Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes	Part B: Planning For Technology
20 minutes	Part C: Thinking Critically About Using Technology
5 minutes	Reflection

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

Step 1.

Differentiation:

Where students have completed the previous lesson (SWOT Solutions):

Remind students of the Global Problem Solvers team and how they developed a solution for a problem with a hurricane causing schools to close in Tampa, Florida. Invite students to suggest what this problem is and what the solution from the GPS team was.
You can also invite students to remind themselves of the solution their group created in response to the same problem.

Where students haven't completed the previous lesson (SWOT Solutions):

Explain to students that in this lesson they will be exploring a problem that is based in a part of North America. This problem will be identified and discussed by the characters of an animated series called Global Problem Solvers:
"A massive hurricane has hit the Gulf Coast of the United States and damaged areas of the city of Tampa, in Florida. The storm damage includes power cuts and flooding to many parts of the city, including in schools around the city. This has meant that students are unable to go to school. Teachers and principals would like to start classes for students but are unable to do so without a safe space to do it in, without electricity for lighting and without the internet for students to access coursework and to collaborate. The GPS team has proposed a solution for this problem: An emergency classroom kit that allows teachers to create a 'pop-up' classroom at a shelter. The kit will include lights, internet hardware and solar panels."

You could share the trailer for Series 2 with students:

(Source: https://vimeo.com/273541111)

2. Further information can be found here: Background Information Season 2.

Step 2.

Explain to students that in this lesson they will be exploring the ways the Global Problem Solvers team propose to use technology in their solution. But first, they will spend some time thinking about the opportunities and risks associated with technology.

Write the word ‘technology’ on the board and invite students to define it: what does technology mean?

Explain to students that technology is science or knowledge put into practical use to solve problems or create useful tools. This means that we use what we learn through science to invent tools that we can use to help us both big and small problems. Think of a lightbulb. Before there were lightbulbs, people had to use things like candles to create light at night. The inventors of the lightbulb were experimenting with electricity and realised it could be used to create a source of light that was brighter and more reliable. They used their scientific knowledge of electricity to figure out a way to use it for light. The introduction of lightbulbs meant that people could work in the evenings and travel safely at night. The electric lightbulb is thus considered one of the most important technological inventions.

Step 3.

Now invite students to conduct a THINK PAIR SHARE routine around the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet):

What are some examples of where technology has made life better?
- (e.g. lightbulbs)
What are some examples of challenges relating to these types of technology?
- (e.g. changing light bulbs and needing access to electrical infrastructure to power the lights)

Think Pair Share
THINK PAIR SHARE is a collaborative learning strategy in which students work together to solve a problem or answer a question.
THINK - Students independently think about an issue or question or question and record their thoughts.
PAIR - Students work in pairs to discuss their ideas and record new thoughts.
SHARE - Students share their thoughts with the whole group or with other pairs to reach consensus.

Once students have had time to discuss and record their thoughts, engage students in a class discussion around their thoughts. Suggest to students:

There have been many types of technology that have made our lives easier, such as:

Tools like hammers, saws, axes and knives - before we had these we had to do things with our hands, or find a hard or sharp stone.
The wheel - before we had the wheel people had to drag things around. With the wheel it became a lot easier to move things, including bigger and heavier things.
Household appliances like stoves (easier than lighting a fire to cook), fridges (keeps food fresher for longer) and washing machines (much easier than washing by hand).
Transport, such as cars, bikes, or trains - before we had these we had to rely on our legs to walk us places, and depending on where we were or if we could afford it, maybe horses, camels or cattle.
Personal devices like phones (quicker than sending a letter and easier than yelling down the street), computers (great for writing, watching things and storing stuff like documents and photos).

However, there are problems associated with technology, such as:

Technology often relies on some sort of power, like electricity or batteries, which are not always available or which might run out. In addition, many types of technology can rely on some kind of physical infrastructure (e.g. powerlines, phone connection/towers or roads) that may not be present in some places or which may suffer damage in a natural disaster.
Increasingly, technology relies on access to the internet, which can be tricky in some parts of the world or after a natural disaster or storm event.
Many types of technology have parts that can be broken, which means you may need to buy replacement parts and find someone to fix them.

Part B: Planning For Technology

Step 1.

Students will now think about what types of technology they would use in response to the problem of school students not being able to attend school after the storm in Tampa.

Remind students that in this setting there is no power and there is a lot of storm damage which might make moving around on the ground tricky.

