Open main menu

Resources/Toolkit for education

Revision as of 12:38, 5 June 2019 by Root (talk | contribs)

Introduction

Learn how to use our 'Toolkit for education' and discover how you can help students improve their general life skills, such as problem solving. The toolkit is designed to a standard, which teachers and students can easily understand and follow.




Toolkit for education

How it works

Our toolkit for education allows for teachers to set up fun lessons, where learners can learn about design, choose any product within reason to test, find problems, and then generate suggestions which can help improve the product. Once the learner has done this, then our toolkit will guide them to submit their feedback to WikiDesign.world on an existing or new page, where their contribution will be remembered forever.

In giving students the power to realise they can play a role in helping shape the products we all experience, enables them to see and appreciate the world much more, where they then feel more significant to society; plus it allows them to add this volunteering opportunity on their CV and portfolio. Once students realise they have this capability and if really interested in this field of product design, then they may contribute in their spare time too, allowing them to build upon their career.


Lesson formatting

Lessons can be adjusted, however this is a standard template that we recommend

▶ Lesson 1: Learning about the building blocks
In this lesson, the teacher will address the periodic table, basic raw materials and some tools that can be used to construct things using the building blocks of life. It will be a very informative lesson, which helps the learners understand that we can design and build almost anything, using our knowledge of materials and tools, to cater our needs. This lesson aims to open up the learners minds to what can be done.

▶ Lesson 2: Exploring products to potentially test
The fun part really starts now for the learner, where they can explore a product to test and they can choose any product they have access to, which they can sensibly test in the classroom. Through this lesson, learners can discuss in groups, what they would like to test and learners may study the same product if they choose to, although we recommend that it would be better if learners could pick different products from one another. By now the learner has a list of potential products they can test, now they must use the WikiDesign.world website search engine to see if an article has been made on that product and if so, they may continue with this product, however they must only address problems not found by other contributors, otherwise they can choose another product which has not been addressed at WikiDesign.world.

Once the learner has addressed a product to test, then the learner must create a test log, which will outline the things the learner would like to test on the product. If the product is difficult to test in the classroom environment, for example such as a gaming controller or even a toothbrush, then the learner can still choose the product, however testing may be limited, where the learner can finish off the testing at home as homework if they choose to. In addition to a test log, the learner is also required to create a simple questionnaire, to ask fellow learners, things such as how do they use the product, how long does it last them, is it easy to clean, etc, which will help them in lesson 3 and 4.

Potential schedule:
10 minutes group discussion
10 minutes identifying if product page exists
10 minutes finalising product selection
15 minutes create a test log
15 minutes create a questionnaire

▶ Lesson 3: Testing the product and addressing problems
By now, the learner is excited to test the product and put their trials into action. It is important to use the test log to record the learner's findings, addressing any notable problems along the way. The learner needs to look beyond themselves, to the view points of other potential users of the product, to identify problems brands may of overlooked. At this stage the learner is only required to address the outcomes and problems, not to solve them. Testing should identify the following aspects & capabilities of the product: 1. lifespan/range 2. features/style 3. cleaning/restoration 4. recyclable/waste. Optionally as homework, the learner can use the internet to identify common problems with their chosen product, to help them devise better solutions in lesson 4.

Potential schedule:
15 minutes completing the questionnaire with fellow learners
45 minutes following and completing the test log

▶ Lesson 4: Problem solving and solution engineering
Now the learner has identified one or more problems with the product through testing it; the learner is now required to use their creative mind, to see how the product can be improved by solution to combat these notable problems. In suggesting a solution to the problem, the learner must also visualise if their solution poses new problems and if so, how can these problems be combatted to develop an even better solution. Furthermore, looking at the potentially improved product, the learner must also identify how can the product be cleaned and recycled better.

▶ Lesson 5: Submit your contribution to WikiDesign.world
This step is highly beneficial to helping improve the products we all experience, where learners can see that their work is going to contribute to the world that we all live in. Learners by now should have a product highlighted, a number of problems found with the product and suggestions which can improve the product, alongside better cleaning and recycling practices for the product, including any sources they used. In the event that learners have chosen the same product, they will have to create a joint page/contribution. The learner's contribution can be written very simply, where the teacher will show the learners how to create a page or contribute to a page properly, where the learner will fill in the gaps for their contribution. Once the learner has filled in the gaps within the new/existing page, then the submission can be sent.

In addition, the teacher will express how learners can locate contact points of any business and how they can simply send suggestions to them, whatever the feedback may be; this is a vital step in teaching the learner that they can have a direct influence in the products they use. The learner is then expected to contact the brand of their product, simply addressing that they would like to give feedback through the product page link they've made, for the company to learn more about the feedback that the learner is delivering. Once the learner has addressed the feedback to the company, the learner can choose to update the influence and action section in their contribution, highlighting the date, the organisation they contacted and to state whether they forwarded the company to the product page they have made. In the event the learner receives a response, the influence and action section can be updated by the learner in their spare time, if really interested.

Potential schedule:
10 minutes gathering content/grouping
10 minutes page creation/contribution
20 minutes filling in the gaps
10 minutes discussion about feedback
10 minutes submit suggestion and update influence & action




Notes: 1. Lesson 2 and 5 require access to a computing lab or laptops. 2. It is recommended for the teacher to familiarise themselves with the page creation/contribution process