About the course
This course enables students to further explore and develop technological knowledge and skills introduced in the elementary science and technology program. Students will be given the opportunity to design and create products and/or provide services related to the various technological areas or industries, working with a variety of tools, equipment, and software commonly used in industry. Students will develop an awareness of environmental and societal issues, and will begin to explore secondary and postsecondary education and training pathways leading to careers in technology-related fields and communication technology.
Exploring Technology 9
Course Credit
1
Course Price
$ 550.00
Course Developer
My Learning Oasis
Prerequisite(s) (Text)
None
Course Code
Department Head & Contact Information
TIJ10
Ravi Sharma (ravi@mylearningoasis.com)
Course Type
University/College
Grade Level
Grade 9
Course Development Date
June 10th, 2021
Course Outline
Technology Fundamentals
In this unit students will explore the designing process. They will start by looking at how to recognize that there is a demand for a product/process and the relevant demographics. Once that is affirmative, they will venture into the planning phase. In this step they will be introduced to different techniques in brainstorming for a solution in group setting (such ideas of “tunnel visioning” your teammates will be addressed). They will explore the types of material and their characteristics needed for the product or services. They will be introduced to different units of measure to be offeete with different parts of the world when researching products. They will identify the necessary skills needed to bring a variety of products to fruition and realistically look at the skillset of the team to make it happen or tweak the design. Such products may be “a more ergonomic design of a hearing aid”, which will require the skills of an engineer or “a better process to shorten the time of preparing fast food”, which will require the skills of a chef and that of an operations expert. They will examine and evaluate ways in communicating designs and ideas to a potential venture capitalist or a producer, with the intention to gain funding to complete the design and carry out tests. Effective communication techniques will be employed and studied.
Expected Hours of Instruction:36 hours
Technological Skills
In this unit students will explore potential products and services that the community lacks and in groups, brainstorm for a potential solution. They will follow the steps and thoughts of the previous unit to establish the types of skills needed for their solution. They will look at various softwares that can help them to communicate their ideas. These may be CADD software or any other software that can enable them to sketch in detail their planned product. In the case of the design of a process for the smooth operation of a manufacturing plant or a basic office, they will explore softwares that can build professional flowcharts. Students will be introduced to project planning techniques to manage the production of their product or service or process. They will be introduced to problem- solving processes and project-management strategies in the planning and fabrication of the product, process, or service. They will explore constraints imposed by the laws, cost, ethics, operating conditions, delivery time, aesthetics, ergonomics, availability of raw materials, availability of skilled workers, and the purchasing power of the community.
Expected Hours of Instruction:36 hours
Technology, The Environment, and Society
In this unit students will evaluate the impact that technology has on the environment. They will go through the metacognitive process to examine the effects of their own design on the environment. They will evaluate the possibilities of their product enhancing or degrading the well-being of the environment and project the ability of their product to become more environmentally friendly as more efficient components of their product are developed in the future. Students will reflect on how their product influences changes in societal behavior as a whole but with emphasis on the environment and vice versa.
Expected Hours of Instruction:15 hours
Professional Practices and Career Opportunity
In this unit students will explore job opportunities that their product or service can create for others and how a successful design can contribute to themselves being hired by companies. They will look at how to identify companies that may need their product or services. Students will examine ways to tweak their presentation to suit the values of those companies. They will explore techniques to secure interviews or appointments with those companies to present their products or to secure a job. They will be introduced to proper resume writing techniques and look at ways to properly keep an updated portfolio.
Expected Hours of Instruction:12 hours
Project and Final Exam
The project (different from other projects) part of the final exam is 15% of the course and will be in the form of a group presentation (where possible). The other part of the final exam will be written for 15% of the course. It is the teacher’s prerogative to make the final exam 30% of the course.
Expected Hours of Instruction: 9 hours (presentation) 2 hours (written exam)
Total Hours 110
Resources
The course material (class notes and necessary handouts) will be provided by the teacher.
The students will be required to have:
● Access to a library or the Internet to do research
● Access to internet as well as electronic devices for note taking and communication for those taking the class online
Overall Curriculum Expectations
A. TECHNOLOGY FUNDAMENTALS
A1 demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental concepts and skills required in the planning and development of a product or service, including the use of a design process and/or other problem-solving processes and techniques;
A2 demonstrate the ability to use a variety of appropriate methods to communicate ideas and solutions; A3 evaluate products or services in relation to specifications, user requirements, and operating conditions.
B. TECHNOLOGICAL SKILLS
B1 use problem-solving processes and project-management strategies in the planning and fabrication of a product or delivery of a service;
B2 fabricate products or deliver services, using a variety of resources.
C. TECHNOLOGY,THE ENVIRONMENT, AND SOCIETY
C1 demonstrate an awareness of the effects of various technologies on the environment;
C2 demonstrate an awareness of how various technologies affect society, as well as how society influences technological developments.
D. PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
D1 follow safe practices and procedures when using materials, tools, and equipment;
D2 identify careers in various technological fields, and describe the educational requirements for them.
Special Accommodations
Only Some students are able, with accommodations, to be part of a regular course curriculum and to demonstrate independent learning. These accommodations allow access to the course without any dilution of the knowledge and skills the student is expected to demonstrate. These required accommodations to facilitate the student’s learning will be identified in his or her IEP (see IEP Standards, 2000, page 11*). It is likely that IEP for many or all courses will reflect the same accommodations. The instructions and accommodations are geared to meet the diverse needs of learners.
