athens to announcethe victory over the Persians. The distance was 26 miles and this happens to be the same as thatcovered by athletes in today�s marathon races.

Using special signalsSpecial signals were also used to overcome the problem of communicating over distances. In 1588the English arranged to signal the sighting of the Spanish Armada by lighting bonfires on the tops ofhills. Of course everyone had to know beforehand what the signal meant. Ships used special flags tosend messages from one ship to another or from ship to shore. Once again both the sender andreceiver had to share a common understanding of what each flag meant. Combined with the telescopethe distance over which the message could be sent increased considerably.

WritingThe earliest forms of writing consisted of pictorial sym-bols called hieroglyphics. These symbols were often likesmall pictures of animals, trees and plants and astronomi-cal signs. The symbols were carved on wood or stone,painted on wood or animal skins, and impressed into tab-lets of clay. With the development of a written languagemessages could be sent over long distances by letters. Theearliest letters were written using a quill and parchment.The alphabet simplified this process and was to prove use-ful in later technological developments in communication. In the earliest mail systems runners orpeople on horseback carried the letters. Later the mail was carried on coaches, cars, trains and airplanes.

PrintingIn the eighth century the Chinese were the first to experi-ment with forms of printing. About 700 years later JohannGutenberg invented what we now know as the printing proc-ess. In addition to the etchnology of casting the type in metalhe had the benefit of a written language with a relativelysimple alphabet.


Semaphore systemsThe semaphore was a visual signaling system. In the late eighteenth century Claude Chappe devel-oped a semaphore system that relayed messages 230 kilometres from Lille to Paris in about twominutes. The system used a series of towers on which were mounted beams with arms at each end.The position of the arms represented a letter of the alphabet. Each tower was also provided with atelescope to increase the distance between towers. A similar system was used in Tasmania to conveywarnings of escaped convicts from Port Arthur to Hobart. Semaphore systems are still used to controltrains on some railway systems.

The telegraphThe next development was to eliminate the need for visual contact between relay stations. In 1838Samuel Morse introduced his system of sending messages along a wire carrying an electric current.His system was based on a code for each letter of the alphabet. He used a combination of shortsignals (dots) and long signals (dashes) to identify each letter and number. This was known as Morsecode. We have all seen movies where the scene shows someone tapping on a key (switch) that sent asignal along the wires to the destination. This scene was very popular in those movies we call West-erns. In the early days the telegraph usually followed railway lines and was used to send messagesrelated to trains and the railway system. Distance was no longer the problem but the sender and thereceiver still had to be connected by wires.

The telephoneThe concept of sending messages along a wire removed the constraints of distance and this led to thenext stage of communications technology � the discovery of the telephone. While the telegraph andMorse Code provided the means for accurate and speedy communica-tion it was never going to be as good as face to face conversation. Thetelephone met this need. It is generally accepted that Alexander GrahamBell discovered the telephone in 1876. Bell found that the sounds madeby people speaking could be converted into electrical signals, trans-mitted along copper wires and then converted back to sound at thereceiving end. People could now speak to each other over long dis-tances, from one end of a country to the other, from one country toanother and from one side of the world to the other.

The wireless systemThe problem of distance had been solved but the sender and receiverstill had to be connected physically by copper wires. If this physicalconnection could be eliminated messages could be sent from anywhereto anywhere. In 1895 Guglielmo Marconi produced the first radio tel-egraph system. In the beginning messages were sent using Morse Codeand the system was known as the �wireless telegraph�. Because therewere no wires connecting the sender and the receiver the system be-came know as the �wireless� system. In 1906 it was possible to sendvoice messages. We can now hold a conversation with someone any-where in the world without being linked by wires.


We use many of these systems today. Radio, telephoneand postal systems are still used but the technology hasdeveloped to a point where each system is now faster,more reliable and accessible.

THE TECHNOLOGY

The improvements in communication technology weremade possible by the developments in an area of scienceand engineering called electronics. As we now know anelectric current occurs when electrons flow through acircuit. For more information about electrons and elec-

tricity you should read �Switched On�, which is another unit in this series. Electronics is the namegiven to the way the electrons are controlled. Engineers designing electronic circuits can switch theflow of electrons on and off, make sure they flow only in one direction and increase or reduce the rateat which they flow.In the early twentieth century designers used valves to control the current. Those old enough toremember the pre-transistor area will recall those things you saw inside radios that looked like smallelectric light globes with strange bits and pieces of metal instead of a filament. Valves did the jobwell but they had a few problems. They were fragile and easily broken; they needed a lot of electric-ity to make them work; and, like light globes, they became very hot and needed fans to keep themcool.The discovery of the semi-conductor changed everything. By now we should all know that there arematerials that allow an electric current (flow of electrons) to move easily through them. These mate-rials are known as conductors, and copper is perhaps the best known. Other materials, such as plas-tic, resist the flow of the electric current and therefore they are known as insulators. The semi-conductoris somewhere between a conductor and an insulator. Semi-conducting materials have unusual andinteresting names such as germanium, selenium, gallium arsenide, lead sulphide and silicon.The discovery of the semi-conductor was a milestone in the history of electronics and communica-tions. Using a semi-conductor, scientists at the Bell Laboratories in America invented the transistorin 1947. Transistors replaced the valve as a major component and they solved many of the problemsassociated with the old technology. Transistors were small and relatively tough, they required a verysmall electric current to make them work, and because they did not generate any heat there was noneed for cooling fans. The transistor can be used as a switch or it can convert (amplify) a very smallelectric current into a larger one that can then be used to do useful things like make the speakers workon your sound system and turn electric motors on and off.


Transistors made it possible to make things smaller. In 1946 the first universalcomputer was built in America and known as ENIAC, which was an acronymfor Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator. The machine weighed 30tonnes, needed a floor space of 160 square metres and contained 18,000 valves.Today the same work could be done on a PC. Transistors also made possiblehand size radios, the Walkman and electronic games.

The next development was the integrated circuit known as the IC. Prior to the IC individual compo-nents were connected into a circuit but now they are all contained in a small block that can be assmall as a match head. All our communication equipment can now be made smaller, for example,laptop computers, tiny radios, pocket-size mobile phones and calculators. Miniaturisation is the nameof the game.

ANALOGUE AND DIGITAL ELECTRONICS

Electricity can be made to represent information in many ways and two common methods are ana-logue and digital signals. If you are a mobile phone user you will be aware of the two systems,analogue and digital, that are currently operating. It should be useful to have some basic understand-ing of the difference. Don�t worry about the technical details, just concentrate on the concepts.

Analogue signalsAn analogue is something that resembles something else. A ball is an analogue of the planet earth.The normal telephone system (connected by wires) uses an analogue signal. When you speak into atelephone the sounds of your voice are converted into an electrical current. The voltage (the force thatsends the electrons around a circuit) varies with the volume of the sounds. In other words, the voltageincreases when the volume increases and it becomes smaller as the volume decreases. The current issaid to be an analogue of your voice. To help you visualise this think of the voltage as a wave fromthat gets bigger or smaller as the volume changes. Of course when the signal reaches the receiver�stelephone the process is reversed � the electric current is changed into sound.

Digital signalsIn any digital system there are only two states, either open or shut, locked or unlocked, or on or off.An electric light is a digital system because it can only be on or off. In a communication system thesound is converted into a series of electrical pulses. A pulse is created by switching the current on andoff. The signal is a series of pulses (on � off states) and the different sounds are distinguished by acode that allocates each sound a group of pulses. Read the Binary Number System and the BinaryNumber Game later in this section for a description of digital codes.


The modemOur fixed wire phone system uses analogue signals to transmit information and our computers usedigital signals. The two systems cannot �talk� directly to each other therefore we use modems thatcovert digital to analogue so that it can be sent along the phone lines and a modem at the other endcoverts the signal back to the digital language of the computer.

The word �modem� comes from the words MODulation � DEModulation, which are the names of theconversion process.

Other analogue and digital systemsWe often think of analogue and digital systems as exclusively connected with electricity but they doexist in other forms. Many of the natural phenomena are analogue systems, for example, the tempera-ture during the day will rise and fall continuously and the ebb and flow of a tide is also continuous.Some devices we use every day can be classified as digital systems; for example, a lock is eitherlocked or unlocked.

Analogue and digital displays of informationThe words analogue and digital are used to describe the way information is displayed. A watch candisplay the time in analogue or digital form, so can the speedometer in a car.An analogue display often has a dial and a moving hand such as those on a clockface.A digital display presents the information as a number.

