Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: What is in your smartphone?

25 minutes

Find Out: The life of an e-product

20 minutes

Take Action: Let’s rethink

5 minutes

Reflection

Tune In: What’s in your smartphone?

Step 1

Explain to the class that they will explore what is in their smartphone and consider where these elements might come from and why.

Watch the following video with your class and ask students to take notes on the following areas listed below in their Student Worksheet:

Where does your phone come from - The Economist (youtu.be/cKvGzS8LYbY?feature=shared)

What rare elements are in a smartphone?
Where are most of these elements sourced from?
What are some of the negative environmental occurrences following their extraction?
What happens to the elements once they have been mined?

Discuss the following points as a class:

Why do students think these elements are (predominantly) mined in countries like China and the Democratic Republic of Congo?
How do students feel about the environmental bi-products of mining in Australia?
Why do students think these elements are shipped to other countries for the next step of the processing and assembly of the phone?

Step 2

Watch the following interview with an environmental engineer specialising in life cycle analysis at Lifecycles, made specifically for this unit.

Lifecycles (https://vimeo.com/863827684?share=copy)

After watching the video with your students, discuss the following points:

What is the point of conducting a life cycle analysis?
Why is knowing about the entire life cycle of a product important? Not just where it comes from, but also where it ends up.
How does reusing and refurbishing electronics impact the life cycle analysis?

If you are interested in exploring this topic further, you may like to check out the following interviews created especially for this unit with organisations who have expert insight into electronic products, e-waste and the social and environmental impacts of this issue. More information about these organisations can be found in the teacher content information.
• Comsol
• Fairphone
• PACE (Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy)
• Planet Price
• TCO Development
• UNITAR
• Walk Free

Find Out: The life of an e-product

Preparation

If your students need a refresher about the e-waste issue to put this lesson into context, watch the following video or distribute the following The E-Waste Crisis factsheet.

Closing the E-loop - Introduction - Comsol (https://vimeo.com/866181273?share=copy)

Step 1

This lesson briefly introduces the life cycle of e-products. The next 3 lessons in this unit will explore each step of the lifecycle in more detail, focusing on the societal and environmental impacts of raw material extraction, production, packaging, distribution, consumption and disposal.

Explain to students that in pairs, they will choose (or you can allocate!) an e-product and map it through its lifetime to start to think about different products, components and lifespans.

(*recommended for supported students)

hairdryer*	television	smartphone*	headphones
laptop	USB	kettle	wireless speaker
game console	batteries*	cables	smartwatch

To guide their research, students should answer the following questions in their Student Worksheet:

Where are the components sourced and made?
The potential environmental and social impacts on the country the components are sourced from
The product's environmental footprint as it travels the globe (where are components made, shipped to, assembled etc.)
The range of prices for the item
The estimated lifespan/usage time of the object
Ways in which the product can be damaged/lost/need to be replaced
Ways in which it can be disposed of ethically (is this method practical and financially viable for the everyman?)
The environmental impact that occurs if this product is simply put into landfill.

If you are looking for an extension opportunity or an option to take this lesson further, this research component could be extended to students physically mapping the global journey of their electronic product and its components using Google Earth Project or Mapline. More information about this can be found in the Teacher Content Information.

Step 2

Instruct students to write an elevator pitch about their chosen product and what they learned about it for the class. If your class hasn’t created an elevator pitch before, distribute this How to Make a Great Elevator Pitch factsheet that provides the basics for them to work from! You may like to take some extra time to allow students to present their pitches to the class or just instruct one pair to share with another.

Utilising an elevator pitch can ensure knowledge is spread throughout the class without losing large swathes of time to formal presentations. It also teaches students about being concise and engaging with their information.

Take Action: Let’s rethink

Step 1

Watch the following video with your students and encourage them to take notes in their Student Worksheet about the circular economy and what this looks like.

Explaining the Circular Economy and How Society Can Re-think Progress - Ellen MacArthur Foundation (youtu.be/zCRKvDyyHmI?feature=shared)

If you are interested in exploring the circular economy further, you may like to check out the following interviews created especially for this unit with organisations who are utilising and promoting the circular economy. More information about these organisations can be found in the teacher content information.
• Circle Economy
• Circonomy
• Close the Loop
• Inrego
• Utilitarian
• WEEE Forum

Step 2

Explain to students that they will create an Instagram post to illuminate what e-waste is and how a circular economy might be the answer to some of the world’s problems. Students could use a design tool such as Canva or sketch a rough draft, depending on the amount of time they have available for this task.

Students can view each other's work and give 2 stars and a wish to 2 of their peers’ posts.

You could display the students' creations in the classroom and give prizes to the most creative and effective submissions!

If you are looking for opportunities for extension in this lesson, please refer to the Teacher Content Information, where we have resources for students to think about how a business could operate more sustainably or delve deeper into the e-waste issue.

Reflection

Invite students to answer the following questions after today’s lesson

What did you learn about what goes into your smartphone?
What surprised you about today’s lesson?
Are you now thinking differently about what you do with your phone at the end of its life?

The Global Lifecycle of an Electronic Product

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Summary

Learning intentions:

Students will...

Success criteria:

Students can..

Lesson Guides and Printables

Lesson Details

Skills

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Additional Info

In this lesson