Design Technology and Materials

Design Technology and Materials 2021

This year in Design Technology and Materials we have put on our thinking caps and pushed our brains to the limits to come up with some unique and wonderful designs in and out of the classroom.

At the beginning of the year, our Year 10 students learned the fine art of joining techniques and responded to their well written design briefs with creativity and dedication. One of the first projects the Year 10 students created was a Serving Tray. The constraints and considerations followed in this project, allowed students to gain an understanding of what is expected, when designing for an end-user. This paved way for their final project, a Foot Stool. Each Foot Stool was individually crafted to suit their end user’s need and the finished products looked exceptional.

Our three Year 9 classes varied dramatically in terms of final outcomes for this year. This was mainly due to Covid and the inability to work hands on in our workshop for part of the year. But that did not stop the creative designs from flowing. In Semester One, our Year 9 students built their own Remote-Control Caddy, each distinguishable against the other. They then began pushing themselves and created their very own Clock, which required creative design thinking, planning and producing.

Semester Two took a different approach in design thinking and planning. Students embarked on a Term long ride on Webex, sharing and generating innovative ideas and concepts through drawing, recycled cardboard projects, Miro boards and TINKERCAD designs. This way of learning allowed the students to think laterally and showed them that there are often roadblocks in life and ways of overcoming them.

Our Year 7 students also joined in on the fun of Miro boards and TINKERCAD, creating quirky designs from hamburgers to key rings. They also were challenged to think critically and create a marble run using found materials from around the house. This marble run had to be for 15 seconds no more or less, which some students found more difficult than they originally assumed.

While we had a year full of crazy twists and turns, the students gained so much insight in designing and creating, with some serious constraints and limitations thrown their way. I cannot wait to see what they come up with next year.