The analogue (clock dial and hands) display allows you to see trends and to make decisions. You arenot really interested in the exact reading, for example, a glance will tell you that it is nearly 12o�clock, it is 12 o�clock or it is past 12 o�clock. An analogue speedometer will tell you very quicklyif you are below or above the speed limit. A digital display gives you an exact reading and this maybe less useful if all you need is some idea of what is happening.

BINARY NUMBER SYSTEM

We should all be familiar with our number system that is based on the number 10.The order in which we write the digits is very important. We know that:

� 1369 = 1 thousand, 3 hundreds, 6 tens, and 9 units.� The thousands always appear as the fourth number from the right, the hundreds are the third

number, and so on.� If we add one to a 9 in any position we write 0 in that place and add 1 to the next number to the

left.We could easily have number systems based on any number other than 10. One such system is basedon the number 2 and is known as the �binary� system.You should now read �The Binary Game� that can be found later in Section 3.


The binary system is used in digital communication systems because the digits 1 and 0 represent theon and off states of the electric signal. The term digital is often seen as being synonomous with stateof the art technology and therefore providing very high quality performance. If anyone starts refer-ring to digital things you will now have some idea of what it is they are talking about.

A binary codeComputers use a binary number system for the basis of a code. In the English language there are 26letters in the alphabet, the ten digits of the decimal number system and some characters such as thepercentage sign and brackets. Each of these can be converted into a group of electrical pulses that arethen processed by the computer. The most common code is the American Standard Code for Informa-tion Interchange that is commonly known by its acronym ASCII. If you have read the Binary Gameyou can now make sense of the ASCII chart below.Part of the ASCII code is shown below. The complete code is provided in Section 6.

Character ASCII Decimal Character ASCII Decimal Character ASCII DecimalBinary Binary Binary

0 0110000 48 A 1000001 65 a 1100001 97

1 0110001 49 B 1000010 66 b 1100010 98

2 0110010 50 C 1000011 67 c 1100011 99

3 0110011 51 D 1000100 68 d 1100100 100

4 0110100 52 E 1000101 69 e 1100101 101

5 0110101 53 F 1000110 70 f 1100110 102

6 0110110 54 G 1000111 71 g 1100111 103

7 0110111 55 H 1001000 72 h 1101000 104

8 0111000 56 I 1001001 73 i 1101001 105

9 0111001 57 J 1001010 74 j 1101010 106

The significance of the binary number is that there are only two numbers, 1 and 0. This matches thetwo states of the digital system where the electric current is either on or off. When the current is onthis is represented by the number 1 and when the current is off by the number 0. If all this mathemat-ics and technical stuff is too much try the Binary Number Game. It is a much more �user friendly�explanation.

Bits and bytesAnyone who is either a computer whiz, or wants to pretend they are one, will use words like bits andbytes to impress the audience.

BitsThe word �bit� comes from the words binary and digit. A �bit� is the smallest piece of computerlanguage and it is has either of two values that indicate the on or off state. Think of a torch � when thecurrent is on the globe lights up and when there is no current the globe does not light up.

BytesA �byte� is a group of eight bits. The word �bytes� is used a lot in computers and because of the largenumbers involved it is usually combined with a prefix.

Capacity in bytes Prefix Abbreviation

1,000 Kilo Kb

1,000,000 Mega Mb

1,000,000 Giga Gb

If you look at the ASCII code you will see that only seven bits (1s and 0s) are used for each character.The eighth bit is used to correct any mistakes made by the computer. The technical term for thisprocess is �parity� and the eighth bit is the �parity bit�. You don�t have to know how all this works, butit does explain the existence and purpose of the eighth bit.


A hard disk may have a capacity of 1.2 Gb, which means it can store 1,200,000,000 bytes of infor-mation. A 1.4Mb, 3.5 inch floppy disk holds 1,400,000 bytes of information. Computers are de-scribed as 16 or 32 bit computers and this indicates how the machine groups information to processit. A 32 bit computer is faster than its 16 bit counterpart.

THE COMPUTER

When you press a key on the keyboard the central processing unit (known in the trade as the CPU)recognises what you want and starts the process of switching the current on and off according to thepredetermined ASCII code. This may seem to be a very time consuming process but the computer canhandle millions of these switches every second. To the operator it all seems to happen quickly.

SOME INFORMATION TRIVIA

The field of communication is full of acronyms. These are the things people use to demonstrate theirexpertise in the field. If you want to use them make sure you know what you are talking about, or talkto someone who knows less than you.

Acronym What it stands for What it is

AI Artificial intelligence Computers that think. There is some disagree-ment among the experts about this possibility.

ATM Automatic Telling Machine Where you go when you�re broke.

CD-ROM Compact disk � read only memory The CD device you add to your computer willread but not save information on the disk.

DOS Disk operating system This is the set of programs that manage compu-ter operations. DOS maintains order when itstores and retrieves information and ensures thatthe different parts of the computer work togethersmoothly.

DP Data processing The process of entering and manipulating data.

DTP Desktop publishing What publishers did in the past but now you doon your PC.

EFTPOS Electronic Funds Transfer at Point Of Sale Where you pay to buy some items and then getyour hands on some cash from your bank account.

IC Integrated circuit Those little blocks inside electronic devices thatcontain all the bits and pieces that make up thecircuits.

IT Information technology All those wonderful devices and systems that al-low you to communicate with people all over theworld.

LCD Liquid crystal display Those pretty little green numbers and letters yousee on electronic devices such as clocks on ovensand microwaves.

PABX Private automatic branch exchange Those automatic switchboards that sort out in-coming calls and send them to the right place.

PIN Personal identification number The number you use at ATMs and other places.

TAD Telephone answering device A telephone answering device commonly knownas a telephone answering machine.

WYSIWYG What you see is what you get What you see on the screen is what you get whenyou print the file.


1B: THE DESIGN BRIEF

Teacher�s noteTo complete the task the students need to play the Binary Number Game described in Section 3.This unit could be used to introduce the concept of designer and client. Read �How the engineerswould approach the problem in Section 3 for an explanation of the role of designer.

Many people think all the new technology is too complicated to understand. Computers are now partof life for many people. They may use one at their workplace, have a PC at home, or see one used ata supermarket checkout or at a bank. The words electronic and digital are now used in describing andadvertising many products. While there is no need to know all the technical details it would be usefulto have some idea on how things work. The Binary Numbers Game is one way of helping peopleunderstand what happens inside their computer and other digital communication systems.

Your taskYou are to design and produce a set of instructions for the Binary Numbers Game.

Things to think about� Where and how to gather data� Who will be using the game� The solution must involve:

� Using a computer� Include text and graphics

� Ways to test the finished product

Other instructions� You will work in groups of XXX.� The unit must be completed in XXX weeks.


1C: WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FOUR PHASES?

This is a list of possible activities for each of the four phases. Remem-ber that the key word is POSSIBLE. Don�t try and cover them all inany one unit. In Section 4 you will see how the activities are linked tothe curriculum focus and learning outcomes for Level 4.

INVESTIGATING

In this phase the students could focus on the following topics.� Examine the methods used by game manufacturers to provide instructions.� Investigate the characteristics of the intended audience, for example, their age, sex, previous

knowledge and preferences for the presentation of information.� Investigate the computer programs that could be used to make the presentations and make

some comparison of their relative advantages and disadvantages.� Examine the different sources of data and compare their suitability, for example, observation

of people playing the game, surveys or questionnaires, discussions and printed material.� Investigate the ways radio or telephones have affected the day-to-day life of people and fami-

lies.

DESIGNING

During this phase students should have the opportunity to demonstrate the following.� Develop at least three discernibly different design options.� Select appropriate sources of data based on the information gathered in the design phase.� Select suitable information equipment� Select suitable styles for presenting the information.� Provide reasons for any choices they make.� Provide ideas for testing the suitability of their solution.

PRODUCING

During this phase students should have the opportunity to demonstrate the following.� Follow their design plans in regard to acquiring data and processing it.� Follow their design plans in regard to the style of presentation.� Use an appropriate range of equipment.� Use an appropriate range of techniques.� Show skill in using equipment correctly and efficiently.� Monitor their work and make changes to the design plan where necessary.� Identify problems with equipment and take action to correct them.

EVALUATING

During this phase students should have the opportunity to demonstrate the following.� Compare their product with their design plan.� Compare their product with similar products.� Evaluate the effectiveness of their product in meeting the needs of the intended audience.� Suggest modifications that would overcome any deficiencies or weaknesses in the finished

product.

The Assessment section shows how these activities and expectations are linked tooutcomes for Level 4 in Information.

