This instructable and the attached pdf file show in a simple step by step approach how to achieve good results in the UK GCSE Technology exam. It is specifically aimed at product design but applies to all technology exams.
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Signing UpStep 1: Why students fail
The aim of this hand book is to guide you through the process of designing and making in a way that will ensure you meet all of the requirements of the exam board.
This is a step by step approach and none of the steps should be missed out.
Success is a product of the effort you put in. The majority of students fail because they:
Miss out sections of the project
Do not meet the required deadlines
Produce poor quality, rushed or incomplete work.
Waste time in class when they should be working
Fail to complete work at home for Homework or during holidays.
This is a step by step approach and none of the steps should be missed out.
Success is a product of the effort you put in. The majority of students fail because they:
Miss out sections of the project
Do not meet the required deadlines
Produce poor quality, rushed or incomplete work.
Waste time in class when they should be working
Fail to complete work at home for Homework or during holidays.
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The main issue with not programming is the power supply so double check that.
In the end even if your project doesn't work - BUT is complete you can still get 90% of the marks provided you understand and explain why it isn't working and that you have run out of time. You are making a prototyep on a limited time scale the exam board and your teachers have to be reasonable if you have made a decent effort and mark what you have done.
This all is dependent on what your sons school says. But that is the exam boards opinion on the subject. OCR will do it in A$ or electronic format i.e. on a CD AQA will take the project on a CD in power point but few schools do it.
http://redirectingat.com/?id=487X782&url=http%3A//www.xs4all.nl/%7Esbolt/edz.htm
A web diagram to show how the projects he might do have been searched fro - Cover a range - home work toys leisure with typical projects in each category. For the Robot select toys and expand to investigate what might be involved;
Micro - picaxe - Arduaino - Basic Stamp. Motors driver, Motors , gear boxes, Wheels, LEDs, Body work, Plastics, Modelling, Infra red control, radio control, wire control, Intelligent robots. Object avoidance, Light seeking, line following.
Batteries,
End user and their needs/expectations, Safety,
From this he can create a brief. This is a description of the problem he is trying to solve. (NOTE not the solution)
From the Brief and the analysis he will know what to research, his research should be very focused on what he needs (hence the analysis), work from several sources, books, internet, magazines.
from the research he can formulate a specification. This is his solution to the brief. It should describe the functionality of the product. i.e. what it must do, perhaps what it might do as well as any safety issues.
From the specification he can produce some ideas (perhaps 10 or so) of how he can go about doing the things it says the product will do.
From the best of his ideas he can select those things that will go into the final product - the development. this includes orthographic drawings of every part he has to make. A plan for manufacture and a costings chart. and some 3D modelling.
MAke it
test the product against the specification.
Evaluate the project over all highlighting good points and bad points and any issues you had and how you solved them. Try to show how you think the product could be improved with a few sketches to cover those issues.
Job done A* ;)
There are a lot of options with 12 halogen lights and a wall plug type transformer Rapid do suitable units.
Mood light worked well for me in my example.
A Picaxe microprocessor can make a yellow/orange LED flicker like a candle if you play a tune and put the LED on the sound output in place of the speaker. Looks very realistic. You can buy these units in Wilco for £3.
Ther are many options in lighting as a simple Google search of lighting images will show. Many are basic domestic but a few "designer lamps" may cost £100's