Girls’ School Design Time - Technology in Action

Design Time in the Middle School has been an important part of the technology programme for the last two years. Girls from Year 4-6 gather in vertical groups to work together to learn new skills in robotics and coding which will influence their learning in the future.

One of the groups was using Ozobots. These were small programmable robots which could follow a circuit that the girls had to design through coding. If all the components were correct and the circuit was colour coded accurately then the robots could turn, spin, speed up or slow down. Some girls decided to join their circuits together and create a story with pictures to enhance their learning.  Much collaborative discussion was heard as creative ideas were exchanged and shared.

Another group were designing a school playground using a programme called 123D and Thingiverse. Students searched for the most original ideas that they could imagine; and were encouraged to think outside the box. They sketched ideas to add to those which they had found on line, with the view that they will be able to collaborate in order to 3D print and paint a model during later lessons.

Yet another group were given a scenario to consider. This was all about a Christmas tree; which nobody had remembered to order. With very limited materials a tree had to be created and constructed according to a set criteria. Again, the group had to discuss, collaborate and agree on what the final product would look like; keeping in mind that creativity was key. The girls thoroughly enjoyed presenting their final creation to the other students.

These activities were the first steps in an ongoing technology programme for these year groups.