CAUTION

PROCEED WITH

EXTREME CARE


1D: TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL CONTENT

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL EXPLANATION

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

�Information technologies� is the term we use to describe the technologies we use to record, store,process, retrieve and transmit information.It includes the latest technologies such as computers, fax machines, photocopiers, radio, televisionand telephone systems. Also included are the older technologies like smoke signals, drumbeats, thetelegraph, document filing systems, mechanical accounting machines, printing machines and cameras.

COMMUNICATION

People have always found ways to communicate with each other. We use our senses as the primarymethod of gathering information. We hear other sounds that have meaning for us; we see thingshappen; out taste tells us a lot about the world around us; we feel things to discover their texture,temperature and softness; and our sense of smell provides information about many things in ournearby environment.The need over the years has been to extend the area covered by our senses. Technology has given usthe means to communicate with people living anywhere in the world.

DATA

Data is a term used to describe a collection of facts that by themselves may not be very useful. Thecomputer is a useful tool for recording and storeing data, hence the special programs we call databases.Our brain is a great tool for collecting and storing data.

INFORMATION

Data often needs to be processed to convert it into meaningful and useful information. Your bank�s computercollects and stores data about you such as deposits and withdrawals, interest rates, fee rates, loans and credit,and, of course, personal details such as names and addresses. All this is processed and you receive you�reregular statements that describe your financial position at that time.Our brain collects data such as what we see, hear, smell, taste and touch and processes it using all the other datastored in our memory. The processed information allows us to make decisions such as will I take my umbrellabecause it looks like rain, or is that new jumper too expensive when my bank card is at its limit.

MEANS OF COMMUNICATION

We have access to many ways of communicating with others.You can go and talk to someone. It might be in the next room, another building, another town or state,even another country. If we need to we can walk, drive or fly to talk to other people.

� You can write a letter and mail it. There are even special mail services for quick delivery.

� You can talk to someone using a telephone. Distance is no barrier to this form of communica-tion. You have choices such as using a fixed wire telephone system or a mobile phone system.If the call is an overseas one it may go by cable or satellite.



MEANS OF COMMUNICATION (CONT.)

� You could write a message and send it by fax machine to anywhere in the world.

� You could key in the message on your computer and send it via modems to another computeranywhere in the world.

� You could go to a radio station and send your message via radio.� Finally you could go to the local television studio and send the message through the television

transmission system.� If you want to talk to your next door neighbour you could throw a rock on his roof to get his

attention and then shout across the fence.

SOCIAL IMPACT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

� In the 1960s Marshall McLuhan, a Canadian writer and teacher, wrote about the electronicmedia and its impact on society. He introduced the term �Global Village� to describe a worldwhere distance was no longer a barrier to communication.

� Events, even in remote areas of the world, may now be seen live on television sets in everycountry of the world. In the early part of the century people would wait weeks to get picturesand details of important events.

� Distance is no longer a problem for business and industry. Communication is instantaneousand companies may now have factories and offices in different cities, even different countries.

� The capability to record and store data has increased the amount of information available forall sorts of uses. Government agencies such as taxation and social welfare have the personaldetails of almost every citizen.

� Some occupations have disappeared because of new information technology. Typists havebeen replaced by word processing operators, bank tellers by ATMs and telephonists by auto-matic exchanges.

� It is predicted that in the not-too-distant future people will be able to shop, bank and carry outother transactions from home.

EXAMPLES OF THE EVERYDAY USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Everyday we use information technology without realising it.� We have our supermarket shopping checked by machines that

read the bar code. See Section 6 for an explanation of bar-codes.� When paying for the shopping you can get extra money using the

EFTPOS system. EFTPOS is the acronym for �Electronic FundsTransfer at Point Of Sale�.

� Your car might have a computer that acts as an �engine manage-ment system� that makes sure it runs efficiently.

� You program your washing machine to launder those special itemsof clothing.



THE INPUT-PROCESS-OUTPUT CONCEPT

One useful way of thinking about information technology is to use the systems approach. This ap-proach is based on the concept that any system, including information systems, can be described buyits input-process-output.

INPUT ð PROCESS ð OUTPUT

Take the washing machine example.� The input is the instructions you give the computer in the washing machine.� The computer processes the instructions and converts them into signals that will control the

machine.� The output is the machine going through the correct cycle.

With the telephone set the input-process-output can also be identified.� The input is the sound of your voice.� The telephone processes the sounds and converts them into an electric current.� The output would be the electric current going along the wire to the other person.

The telephone set at the other end reverses the process.

THE INPUT-PROCESS-OUTPUT OF A COMPUTER

A computer is a very interesting example of the input-process-output description of a system.� The input is the data entered.� The CPU (central processing unit) processes the data.� The output will be meaningful and useful infromation: something on a monitor screen, a print

out, pictures and sounds or some control instructions for a machine or device.

INPUT ð PROCESS ð OUTPUTRaw data is converted by meaningful and

by the central useful informationprocessing unit into

The computer is an interesting example because you can look at the range of devices that are associ-ated with the input and output.Input devices include:

� keyboard� mouse� joystick� sensors that read magnetic strips on cheques and credit cards or bar-

codes of consumer products. Refer to Section 6 for an explanation ofbar-codes.

� touch sensitive screens like the ones you may use when playing the�pokies�.

The central processing unit processes the data intomeaningful and useful information that can be sentto a number of different output devices.Output devices include:

� monitor screens� printers� speakers for sound� control equipment that will operate things like

robots and traffic lights.



LANGUAGE, CODES AND SIGNALS

A significant amount of our communication consists of face to face conversation and reading. In bothcases we use a language that has a formalised set of sounds and written characters. Both the senderand receiver share a common understanding of the meaning of the sounds and characters.The communication systems we now use rely on electronic devices that basically control and ma-nipulate an electric current flowing through the circuit. We have to convert the sounds and writtencharacters into electrical signals.

There are two ways to do this.The analogue system: Sounds (speech and music) are converted into an electric current that variesaccording to the intensity of the sound.The digital system: The data is converted into electrical pulses, in other words an electric currentthat is switched on or off to form a pulse.

CODES

People have always used codes to send messages. Sometimes it was used to keep the message secret(spies and all that stuff), and in other cases a code was used to allow messages to be sent by acommunication system. Morse Code was used to send messages on the telegraph.

Binary number codeThe binary number system has only two digits, a 1 and a 0. This can be readily matched to the digitalsystem that has two states � either on or off. If the letters of the alphabet, numbers and other charac-ters can be allocated a binary number it is possible to send messages over a wire using electricalpulses (an electrical current that is switched on and off). Refer to Section 6 for the ASCII code usedin computers.

PRESENTING INFORMATION

In any communication the information can be presented in different forms.� Face to face communication relies on sound and gestures.� Printed communication uses text and graphics.� Telephone communication uses only sound.� Multi-media uses sound, visual images and text.

The print medium is still very popular and there are a few things to be considered when designingpresentations.

TextThe text is often the primary means of communication so it is important to consider the:

� target audience� actual text� presentation

The target audienceYou need to consider the purpose of the presentation and the person who will read it. For example:

� A serious technical presentation will use technical terms and illustrations.� A young child�s book will have a few simple words and lots of pictures and drawings.� Instruction sheets will present information in a sequence of steps often accompanied by illus-

trations.� Short fictional stories will use descriptive language to describe places, events and people.



PRESENTING INFORMATION (CONT.)

The fontPublishers of books take a lot of care in choosing the font for the text. Font is a technical term for thetypeface used in printing. Two things to think about are the font itself and its size. Many wordprocessing programs offer lots of different fonts and font sizes.Serif fonts are those with the little cross lines at the end of the main strokes of a letter. Sans-serif fontsdo not have the cross lines. Sans means �without�.

� This is Times New Roman and it is a very common serif font.� This is Arial and it is a common sans-serif font.

The size of the characters is usually described in units called �points� (1 point = 0.35 mm).

Some good advice for text presentations� Use only two fonts in a document. A serif font for the main body of text and a sans serif one for

tables, charts, annotations, captions and headings.� A font size of 10 or 12 will give you a document that is easy to read. The size should be

increased for headings. A larger font should also be used for young children and beginningreaders.

The presentationThere are a few publishing hints you can use to improve the quality of your presentations. Section 6contains a list of hints.

GraphicsThe old saying, �A picture is worth a thousand words� is still true. In a computer generated presenta-tion you have some options.

� Hand drawn or photocopied graphics can be pasted into a printed text document.� Hand drawn graphics or illustrations from any source can be converted into electronic compu-

ter language and then inserted into a document on your computer. The device that converts apicture into electronic language is called a scanner.