The three types of accommodations that are going to be used are:
i) Instructional accommodations - changes in teaching/learning strategies facilitated by different styles of presentation; methods of organization; the use of technology and multimedia.
ii) Environmental accommodations - Certain classroom settings and preferential seating may benefit these students.
iii) Assessment: assessment procedures that enable the student to demonstrate his or her learning, such as Multiple Intelligence Theory, giving more time to complete tasks (see page 29 of the IEP Resource Guide, 2004, for more examples).
For students who require accommodations for only the mathematics courses, the assessment and evaluation of their achievement will be based on the appropriate course curriculum expectations and the achievement levels outlined in this document. The IEP box on the students’ Provincial Report Cards will not be checked, and no information on the provision of accommodations will be included.
* Taken from: Ministry of Education, Ontario. Extracted from The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 and 10: Technological Education, 2009 Pg 30-33; Date of extraction: Sunday, March 14, 2021
Program Considerations For English Language Learners
Students from a variety of cultural and linguistic backgrounds. For many of these students, English is not their spoken language. They may be coming from highly sophisticated educational systems, while others may have come from regions where access to formal schooling was limited. These students offer a rich addition to the classroom experience by way of their background knowledge and experience. All teachers will assist with their English- language development. In mathematics the teachers will include appropriate adaptations and strategies in their instructions and assessments to facilitate the success of the English language learners in their classrooms. Some of these strategies and adaptations are: modification of some or all of the course expectations so that they are challenging but attainable for the learner at his or her present level of English proficiency, given the necessary support from the teacher.
Teaching/Learning Strategy
The key learning strategy at My Learning Oasis Elite Private School is Constructivism. This format facilitates learning by many techniques, most or all of which will be adopted in the classroom. The most dominant of these is group learning. The facilitator places students of different backgrounds in the same group so that they can feed off each other. Each may bring to the table a different reasoning strategy to facilitate problem-solving. Now, each student becomes a learner and a teacher at the same time, as he/she has to communicate his/her solution. This builds the students' knowledge base and by default, increases their confidence to speak in a crowd, albeit a small group at the beginning. The famous educationalist, Vygotsky, proved that by placing students in a group they function at the upper level of their zone of proximal development, each one scaffolding the other.
This strategy is further enhanced by the teacher asking leading questions as opposed to giving the answer outright, then allowing for group discussion. The students are encouraged to make connections between what they have learnt and their life experiences, then share with the group. The effect of this strategy is intrinsic motivation and learning. Each student develops an expanded appreciation of the topic at hand by seeing how it applies in different settings around the world by way of listening to their group members.
This Constructivist approach will be further accentuated by implementing “fish-bowling”. There are many ways to implement this technique. The one that will mostly be used will be by dividing up the larger problem (technical, mathematics, science, or otherwise) into smaller bits and have each student thoughtfully master one part. That student then teaches the group and facilitates a discussion reflection about the strategy (computational or otherwise) used in the solution. Each student in turn does this.
The above techniques enable students to reflect on the material learnt, make real life connections, and develop problem solving skills. One important by-product of the technique of Constructivism is that each student develops an appreciation of each other’s culture. This cultivates healthy people’s skill, which is not only important for the professional world but for life itself.
Constructivism lends itself well to students whose first language is not the language of instruction and who is new to the class. While other strategies will be used for students having difficulty with the English Language, this technique will definitely be used to enhance their English skill.
Assessment And Evaluation
At My Learning Oasis, course facilitators do not wait for a quiz or exam to determine how well a student is doing. Here, evaluation is an on-going exercise. The pedagogical techniques (refer to Teaching and Learning Strategies) used at My learning Oasis are perhaps the best techniques suited for on-going assessment, hence, they being an integral part of our delivery methodologies.
Concrete assessments are made through projects and assignments. However, the evaluation is based on “our flavor” of the Mastery Teaching technique. This ensures that the emphasis is on the quality of learning and NOT grading. Students' projects and homework will continuously be evaluated and re-evaluated with appropriate guidance to meet the school’s and Ministry’s expectations. At My Learning Oasis, we will work with the students until the projects meet a minimum of a B-grade, unless in extreme circumstances where the willful negligence of the students force lower grades. While this is a lot more taxing on the facilitator, it does not matter because My Learning Oasis is a Learner-centered institution NOT a Grade-Centered nor a Teacher-Centered institution.
Four categories of knowledge and skills are outlined in the achievement chart - knowledge and understanding, thinking, communication, and application. Student’s work is assessed and evaluated with respect to these categories, and that achievement of particular expectations is considered within the appropriate categories. A final grade will then be recorded for this course and if that grade is 50% or higher, a credit is granted to the student and recorded for this course. The final grade for this course will be determined as follows:
● For material evaluated throughout the course, seventy percent of the grade will be assigned. This portion of the grade should reflect the student's consistency in his/her level of achievement throughout the course, although special consideration should be given to more recent evidence of achievement.
● Thirty percent of the grade will be based on a final evaluation, which is administered towards the end of the course.
Final Exam: 30%
Grading for all course work, projects, presentation, participation, interim quizzes and exam: 70%
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