Technology

Understanding and Using Technology in Society

KEY FEATURES

The outcome will be attained through the study of:

• ways in which technology has met and is meeting human needs
• ways in which technology creates demand for resources and products and vice versa
• the impact of technology on lifestyles and the environment
• ways in which technology enables us to control the environment, handle and communicate information
• ways in which developments in technology and changing social and aesthetic values determine design criteria

Therefore, by the end of S2 a pupil's curriculum should have included the study of technology in the home, school, industry and the wider community, including the following:

• domestic appliances, clothing, heating
• roads and transport; entertainment and leisure technologies
• graphics and image storage and retrieval systems
• communications systems
• technology in health care and public health
• food technology and preservation
• pollution, waste, repair and re-cycling
• conservation of resources
• appropriateness of low and high tech ways of controlling use of resources and materials and the costs and benefits to societies
• aesthetic values and changing fashions

Technology in Society Stages P1 to P3 - [Return]

Pupils will observe and investigate some of the ways in which they and their families use and benefit from technology of different kinds, in the home, at school and in the community

Contexts for these activities will include studies of clothing, homes, school, food, leisure, transport, communication and health

Key features include:

Technology And Human Needs

• the everyday needs of family and friends and some ways in which particular products have been designed to meet them, e.g. waterproof clothing, spectacles, washing machines, felt tip pens, lego, dustpan and brush, cutlery...

Technology And Demand For Resources

• some simple advantages and disadvantages for individuals and the community of having and using everyday products, e.g. food packaging, video cassettes, refrigerators...

Technology As It Affects Lifestyles

• features of pupils' lives which are only possible because of particular technologies, e.g. holidays abroad; seeing the Olympic Games on TV; talking to friends at a distance by telephone; fast food...

Technology To Control The Environment

• ways in which technology helps us to control the environment, e.g. to keep warm or stay cool, to have light during darkness, to travel further than we can easily walk...
• how we use our senses in conjunction with control devices to effect control, e.g. using eyes, hands, ears and a tap to control the flow of water...

Technology responding to values and scientific progress

• simple examples of ways in which developments in technology and changes in taste and fashion have affected the design of products, e.g. bicycles, toys, housing, clothing, playground equipment...

Technology in Society Stages P4 to P6 -[Return]

The pupils' own immediate experience will continue to be important, but contexts for activities will be extended to include the world of work, space travel and technology in other times and places.

Key features include:

Technology and Human Needs

• the needs of particular groups in the local community, e.g. families, senior citizens, sports enthusiasts, cyclists, disabled people, and products which have been designed to cater for their needs, e.g. play areas, sheltered housing, stadia for sport, cycle paths, wheelchair ramps...

Technology And Demand For Resources

• ways in which particular technologies are developed to support successful existing technologies and can form the basis of service and manufacturing industry, e.g. spare parts, modified parts and garages to service vehicles; improving ways of reproducing music from record to tape to CD; refinements in ways of filling teeth...
• consideration of advantages and disadvantages of these technologies for the consumer and the environment, e.g. cost and conservation...

Technology As It Affects Lifestyles

• simple relationships between the ways people live and the technologies they use in different communities and environments, e.g. how water is used for domestic purposes, for irrigation, to generate power; how food is preserved and distributed; how houses are heated and insulated; how news is broadcast...

Technology to Control the Environment

• the merits/demerits of simple against sophisticated designs, depending on circumstances, e.g. obtaining water from a well using a bucket and rope, a hand operated screw, a motorised pump...
• simple relationships between the way people control their movements and the way control technology helps us to produce automated systems to control our environment, e.g. how we use our senses to pick up an object and how a robot using control technology could pick up an object; how we use our senses to control our body temperature and how the school heating system is controlled...

Technology responding to Values and Scientific Progress

• ways in which the 'image' of technology, advertisements and access to information about other people and places through the media influence ideas about what makes products attractive, e.g. trainers, toys and games, fast food, theme parks...

Technology in Society Stages P7 to S2 - [Return]

The contexts for studying technology in society will continue to encompass a wide range of examples including clothing, homes, school, food, water, leisure, transport, communications, the media, health, the workplace, travel and exploration.

Key features include:

Technology and Human Needs

• the needs of individuals and groups in the wider community and particular products and environments which have been created to meet them, e.g. emergency services, public buildings, underground railways, security systems, shopping centres, credit cards, DIY...
• ways in which individuals can use technology to change their own environment and lifestyle...

Technology And Demand For Resources

• ways in which technological developments interrelate and affect the development or decline of other technologies and employment opportunities, e.g. robotics in car manufacturing; fibre optics in communications; lasers in surgery; nuclear power...
• the tension between production and the care of the environment, e.g. arguments for and against re cycling, nuclear technology, extended ownership of private cars...

Technology As It Affects Lifestyles

• appropriateness of products and built environments to different communities, e.g. agricultural implements in different countries; ways in which the existence and promotion of certain technologies influence lifestyle and expectations, e.g. possession of domestic appliances; transplant surgery...