� Clip art can be inserted into a document when you use most word processing applications.Clip art is one of those computer terms you need to show your familiarity with the technology.Clip art is any illustration, drawing or picture that has been converted into electronic computerlanguage and stored on a disk.

� You can use a drawing program and create your own graphic masterpiece that is then insertedinto a document.


Section 2: THE ENGINEERS

2A: STEVE

Steve is an Electrical and Electronic Engineer. He studied engineering in England at a Polytechnicwhich was a college that specialised in technology courses. The college is now the University ofHeartfordshire. Steve�s course was different to most of the engineering courses today. It was knownas a �sandwich course� because a company called British Aerospace employed him while he studiedengineering. Steve describes this job as an apprentice engineer and he worked on the design andbuilding of jet planes.

What sort of work does Steve do?Steve finished his course in 1976 and then started working for a company that explored for oil. Hespent seven months in the Sahara Desert looking for oil. People looking for oil have to discover whatis under the ground because the oil is found in large spaces in underground rock formations. Steveused sound waves that were reflected by the underground rock to find out what was underneath theground. To get it all started the ground was �thumped� with a very heavy weight or shaken by amonstrous machine with cables that kept falling apart and Steve the newcomer had to keep fixingthem.For a few weeks Steve had to investigate the surface of the desert and to do this his team would drilla hole about 30 metres deep and then lower a piece of dynamite down the hole and detonate it. Theywould then use electronic machines to measure how long it took the sound waves to reach the surface.Occasionally Steve used too much dynamite and would have to repeat the thing again.After being bored with his desert work Steve�s next job was in a coal mine where he had to test a newgadget that moved the pit props that held the roof of the tunnel in place as the machines dug out morecoal. The miners were afraid that he would design an automatic gadget and they would lose their oldjobs of shifting the pit props. Steve discovered that engineering is all about getting the job done andalso thinking about what happens to people. Steve and his team ended up designing a semi-automaticdevice that did most of the hard work but still needed miners to operate it.In 1981 Steve moved to Switzerland to design software for a lift company. Before he started workSteve and his wife were given three months language training in German. He stayed seven years withthis company including two years in Hong Kong. At the end of the seven years Steve was in charge ofa design office with 20 engineers from all over the world designing computer hardware.The lift company wanted Steve to set up a new engineering team in the south of Switzerland and thismeant that he and his family would have to learn Italian as this was the language of that area. At thistime he met the manager of an Australian engineering company and decided to move to Australia.Since he has been in Australia Steve has worked on many projects. He helped with the design of theGreat Southern Stand at the MCG that included the 2½ tonne loudspeaker cluster under the roof, thenew Victoria Stadium and the Exhibition Centre. Steve has also worked in other countries. He re-turned to Hong Kong for 15 months and worked on the new international airport; he spent time inThailand designing automatic level crossings for the railways; in Malaysia he helped with the designof a 1,000 bed hospital; and in New Zealand he worked on the software for controlling the distribu-tion of electricity.Steve occasionally gets to design lifts and he has spent many hours in Melbourne�s lifts riding up anddown making sure that everything is alright.

What Steve likes about his job?Steve thinks that engineering is always interesting and exciting work. Best of all he believes thatbeing an engineer is really FUN. When he is not working as an engineer Steve likes to spend timewith his wife and sons.


2B: RYE

Rye was born in Germany in 1957. In 1980 she became tired of living near five nuclear powerstations so she immigrated to New Zealand. After arriving in New Zealand Rye worked as a postwomanfor a couple of years before she decided to return to university. Because she thought food, clothingand shelter were important Rye chose to study something to do with food. She started a degree inHorticulture when she was 25 years old and as part of the course Rye spent a lot of time studyinginsects and computers. She fell in love with computers and because of her interest in science fictionRye decided to go back to university and continue her study of computers. Rye had always wanted todo a Ph.D., which is an abbreviation for Doctor of Philosophy. A Ph.D. is the highest course anyonecan do at a university. The course Rye selected was known as Expert Systems and it was a branch ofknowledge called Artificial Intelligence that looks at how a computer can do the things that are doneby the human brain. Rye graduated with her Ph.D. from Lincoln University in New Zealand in 1990.She was the first woman to receive an IBM scholarship in Applied Computing.

What sort of work does Rye do?Rye started work as an engineer at Telstra Research Laboratories and has worked there ever since. In1994 she was awarded a sum of money by the Japanese Science and Technology Foundation to dosome research in Japan. After seven months in Japan Rye�s visit was cut short by the big earthquakein Kobe that year.While working for Telstra Rye has been involved in many projects that look at how computers can beconnected to the telephone system. The Internet is one way to use the phone and computer and an-other is a system for finding faults and providing a service for clients who have problems. Engineerslike Rye are also expected to look into the future and tell people what things will be like in ten, twentyor thirty years. One of the investigations Rye and her team have done is to look at the future of thedigital mobile phone network.A typical day in Rye�s work as an engineer starts when she arrives at work. First she reads andanswers e-mail messages. E-mail messages are like letters that are sent by one computer to anothercomputer in the next room, building, city, state or country. Other things that Rye does include writingreports, reading technical papers and designing solutions to problems. She goes to many meetings,some with her team of engineers at Telstra and others where people come together to discuss impor-tant topics. Rye has to plan for all the meetings by thinking about the topic and making notes. Some-times she is asked to speak to groups of people about her work at Telstra.

What Rye likes about her work as an engineerRye really likes her work as an engineer. She enjoys the challenge of being responsible for coming upwith new ideas and solutions for different problems. Rye gets a lot of satisfaction when she createssolutions that help people save time and money or make things easier to do. Working as part of a teamis one of the good things about working as an engineer.When Rye is not working as an engineer she leads a very busy and interesting life. She is a Buddhistand practices meditation every day. For recreation Rye enjoys body surfing, games of golf and tennis,camping and walking in the bush and playing the Shakuhatchi which is a Japanese flute. In 1996 Ryeand a friend wrote a book called �The Internet for Women� to help more women find information onthe Internet.


Section 3: TECHNICAL RESOURCES

3A: SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM

Steve was given the design brief in Section 1 and asked to provide some ideas on how an engineerwould go about solving the problem. Steve�s comments are provided below and in his description herefers to a client because many engineers work for companies that provide a service to people whohave a specific engineering problem. For this unit of work you (the teacher) could act as the client andeach small group would be a company providing the service of designing and producing a solution tothe problem in the design brief. In other words you have the game and you want someone to designand produce a set of instructions.

STEVE�S ADVICE

INVESTIGATING

The hardest part of any job is to get a clear idea of what the client wants. Often the client comes inwith vague but grand ideas and engineers spend a lot of time talking with the client about what ispossible. Once the client and engineer share a common understanding of the problem the next step isto consider what information will be needed to solve the problem. If there is knowledge they do nothave, the engineer would do some research to fill in these gaps. Other investigations would covertechnical issues such as, can the problem be solved and, if the answer is yes, what do you need to doit? For example, there is no point in planning to use a scanner to convert pictures into files that wouldbe inserted in a computer generated document if you don�t have a scanner or know where there is oneyou could use.Once the client feels confident about what they will get, Steve would begin the design work. This isthe most enjoyable part of the job but it is often the shortest. Some clients want one option whileothers look for a number of options but expect Steve to recommend what he considers to be the bestone. Sometimes Steve provides two options:· A high cost super option; and· A low cost basic optionProducing many design options takes up a lot of time and engineers such as Steve will often use theirexperince to come up with the �best option�. Sometimes Steve will work by himself and other timeswith a team of engineers. Each member of the team will be responsible for part of the job. Before aproposal is given to the client it is checked by someone else to make sure there are no mistakes.Each small group of students could work as a team, divide the task into discrete parts and allocateresponsibilities. The group could then come up with their best design option.One area to be investigated would be how other people present information about how to do things.For example, manufacturers of games, electrical appliances and assemble it yourself products - howdo they present information to the user on how to use the product?

DESIGNING

In all his work Steve must think of the parameters because the solution will depend on what ones areconsidered to be important. Parameters are the variables that will affect the solution and two impor-tant ones are usually the cost and the time available. With this design brief the students would need toconsider:· How long they have to complete the task;· How much money is set aside to buy materials such as coloured or large sheets of paper;· What tools are available; and· Their level of skill in using the tools.


Communicating with the client is an important part of an engineer�s work; therefore the students willneed to think about discussing the problem with the client (the teacher). Questions that could beasked include:

Question Possible discussion pointsWho will be reading the instructions? Young children, secondary school students or adults.

How long should the document be? One page, two pages or more.

What should it look like? A booklet, poster, set of cards or a large sheet orpaper folded over a couple of times.