Differentiation:

Where students have completed the previous lesson (SWOT Solutions):
1. Students can return to the groups they worked in to generate their solution.
2. Each group should think of some of the ways that technology could be used to support their solution. If they have already thought of a solution involving technology, invite them to expand on this idea and explain it in detail.
3. Each group should create one or more annotated technical drawings that describe the details of their technology and justify its use. At this stage, these drawings should be rough drafts that allow students to explore their ideas in visual form. Students will have the chance to refine their drawing later in this lesson. Annotated drawings should include scale, symbols and/or descriptive codes. Students requiring extension could create more than one drawing with extended annotations.
  NOTE: Explain to students the technology they propose doesn’t need to already exist or be realistic. The aim here is to think creatively and to think about how technology could be used to address the problem in Tampa.
Where students have not completed the previous lesson:
1. Break the class into groups of four or five students.
2. Each group needs to think up a solution to the problem of students not being able to attend school after the storm in Tampa. Explain that the main issues relating to this problem are that for lessons in Tampa to take place, teachers need a safe space to hold their lessons, power to provide lighting so students can see, and internet access so they can access course work and collaborate online. The GPS team have proposed a ‘pop-up school’ kit that would contain everything needed to run lessons. Invite students to suggest what would be included in this kit and to think about some of the ways that technology could be used in this kit.
3. Each group should create one or more annotated technical drawings that describes the details of their kit and the technology required for this kit, and justifies the use of these types of technology. At this stage, these drawings should be rough drafts that allow students to explore their ideas in visual form. Students will have the chance to refine their drawing later in this lesson. Annotated drawings should include scale, and symbols and/or descriptive codes. Students requiring extension could create more than one drawing with extended annotations.
  NOTE: Explain to students the technology they propose doesn’t need to already exist or be realistic. The aim here is to think creatively and to think about how technology could be used to address the problem in Tampa.

Step 2.

Make some time for students to share their ideas with the class. This could be done with each group presenting their work to the rest of the class, or groups could take turns to share with another group. Encourage groups to offer feedback, reminding students to be kind, helpful and specific when giving feedback.

Some tips for providing feedback
*Be kind - it can be hard sharing your ideas with other people so make sure you remain kind and supportive.
*Be specific - be clear about what you think and why. Rather than saying "I like the facts", say something like "I like the way you used facts to provide justification for the actions you have suggested".
*Be helpful - try not to just say what is strong or weak, but also make suggestions about how things could be improved.

Part C: Thinking Critically About Using Technology

Step 1.

Now share the following clip with students. As they watch, invite students to record anything they notice about the technology proposed in the solution devised by the GPS team:

(Source: Global Problem Solvers: The Series - Episode 2.4: The Technology, https://vimeo.com/267619176)

Once complete, invite students to share their observations. Students could share:

What types of technology they observed
Suggested answers: solar panels, solar-powered router, cellular networks, generator, solar battery storage
What problems they observed
Suggested answers: generators would be too loud to use, cloudy skies reduce effectiveness of solar panels, storm damage makes it hard to get technology to the places where it’s needed
Any thoughts they have about how these problems were/could be addressed
Suggested answers: use solar power instead of power from noisy generators, use solar batteries to store power generated from solar panels for when cloudy skies don’t provide enough sunshine to make power, the kit could be delivered by a vehicle able to navigate the storm-damaged area (such as a helicopter or army truck)

Step 2.

Now invite students to return to the groups they worked in when developing their kits (see Part B: Step 1.). Each group needs to conduct an analysis of their kit based on the potential problems associated with their kit. They should compare their kit to the contents of the kit created by the GPS team. Students can use the questions below to guide their analysis (also available on the Student Worksheet):

How does the technology featured in the GPS kit compare with what you came up with? What is similar and what is different?
What other problems can you foresee occurring with the technology in your kit and why? For example, the GPS team discovered that cloudy skies prevented the generation of solar power.
How might you address these problems? Do you need to change the contents of your kit or can you make small adjustments? Explain your answers.

Step 3.

Once students have answered these questions they can refer back to the rough draft technical drawings they did earlier and begin refining these drawings. Each group needs to create at least one drawing that:

Describes the technology in their kit
Explains how this technology will help to address the problem in Tampa
Anticipates any problems they expect to encounter with their technology and how these problems could be addressed
Includes annotations, scale, and symbols and/or descriptive codes.

Extension: Students requiring extension could create more than one drawing with extended annotations.

Step 4.

Students could share their work through a gallery walk format.

Reflection

Invite students to work independently to reflect on the risks and opportunities of using technology by responding to the following (also available on the Student Worksheet):

I used to think…
But now I think...

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching practice today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Cisco GPS - Technology Pros and Cons

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