Technology to Control the Environment

• ways in which energy is converted and materials can change state, e.g. burning fossil fuels to create electricity...
• using a systems approach to conserve and make effective use of natural resources, e.g. size of mesh in fishing nets...
• ways in which control technology can be used to provide various levels of control or automation, e.g. electric kettle (open loop), automatic electric kettle (closed loop)...
• control of the environment, e.g. the monitoring and control of flue gas emissions...
• automatic safety systems, e.g. level crossing barriers, smoke alarms...

Technology responding to Values and Scientific Progress

• ways in which the development of materials and processes, customs, religious beliefs, advertising and the media influence ideas about fashion and design of products and built environments, e.g. kitchens, religious buildings, car design, footwear...

Understanding and Using the Design Process

Technology and The Design Process Stages P1 To P3 -[Return]

Activities should encourage pupils to develop their awareness of features of design and to use simple principles of the design process in the classroom, play activities and in studies in the local area and community.

Key features include:

Design and Manufacturing Processes

• different ways of approaching a problem or task, including those used by other pupils, e.g. step by step, trying something different...

Selecting and Using Design Processes

• the use of their knowledge, skills and resources make things or change things to meet human needs...

Properties of Materials and Tools in Relation to their Practical Use

• the properties of different materials, e.g. card, wood, metal, glass, food, fabric, plastic, and improvised and commercially produced tools which can be used to make simple products, e.g. models, meals, pictures, musical instruments, collages, gardens...

Devices and Tools Associated with Control and their Applications

• the control technology of the classroom and home and simple procedures for its use, e.g. light switches, concept keyboard, VCR, computer, tape recorder, mechanical and programmable toys...

Effectiveness of Design in Creations/Systems and Environments

• features of design in everyday objects and environments and ways in which they work well or could be improved, e.g. through choosing junk to represent furniture in the house; making tracks and 'runs' for toy cars; arranging a display in an area of the classroom; making costumes, objects or decorations for a festival or party...

Practical Skills, Techniques and Safe Procedures

• practical skills and techniques in using equipment, tools and materials...
• how to care for and handle equipment and materials safely, e.g. in protecting clothing from paint or glue or in knowing when to ask for adult help...

Technology and The Design Process Stages P4 To P6 -[Return]

Pupils' experience of design will be extended to include the community and the world of work, usually in local contexts where they can observe and experience directly

Key features include:

Design and Manufacturing Processes

• the different stages in the design process and strategies they can use within these stages, e.g. using lists or labelled diagrams of ideas at the planning stage, controlled tests of different materials at the investigation stage, considering effectiveness and appearance at the evaluation stage...

Selecting and Using the Design Process

• the use of their knowledge, skills and resources to make things or change things; and learning that this process is commonly called designinq and making...

Properties of Materials and Tools in Relation to their Practical Use

• investigating and comparing the properties of different materials, e.g. paper, card, wood, fabric, plastic, and tools, selecting the best for making particular products, e.g. through choosing a waterproof material to make a sports bag or choosing a broad brush for painting the background to a frieze...

Devices and Tools associated with Control and their Applications

• how control technology can be used for specific purposes in different situations, e.g. computer interface to control lights and motors, simple geared and pulley operated models, elastic driven buggy, sequencing of traffic lights...

Effectiveness of Design in Creations/Systems and Environments

• the effectiveness and drawbacks in the design of local environments for different groups of users, e.g. the supermarket for someone in a wheelchair, local pedestrian facilities for small children, the town centre for parents with pushchairs, the school dining hall for pupils...

Practical Skills Techniques and Safe Procedures

• a range of materials, tools, equipment and methods of assembly and safe procedures for their use...

Technology and The Design Process Stages P7 To S2 -[Return]

Studies in the local community will continue to provide contexts for understanding and using the design process, but pupils' experience should be extended to include materials presented through a range of written, audio visual and electronic sources.

Key features include:

Design and Manufacturing Processes

• knowledge of a range of contexts within which the design process may be applied...

Selecting and Using the Design Process

• flexible use and sequencing of the stages in the design process according to the nature of the task and the particular circumstances...

Properties of Materials and Tools in Relation to their Practical Use

• selecting, investigating and making effective use of appropriate materials, tools and equipment, including powered equipment, to tackle a design task or to meet a design specification...

Devices and Tools associated with Control and their Applications

• the effective and efficient use of control technology in design tasks, e.g. burglar alarms, lifting mechanisms for car park levels, cranes, level crossing barriers, warning systems...

Effectiveness of Design in Creations/Systems and Environments

• different criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of a design, relating to needs and specification, e.g. aesthetic appeal, costs, environmental impact, perspective of different users...

Practical Skills, Techniques and Safe Procedures

• safe and confident use of materials and tools and the organisation of a working environment where materials, equipment and space support the particular activity...