What about the level of readability? What sort of language is used for young children,adolescents or adults?

Can colour be used? Coloured paper, coloured text and/or graphics.

What about the format of the text & graphics? How many drawings would be needed? What typeof drawings could be used? How do you combinedrawings with the text? Where would drawings beplaced on the page? Would photographs be useful?

What about size and shape? Does it have to fit into a box? Can the instructionsbe part of a box or envelope of some sort?

How many sets of instructions are required? If there are multiple copies required could they bedone individually, photocopied or printed?

PRODUCING

The group could allocate the tasks involved in the production. For example, one student responsiblefor each of:· Text· Graphics· Front cover· Organiser (make sure materials and equipment are available when needed and to assist others inthe group when necessary).

EVALUATING

The follow-up received after the engineer completes a job often varies. If there are any problems theclient will get in touch with the engineer. When the client returns with new problems to solve theengineer knows that he or she has done a good job.The students could evaluate their work by having another group of student�s use the instructions toplay the game. The best test would be with students who had not been involved with this unit of work.Another suggestion would be for the students to try out the instruction with their family.


3B: THE BINARY NUMBER GAME

Computers use a number system based on the number 2, therefore it would be useful to understandhow this system works. The game described below aims to provide learners with the opportunity tolearn through a �making and doing� activity.

What you need� Cardboard, preferably of five different colours. Coloured folders are ideal for this activity or

art squares may also be used. The colours will help to identify the different parts of the game.� Plain thin cardboard� Scissors or preferably a guillotine� 300 mm ruler� pencil or pen

PreparationThis is a small group activity, for example 3 or 4 students.

� Cut 1 centimetre wide strips of different coloured cardboard. Use a guillotine if possible.� Cut the strips to length. The students could do this step but it saves time if you do it yourself.

The choice of colours is up to you.� Red 1 cm� Yellow 2 cm� Blue 4 cm� Green 8 cm� Pink 16 cm

� Each small group will need at least one set of colored strips.

What to do in the classroom� Issue each group with a set of coloured strips and a manila folder.� The students use a pen or pencil to divide each of the strips into 1 cm squares as shown below

in (a).� On the piece of cardboard they create the conversion card by tracing the outlines of the strips

as shown in (b).


(a) (b)

PLAYING THE GAME

PART 1: Converting decimal numbers into binary numbers and back to decimalnumbersConverting decimal numbers into binary numbers

� Give each group a list of five or six numbers between 1 and 31.� They take each number and work out how many strips are needed to equal this number. This is

done by counting the squares. For example, 11 would need the eight square strip plus the twoand one square strips. The different length strips can be identified by their colour.

� To check the conversion place the strips end to end in a line and measure the length with aruler. The length should be 11 cm.

� They place the strips they have used on the conversion card and then the card is placed on theprepared sheet as shown in the sketch. The master for the prepared sheet is provided in Section 6.

� In the columns where they have used a strip they place the number 1 and where there is no stripa 0. This should give them a five-digit number.

Binary number

Decimalnumber

16 s

quar

e

8 sq

uare

4 sq

uare

2 sq

uare

1 sq

uare

0

1

3

4

5

6Conversion card

Recording Sheet


Recording the resultsUsing the prepared sheet the students should complete the table like the one below.

Decimal number Binary number

16 squares 8 squares 4 squares 2 squares 1 square

0 0 0 0 0 0

1 0 0 0 0 1

2 0 0 0 1 0

3 0 0 0 1 1

4 0 0 1 0 0

5 0 0 1 0 1

6 0 0 1 1 0

7 0 0 1 1 1

8 0 1 0 0 0

9 0 1 0 0 1

10 0 1 0 1 0

11 0 1 0 1 1

12 0 1 1 0 0

13 0 1 1 0 1

14 0 1 1 1 0

15 0 1 1 1 1

16 1 0 0 0 0

17 1 0 0 0 1

18 1 0 0 1 0

19 1 0 0 1 1

20 1 0 1 0 0

21 1 0 1 0 1

22 1 0 1 1 0

23 1 0 1 1 1

24 1 1 0 0 0

25 1 1 0 0 1

26 1 1 0 1 0

27 1 1 0 1 1

28 1 1 1 0 0

29 1 1 1 0 1

30 1 1 1 1 0

31 1 1 1 1 1

Converting binary numbers into decimal numbers� Give each group a list of five binary numbers.� Taking each number in turn they select the appropriate strips, i.e. the 1 strip if the right hand

digit is a 1, a two strip if the next digit is a 1 and so on. If the digit is 0 the strip is not selected.� They add up the number of squares on the strips they have selected and this gives them the

decimal equivalent. To check they could place the strips end to end and measure the length incentimetres. This length would be the decimal equivalent.


The binary codeThe groups can use the table to create a binary code for sending messages, for example, the 26 lettersof the alphabet, punctuation marks and a space. If they use only capital letters the 31 binary numberscould be used. The table below provides one example and a master copy is provided in Section 6.

Decimal number Character Binary number Decimal number Character Binary number

1 A 00001 17 Q 100012 B 00010 18 R 100103 C 00011 19 S 100114 D 00100 20 T 101005 E 00101 21 U 101016 F 00110 22 V 101107 G 00111 23 W 101118 H 01000 24 X 110009 I 01001 25 Y 1100110 J 01010 26 Z 1101011 K 01011 27 Space 1101112 L 01100 28 . 1110013 M 01101 29 , 1110114 N 01110 30 � 1111015 O 01111 31 ? 11111

PART 2: Sending messagesHere are three suggestions for ways to send messages.

The first way� You could have photocopied sheets like the one below. A master sheet is provided in Section 6.� One group writes a message using the groups of five squares to represent a letter or character.

Remember a space between words also has a binary number code.

� The sheets are exchanged with another group and the message decoded.� The decoding is then checked with the sender.

The second wayThe second method is more interesting as it simulates the process used in computing.

� You need two sets of coloured counters, for example red and green.� The red counters represent 0 and green 1. Remember that 0 represents off and 1 the on state.� The group can make a simple channel from cardboard that will hold the counters in line,

something like the one used to hold the letters in �Scrabble�.� The message is encoded and the counters are placed in groups of five in the channel.� The coded message is given to another group.� Decoding is done by taking the first five counters and working out the character they represent

using the binary code.� This step is repeated until the entire message is decoded.� Check the accuracy of the decoding with the sender.


The third wayYou will need:

� Photocopied sheets used in �The first way�.� Lengths of tube or pipe. Something about one metre long would be ideal but shorter pieces

would do. If you know a friendly plumber or electrician get a piece of conduit or pipe. A lengthof the black plastic pipe used in sprinkler systems could be used and the cardboard tube usedfor Gladwrap or aluminium foil is a possibility.

How to do it:

� The group encodes the message and then cuts the strip containing the message from the sheet.

� The sender (the group) inserts the message (strip of paper) in the end of the tube.

� The tube is tilted so that the message slides down the receiver (another group).

� The receiver decodes the message and checks the accuracy with the sender.

How the computer worksThis is the way a computer works. A key is pressed on the keyboard and the computer converts thischaracter into its eight binary code. The central processing unit converts this into a character thatappears on the screen and on the print out. If the message is to be sent to another computer the codeis sent by using electric pulses (on � off) to the receiving unit where each eight pulses are convertedback to characters that then come up on a screen or are printed out.


Section 4: ASSESSMENT

THE CLASSROOM CONTEXT

This unit could be done as an individual activity but it does lend itself to a small group approach.

InvestigatingTo cover the areas for this phase you could consider allocating specific topics to individual students.The information gathered could then be shared with the group or the whole class. Collaboration issomething we need to encourage.

DesigningIf the individual approach is taken then each student should be expected to come up with at last twodiscernibly different design options. A small group should be expected to develop at least four differ-ent options. With the group approach you somehow have to be able to identify the contribution of theindividual members of the group for assessment purposes.

ProducingWith the small group approach you need to make sure that each member is allocated an area ofresponsibility. You do need to ensure each student in the group has the opportunity to learn what it isthey need to learn, and then to have the opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge and skill they haveacquired.

EvaluatingYou could ask for individual evaluations irrespective of whether it was essentially an individual orsmall group approach.

LINKING THE STUDENT ACTIVITIES IN EACH PHASE TO THE LEARNING OUTCOME

The following diagrams show the link between the activities, the curriculum focus and the learningoutcome. It is essential that the work the students do provides you with the information you require tomake a judgement about their level of achievement. Get this part right and assessment becomes mucheasier.The first (top) box contains the activities described in Section 1. The middle box is the curriculumfocus for that particular outcome and the last box is the actual outcome. The arrows indicate that theactivities cover the points in the curriculum focus and that in turn is related to the learning outcome.


