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Advice for teachers -
Applied Computing

Unit 2: Applied Computing

Area of Study 1: Innovative solutions​

Outcome 1

In collaboration with other students, analyse, design, develop and evaluate an innovative solution to an identified need or opportunity involving a digital system.

Examples of learning activities

  • Prepare a presentation containing several examples of digital systems. Students then identify the components of each system. Examples may include a desktop computer or augmented reality system.
  • Watch the video ‘Creative thinking - how to get out of the box and generate ideas’ to initiate a classroom discussion on current and emerging technologies. Students identify, research and share their favourite current or emerging technology with the class.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    Discuss the emerging trends in digital systems and the importance of innovation to organisations, such as improving efficiency and effectiveness of customer service and maintaining competitiveness. Use examples such as Amazon’s delivery drones, smart refrigerators or wearables technology in sport. Students conduct a research project on an emerging digital device. The project could include any of the following components: key features, functions and capabilities of the technology; economic and social impacts; misuse; decline of physical human interaction; sustainability.
  • Discuss, using examples, the techniques for collecting data to determine user needs and requirements, such as interviews and surveys.
  • Present examples of techniques for documenting the development of solutions, including the tools and techniques for coordinating and monitoring projects, such as Gantt charts. Use OneNote for recording the development of the solution (e.g. ideas generated, modifications to the solution) and Google Docs for collaboration.
  • Prepare a selection of advertisements featuring current or emerging technologies for use in a class discussion. Each advertisement featuring a different technology is shown to the class and critically analysed as part of a whole-class discussion. Students discuss what the functional and non-functional requirements for the technologies would be.
  • Assign students to small groups and provide each group with an image of a past or present-day technology. Examples include: Sony Walkman, SatNav, Sony PlayStation or Nintendo GameCube, iPhone, Apple watch, Fitbit, Space Invaders game. Each group undertakes a critical analysis, through research, to identify the characteristics of their product that were innovative when released to the market.
  • Provide a range of examples to students demonstrating how design tools and techniques such as mock-ups, pseudocode, sitemaps and storyboards can be used for representing a design.
  • Conduct a class discussion and demonstrate the development of an innovative solution. Discuss techniques such as brainstorming, mind mapping and ideation.
  • Watch the video ‘8 Apple design flaws’. Conduct a class discussion to critically analyse methods and techniques for validating and testing a solution.
  • Divide students into small teams to discuss and design appropriate evaluation criteria for evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of the Apple MacBook.
  • Provide students with a sample Gantt chart that involves the development of a software solution. The Gantt chart includes tasks, start and end dates, duration, dependencies and milestones. Students compare this to the school calendar and determine interruptions and their own milestones in order to submit the solution on time. Conduct a class discussion on monitoring the project and the importance of coordination via the roles and responsibilities of group members.

  • Students identify a range of digital systems by exploring a range of websites and document the goals and objectives of these digital systems.

  • Select a range of issues from media resources such as deskilling, job loss and misuse. Divide students into three groups with each group working on one issue. Groups are to discuss the issue and present what they have learnt to the class.
  • Students investigate and research the impact that technologies have had on cyberbullying and the decline of physical human interactions. They create a presentation with a few slides about what the impact is, the background to the impact and what can be done to reduce the effects of it.
  • Prepare a series of small case studies for students to research a range of legal issues involving copyright infringement, misuse of medical records and privacy breaches. Ask students to:
    • identify the specific acts and the legal issues discussed
    • explain what led to the legal issue occurring
    • discuss how the legal issues could have been avoided
    • present their findings in a table.
    Example scenarios include: Apple vs. Samsung infringement case; news report on ‘1600 medical letters found dumped in Sydney bin’.
  • Conduct a class discussion on the ethical issues involved with the use of current and emerging technologies. Examples should include significant contemporary issues, such as the FBI-Apple encryption dispute.
Example icon for advice for teachers

Detailed example

Research activity on a new or emerging technology

This classroom activity is suitable for the early part of this area of study because it provides a collaborative opportunity for students to gain a deeper insight into the key features of an emergent technology and the economic and social impacts of that technology. Students work in small groups and each group has an image of a new technology (e.g. CubeSat, Smart refrigerator, Amazon delivery drone) or a physical product (e.g. VR glasses, wearables technology product) that will form the basis of the their research. The teacher should try to ensure that no two groups research the same technology.

One suggested approach to allocating class time to this activity is as follows:

Lesson 1:

Groups are allocated the new or emerging technology. Each group member is assigned one aspect of the technology to research.

Lesson 2:

Information collected through group research is compiled and logically arranged in a multimedia presentation that will be delivered in the next lesson.

Lesson 3:

Groups present their findings. They share their ideas and conduct whole-class discussions.