During this phase students should have the opportunity to demonstrate that theyare capable of the following.� Examine the methods used by game manufacturers to provide instructions.� Investigate the characteristics of the intended audience, for example, their age,

sex, previous knowledge and preferences for the presentation of information.� Investigate the computer programs that could be used to make the presentations

and make some comparison of their relative advantages and disadvantages.� Examine the different sources of data and compare their suitability, for example,

observation of people playing the game, surveys or questionnaires, discussionsand printed material.

� Investigate the ways radio or telephones have affected the day to-day-life ofpeople and families. ð

LEVEL 4 INFORMATION STRAND - INVESTIGATING PHASE

To achieve this level a student will haveto be able to:� develop further their understanding

of those presentations and productionmethods that suit particularaudiences

� examine different sources of data� assess the suitability of each method

to acquire appropriate data� begin investigating the impact of

information technologies on the livesof their families and friends

Curriculum focus (Ref. CSF)ðð

ð

Assess the suitability of data sourcesand explain presentation features thatwould result in information productsthat satisfy the intended audience.

Learning outcome

Activities in this phase


During this phase students should have the opportunity to demonstrate that theyare capable of the following.� Develop at least three discernibly different design options.� Select appropriate sources of data based on the information gathered in the

design phase.� Select suitable information equipment� Select suitable styles for presenting the information.� Provide reasons for any choices they make.� Provide ideas for testing the suitability of their solution.ð

LEVEL 4 INFORMATION STRAND - DESIGNING PHASE

To achieve this level a student will haveto be able to:� generate design options to produce

information products that meet theneeds of particular audiences

� select appropriate sources of data� select appropriate sources of

information equipment� select appropriate sources of

presentation styles� provide reasons for their choices� begin identifying how they will test

the suitability of the solution

Curriculum focus (Ref. CSF)

ðð

ð

Prepare designs and justify preferredoptions.

Learning outcome



During this phase students should have the opportunity to demonstrate that theyare capable of the following.� Follow their design plans in regard to acquiring data and processing it.� Follow their design plans in regard to the style of presentation.� Use an appropriate range of equipment.� Use an appropriate range of techniques.� Show skill in using equipment correctly and efficiently.� Monitor their work and make changes to the design plan where necessary.� Identify problems with equipment and take action to correct them.ð

LEVEL 4 INFORMATION STRAND - PRODUCING PHASE

To achieve this level a student will haveto be able to:� follow design plans to acquire data

and manipulate it to presentinformation

� use an appropriate range ofinformation equipment andtechniques to develop the product

� incorporate changes where necessary� use equipment in an efficient manner� identify problems and take corrective

action when using equipment


ðð

ð

Produce information to design specifi-cations using an appropriate range ofinformation equipment and techniques.

Learning outcome



During this phase students should have the opportunity to demonstrate that theyare capable of the following.� Compare their product with their design plan.� Compare their product with similar products.� Evaluate the effectiveness of their product in meeting the needs of the intended

audience.� Suggest modifications that would overcome any deficiencies or weaknesses in

the finished product. ð

LEVEL 4 INFORMATION STRAND - EVALUATING PHASE

To achieve this level a student will haveto be able to:� assess the quality of their information

products� compare their products with the

chosen designs and with similarproducts

� justify the suitability of their productsin meeting the needs of the intendedaudiences

� suggest changes that could beincorporated to overcomedeficiencies or weaknesses


ðð

ð

Justify the suitability of his or her prod-ucts and suggest changes to improve theproducts.

Learning outcome



Section 5: FURTHER OPTIONS

5A: INTEGRATING LEARNING AREAS

Integrating areas of learning is the way to go and Technology lends itself to this approach. A quickbrainstorming session produced the concept map below. Use this as a starting point to think of waysto integrate �communication� with other topics.

5B: WORKING WITH STUDENTS OF DIFFERING ABILITIES

The tables on the following pages show the differences in each of the four phases at Levels 3, 4 and5. Having students working at different levels within one class is not a new experience for primaryteachers. What it all means is that students working towards achieving Level 3 will need to learndifferent things from the student who is striving to reach Level 4. Those working towards Level 5 willneed something different again. The tables are based on the curriculum focus for each learning out-come at each level. It is the curriculum focus that tells you what it is the students should know and beable to do.

PrintingCOMMUNICATION

People

ComputersTelephone

Business

Industry

Mail

Written

Oral

Language

Photographs

Print media

Magazines Books

Technology

Materials

Processes

Systems

Electronic media

Graphics

Videos

Symbols

Engineering drawings

Accounts

Telephone

Radio

Television

Photography

Electronics

Satellites

Semi-conductorsInkPaperNewspapers

Control machines

Letters

Records

Personal

Alphabet


Level 3

To achieve this level a student will have to be able to:� explore features of information products that suit

different audiences� identify equipment and media to store information� understand the basics of how to operate equipment

and media to store information� start predicting the effects on different audiences of

altering design or production techniques

Level 4

To achieve this level a student will have to be able to:� develop further their understanding of those

presentations and production methods that suitparticular audiences

� examine different sources of data� assess the suitability of each method to acquire

appropriate data� begin investigating the impact of information

technologies on the lives of their families and friends

Level 5

To achieve this level a student will have to be able to:� investigate the effects that information technology has

had on education and leisure� begin to explore the environmental effects of

technology and associated consumables� consider some practices that promote the safe and

healthy use of technology information� investigate the effects of combining different data types

within particular products

Level 3

To achieve this level a student will have to be able to:� generate and document designs for information

products to meet particular requirements� specify data sources� select appropriate equipment and media for their tasks� make suggestions of likely changes to their

information products if creating for different audiences

Level 4

To achieve this level a student will have to be able to:� generate designs option to produce information

products that meet the needs of particular audiences� select appropriate sources of data� select appropriate sources of information equipment� select appropriate sources of presentation styles� provide reasons for their choices� begin identifying how they will test the suitability of

the solution

Level 5

To achieve this level a student will have to be able to:� develop alternative design proposals using

conventions and language associated with informationtechnology

� develop and refine their design proposals to meetfunctional and aesthetic requirements of differentaudiences

� justify their choice of processes and products� develop criteria to determine the suitability of the

products

ð

INFORMATION STRAND - INVESTIGATING PHASE

ð

INFORMATION STRAND - DESIGNING PHASE

ðð


Level 3

To achieve this level a student will have to be able to:� use the appropriate capabilities to develop their

products� review their plans and techniques to improve the

quality of their product when required� make safe and efficient use of the technology� begin to consider causes and undertake simple

remedial action when equipment failures occur

Level 4

To achieve this level a student will have to be able to:� follow design plans to acquire data and manipulate it

to present information� use an appropriate range of information equipment

and techniques to develop the product� incorporate changes where necessary� use equipment in an efficient manner� identify problems and take corrective action when

using equipment

Level 5

To achieve this level a student will have to be able to:� use a wide range of information equipment and

techniques to create information using combinationsof images, sound and text

� use appropriate procedures to monitor equipment anddiagnose and solve technical problems

� follow appropriate health and safety procedures

Level 3

To achieve this level a student will have to be able to:� compare their products with those of their peers� consider clarity of presentation� assess the suitability of their information for the

intended audience� document ideas for improvement

Level 4

To achieve this level a student will have to be able to:� assess the quality of their information products� compare their products with the chosen designs and

with similar products� justify the suitability of their products in meeting the

needs of the intended audiences� suggest changes that could be incorporated to

overcome deficiencies or weaknesses

Level 5

To achieve this level a student will have to be able to:� critically appraise the information they have produced,

comparing their products with their designs� gather evidence from the intended audiences regarding

the suitability of the information� redesign techniques and procedures in the light of

these experiences� report on the evaluation process and its outcomes

ð

INFORMATION STRAND - PRODUCING PHASE

ð

INFORMATION STRAND - EVALUATING PHASE

ðð


Section 6: SOME USEFUL INFORMATION

In this section you will find information that would be useful in planning and delivering the unit inyour classroom.

a and b: Student worksheets for use with the investigation of engineers.Here are some questions that you could use to produce a worksheet for the investigation of theengineers. The students could be given photocopies of the pages in Section 2: The Engineers as aprimary reference. However, they should be encouraged to use other resources such as dictionaries,encyclopedias and relatives and friends. If you have access to a multi-media computer you might liketo explore the Internet and find other useful bits of information that your students could use.

Some teachers have found it useful to:� allow students to choose which of the two engineers they want to investigate; and� refer to the engineers by their names and encourage the students to do the same.

c: A Letter to be sent homeIf you want to get the students to do some work at home you might like to think about sending homea letter explaining what this unit is all about. Not only does it keep parents and caregivers informed,it might also encourage those at home to help in some way.

d: BarcodesAn explanation of the Universal Product Code that is used to identify each product

e: The ASCII codeThe binary code used in computers for the letters of the alphabet, numbers and some other keys.

f: The Binary Number GameThe completed list of the binary numbers for the decimal numbers 0 to 31.

g: The decimal to binary conversion record sheetA master sheet for students to use to record their conversion of decimal to binary numbers.

h: Code sheetA master sheet for students to use to develop their own binary code.

i: Encoding sheetA master copy of the sheet students can use to encode their messages. The sheet reads like normallines of text � from left to right then the same for the line below.

j: Desktop publishing hintsA few hints for the presentation of print material.

k: Introducing the design brief in Section 1Suggestions for introducing the unit of work to the students.


6A: QUESTION SHEET � STEVE

Steve is an Electrical and Electronic Engineer. He completed an engineering course at university andthen started work as an engineer.

1. Steve finished his studies in 1976 and his first job was working in the Sahara Desert. Where is theSahara Desert and what did Steve do there?

2. Steve�s next job was working in a coal mine designing ways of moving pit props. What is a pitprop?

3. Why were the miners scared of what Steve and his team might do?

4. What did Steve learn about engineering while working in the mine?

5. Steve and his wife had to learn German when they moved to Switzerland. Why would they needto learn German?

6. Steve and his team of engineers designed computer software and hardware. What do the wordssoftware and hardware mean?

7. How did Steve end up in Australia?

8. Steve has worked on some interesting projects in Australia. Name three of these projects.

9. Many engineers work in other countries. Name three overseas projects Steve has worked on sincehe has been living in Australia.

10.Why does Steve enjoy his work as an engineer?


6B: QUESTION SHEET � RYE

Rye is an engineer working in the communications industry. After working as a postwoman shereturned to university when she was 25

1. Where was Rye born and why did she leave that country and move to New Zealand?

2. After completing her degree in horticulture Rye stared to do her Ph.D. What is horticulture? Whatis a Ph.D.?

3. Rye studied Artificial Intelligence. Find out what you can about artificial intelligence.

4. In 1994 Rye went to Japan for twelve months to do research. Why did she cut her visit short afterseven months?

5. What sort of work does Rye do for Telstra?

6. Rye and her team spend time investigating what will be needed in communications in ten, twentyor thirty years. Why would Telstra need this information?

7. In a typical day Rye starts work by reading her e-mail messages. What is e-mail and why is itimportant for people who work in jobs like Rye�s?

8. Why would Rye have to speak to groups of people about her work at Telstra?

9. Why does Rye like her work as an engineer?

10.What does Rye do when she is not working as an engineer?


6C: LETTER FOR THE STUDENT�S PARENTS

Dear ��.,

Your son or daughter has been asked to find out something about communications. They might belooking for photographs or information about the history of communications, radios, telephones,newspapers and computers. All this is part of a Technology unit of work that is looking at howengineers have used technology to give us the ability to communicate with people anywhere in theworld.

Communications engineers design and make the equipment we use to communicate with people in thenext suburb, another state or country or even the other side of the world.

If you know something about communications then you can share that with your child. If you knowvery little or nothing, now is the time to learn with them.

The teacher


6D: BARCODES

Shops that sell packaged items use information technology to help them add up the cost of the pur-chase and also to keep track of the stock they sell. Each product is identified by its own UniversalProduct Code that is a series of bars that represent 13 numbers. The common name for this code is the�barcode� and it is read and decoded by a scanner.

The 13 numbers identify each product. In the example:The first two numbers 9 3 represent the country, in this case Australia.The next five numbers identify the manufacturer � Nestle.The next five numbers identify the product � 150g jar of Nescafe.The last number is the security number and is it is used to check the accuracy of the scanned number.Next time you are at the supermarket check out the barcode numbers.


6E: ASCII CODE

Character ASCII Decimal Character ASCII Decimal Character ASCII DecimalBinary Binary Binary

space 0100000 32 A 1000001 65 a 1100001 97

� 0100010 34 B 1000010 66 b 1100010 98

# 0100011 35 C 1000011 67 c 1100011 99

$ 0100100 36 D 1000100 68 d 1100100 100

% 0100101 37 E 1000101 69 e 1100101 101

& 0100110 38 F 1000110 70 f 1100110 102

( 0101000 40 G 1000111 71 g 1100111 103

) 0101001 41 H 1001000 72 h 1101000 104

* 0101010 42 I 1001001 73 i 1101001 105

+ 0101011 43 J 1001010 74 j 1101010 106

, 0101100 44 K 1001011 75 k 1101011 107

. 0101110 46 L 1001100 76 l 1101100 108

/ 0101111 47 M 1001101 77 m 1101101 109

0 0110000 48 N 1001110 78 n 1101110 110

1 0110001 49 O 1001111 79 o 1101111 111

2 0110010 50 P 1010000 80 p 1110000 112

3 0110011 51 Q 1010001 81 q 1110001 113

4 0110100 52 R 1010010 82 r 1110010 114

5 0110101 53 S 1010011 83 s 1110011 115

6 0110110 54 T 1010100 84 t 1110100 116

7 0110111 55 U 1010101 85 u 1110101 117

8 0111000 56 V 1010110 86 v 1110110 118

9 0111001 57 W 1010111 87 w 1110111 119

< 0111100 60 X 1011000 88 x 1111000 120

> 0111110 62 Y 1011001 89 y 1111001 121

? 0111111 63 Z 1011010 90 z 1111010 122


6F: THE BINARY NUMBER GAME

A CONVERSION TABLE � DECIMAL TO BINARY NUMBERS

Decimal number Binary number

16 squares 8 squares 4 squares 2 squares 1 square

0 0 0 0 0 0

1 0 0 0 0 1

2 0 0 0 1 0

3 0 0 0 1 1

4 0 0 1 0 0

5 0 0 1 0 1

6 0 0 1 1 0

7 0 0 1 1 1

8 0 1 0 0 0

9 0 1 0 0 1

10 0 1 0 1 0

11 0 1 0 1 1

12 0 1 1 0 0

13 0 1 1 0 1

14 0 1 1 1 0

15 0 1 1 1 1

16 1 0 0 0 0

17 1 0 0 0 1

18 1 0 0 1 0

19 1 0 0 1 1

20 1 0 1 0 0

21 1 0 1 0 1

22 1 0 1 1 0

23 1 0 1 1 1

24 1 1 0 0 0

25 1 1 0 0 1

26 1 1 0 1 0

27 1 1 0 1 1

28 1 1 1 0 0

29 1 1 1 0 1

30 1 1 1 1 0

31 1 1 1 1 1


6G: THE DECIMAL TO BINARY CONVERSION RECORD SHEET

Decimal Binary Numbernumber

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

16 s

quar

es

8 sq

uare

s

4 sq

uare

s

2 sq

uare

s

1 sq

uare


6H: CODE SHEET

Decimal Character Binary Numbernumber

0 A

1 B

2 C

3 D

4 E

5 F

6 G

7 H

8 I

9 J

10 K

11 L

12 M

13 N

14 O

15 P

16 Q

17 R

18 S

19 T

20 U

21 V

22 W

23 X

24 Y

25 Z

26 Space

27 .

28 ,

29 �

30 �

31 ?

16 s

quar

es

8 sq

uare

s

4 sq

uare

s

2 sq

uare

s

1 sq

uare


6I:

ENC

OD

ING

SH

EET


6J: DESKTOP PUBLISHING HINTS

FONTS OR TYPEFACES

Typefaces come in a bewildering range of styles and each is available in different heights, thicknessof lines, and upright or sloping. There are some funny names such as:Aardvark;Bahamas Light;Jillian Gothic;Playbill: andWedding textUnless you have some overwhelming urge to use these fonts, as we computer experts call them, leavethem alone and concentrate on two or three common ones. There are two types of fonts, serif and sansserif. For the uniformed serifs are the little bits added to the ends of the main strokes of a letter. Youcan now display your mastery of foreign languages when you tell others that �sans� means without. Itcomes from a foreign language. Macquarie says it is Middle English (1100 - 1500 AD) from OldFrench (before 1400 AD). The two commonly used fonts are:

Times New Roman which is a serif type font

Arial which is a sans serif font

The font with the serifs, or squiggly bits at the ends, is best used for the main body of text because itis easier to read. There are other serif fonts but stick with Times New Roman and you should be safe.Sans serif such as Ariel or Helvetica should be used for headings, tables, charts and captions. Try andstick to two fonts, one a serif type and the other sans serif. For example, Times New Roman andAriel.

Size of the fontWhatever font you use keep to the range of 8pt to 12pt. The pt is just a bit more technical jargon andrefers to the size of the letters.This is 8 point

This is 10 point

This is 12 point

JustificationJustification means where the text is placed relative to the margins. If you are confused look at theexamples below.

This text is left justified which means that each line starts at the left margin. Take care when usingthe justification command because if you get it wrong the text becomes very difficult to read. Leftjustification is commonly used.

This text is right justified which means that each line starts at the right margin. Take care whenusing the justification command because if you get it wrong the text becomes very difficult to read.

Right justification has some uses such as writing the sender�s address on the right hand side of aletter.

This text is centred which means that each line is centred between margins. Take care when usingthe justification command because if you get it wrong the text becomes very difficult to read.

Centred justification has some uses, such as centring a heading.


This text is justified which means that each line starts at the left margin and finishes at the rightmargin. Take care when using the justification command/because/if/you/use/very/long/words/with/lots/of/letters (translated this becomes �command because if you use long words with lots of letters�)the spacing between words increases and makes it difficult to read. See the second line.

A FEW MORE HINTS ABOUT THE WRITTEN WORD

Bold type is important for emphasis but becomes difficult to read if used too much. The same goes foritalics, so use sparingly.Large type makes reading difficult because you can absorb less words at a glance.CAPITAL LETTERS ALSO SLOW THE READING PROCESSWatch the length of lines because they make reading more difficult, and this is especially important tokeep in mind when you have students who have some problems with reading.

The ideal length of line is between 70 and 40 charactersincluding spaces. This example has about 60 charactersper line.

(Note that this document uses longer lines to reduce the number of pages and thus the size of thedocument for transfer over the internet � although we have not used the whole A4 width, insteadleaving a large left margin to provide a certain level of readability!)

Fiddling with the marginsTry widening the margins and reducing the length of each line of text. Remember shorter is better.Take care with the bean counters in your school. They will accuse you of wasting paper because theyalways believe that more for less (paper that is) is better. Remind them that quality cannot be com-promised. On this page the left margin is 5 cm and the right is 3 cm

HeadingsTry and keep to three or four levels of headings, and the size and font should indicate the degree ofimportance.

FIRST LEVEL HEADING (UPPER CASE, 16 PT,BOLD)

Second level (lower case, 16 pt, bold)

Third level (lower case, 14 pt, bold)

Fourth level (lower case, 12 pt, bold)

(Note: In this document SMALL CAPS and indentation into the left margin has also been used to indi-cate the level of importance of a heading)

Breaking up the text

Sometimes it is a good idea to create breaks between parts of the text, especially if it is very long. Thegood old simple line is ideal for this purpose,

or if you want something special use a line of characters such as an asterisk.

***************************************************************************


TablesTables can be used for other things besides eating. You can use them to present complicated informa-tion in a very readable format. To see how it works look at the example below. Note the use of a sansserif font.

GROWTH RATE

Time - weeks Weight - kilograms

Donald Duck Bunny Rabbit1

1 1.00 0.75

2 2.00 1.50

3 3.00 3.25

4 4.00 4.00

5 5.00 4.80

6 6.00 5.75

7 7.50 5.90

8 8.00 6.90

9 8.50 7.90

10 9.00 9.00

If you want to very adventuorous you could show the same infromation in a grapic chart.

Boxes and more boxesText boxes are real easy to make - much easier than the wood or cardboard types. You can do lots ofgroovy things with boxes.

A simple box

Give your material a lift by using boxes. This example shows the effect of boxing textto highlight something important. This is a simple box and it is very effective in break-ing up a large chunk of text. Making the width of the box less than the space betweenthe margins can also be used to focus attention on this information.

GROWTH RATE

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1

0Weeks

Weight - kg

Donald Duck

Bunny Rabbit


A shaded box

To give your material an added lift you can use a shaded box. This example shows theeffect of shading a box of text to highlight something important. A shaded box can alsobe used for something extra such as instructions or an interesting sidelight. Take carewith the shading � to much and the text is hard to read.

A very shaded box

This example shows the effect of shading a box of text to highlight somethingimportant. A shaded box can also be used for something extra such as instruc-tions or an interesting sidelight.

The symbolMicrosoft Word supplies you with a range of symbols, and if you feel confident use them to demon-strate your great skill on the computer. Here are a few examples.

Arrows: èçéêëìíî Numbers: ��..�

Cut here: # Got it right!: CFirst day of holidays: J Last day of holidays: L

Learning this stuff is dangerous: M Teaching is also very dangerous: NStarting time: ¿ Finishing time: ½You got it wrong stupid!: ✗ Go to the top of the class: ✓


6K: INTRODUCING THE DESIGN BRIEF IN SECTION 1

INTRODUCING THE UNIT OF WORK

Here is one suggestion for introducing this unit of work. Every day we use numbers and mathematicsfor so many things. For example we:· add, subtract divide and multiply when buying items in a shop.· use numbers to identify the size of items of clothing and the pages in a book· use numbers to tell the time and add and subtract to work out how much longer we can stay in bedin the morning or how many weeks and days to our next holidays.

The numbers we use and the way we use them is based on the decimal system. The decimal system isthe one we use for counting and measuring and it based on the number 10 and its powers. We use tensymbols or numbers and they are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 0. The position of these numbers tells usthe overall value or quantity. For example, the number one thousand, five hundred and sixty seven iswritten as 1,567 and the table below shows the value of each number or digit.

1000 or 103 100 or 102 10 or 101 1 or 100

The number in this The number in this The number in this The number in thiscolumn tells you how column tells you how column tells you how column tells you how

many thousands. many hundreds. many tens. many ones or units.

1 5 6 7

It is generally accepted that when people first started to count they used their fingers, which are alsoknown as digits. The use of the decimal system as we know it began in India sometime in the sixthcentury and developed in the counties of Arabia. This system was introduced in Europe around the14th century. There are other systems based on numbers other than ten, but more about them later.With a little imagination it is possible to think of situations where other number systems could de-velop.

The scenarioIt is the year 2500 AD and space travel is commonplace and after a series of intergalactic wars aUnited Galactic Congress has been set up to keep the peace. This is something like a space ageUnited Nations. The representatives of all the galaxies meet regularly to discuss how everyone canlive in peace and help each other. The other representatives certainly look different to those fromEarth, and one difference is that some have six fingers on each hand, others have three and some haveonly two. When the people in each of these galaxies started counting they would have used theirfingers and therefore ended up with number systems based on a number other than 10.

People with three fingers on each hand would probably end up with a system based on the number 6.We could call this the hexadic system because hexas in Greek means six. Let us see how this wouldwork.

· They would use six numbers � 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 0.· When counting the units they would get to five and one more would make six so they would

write a 0 in the units column and 1 in the six column. We can produce a table like the one forthe decimal system to show how the hexadic system works.


216 or 63 36 or 62 6 or 61 1 or 60

The number in this The number in this The number in this The number in thiscolumn tells you how column tells you how column tells you how column tells you how

many 216s many 36s many 6s many ones or units.

1 5 0 4

· The figure 1504 would mean different things to the people from Earth and the other galaxy. Toconvert 1504 into a decimal system value you would start from the right.

4 x 1 = 40 x 6 = 05 x 36 = 1 8 01 x 216 = 2 1 6

4 0 0

· The number 1504 in the hexadic system equals 400 in the decimal system.

You can develop a number system using any number as the base. Three systems that are used arethe:

· Duo-decimal system that used 12 as the base.· Hexadecimal system that uses 16 as the base.· Binary system that uses 2 as the base.

Some older pre-decimal people will remember that dozen and gross were quantities used in manysituations. A gross was 12 dozen or 144 items. This was a simple example of the duo-decimal systembecause when you got to eleven and added on more you had one dozen, and when you reached 12dozen you had a gross.Computer programmers use the hexadecimal system and it works in well with the binary system thatis used in many electronic systems such as computers. The term digital has now become synonymouswith state of the art electronics, for example you have digital mobile phones and music and picturesare digitalis for the best reproduction. Digital electronics is based on the binary number systemtherefore it has become a very important part of today�s technology.This unit will introduce the concept of binary number system and how it can be used as a code like theone used for electronic communications. The Binary Number Game in Section 3 involves simpleaddition and subtraction of one and two digit numbers and it should be seen as game rather than amathematics activity.

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