Lesson video

Hello, and welcome to your design and technology lesson.

I am Mrs Mee and I am your design and technology teacher and I'm really excited to be working with you again today.

Today is lesson nine, and we are going to be exploring how to make your electrical system.

And if you've been with us previously, you'll know that we've discovered and learned quite a lot.

So our topic is reactions, control in design and technology.

We've explored electrical systems. We've explored mechanical systems. We've explored the need for control in design and technology.

And we've learned how to programme electrical systems. And you were given a design brief.

If you remember, your design brief was to design a smart product to support in getting children to recycle.

So today's lesson, we're going to make the electrical system.

In the previous lesson, if you remember, we made our final prototype, so Mrs Mee has got her final prototypes behind her.

And today we're going to look at building the electrical system that will be embedded into your actual prototype.

So, come join me and we will explore what we're going to look at in today's lesson.

Okay, so today we're going to look at making our final prototype, the final part.

So we're going to focus today on the electrical system and building that.

So what you will need is your model from last lesson.

So let's remind ourselves of the rules.

Really important when we're making products in design and technology.

That first of all we have fun, that we explore and experiment because remember, your idea in your head when you try and physically make it it doesn't always work out first time.

So you might make lots of ideas, they're called iterations.

So don't panic if you're making lots of different ideas before you make your final product, but be confident.

And remember, you're learning lots as we explore and make our final products.

But most importantly, play safe.

Now in this lesson you may need a paper and a pencil to jot down some ideas.

You will need a computer, and you will need access to the BBC micro:bit website.

You're also going to need access to your plan on how to make your electrical system to remind yourself how to do that.

And you are going to need your prototype that you made in last lesson.

And Mrs Mee has got her prototypes behind her.

So I can show you at the end of the lesson what that electrical system looks like on my final prototype.

So pause the video, go off and get all of the materials that you need, when you're ready, press resume and we will continue today's lesson.

Brilliant, fantastic.

So today's lesson you should have already done the intro quiz.

First off we're going to look and revisit our plan of making to remind ourselves what we said we were going to make for our electrical system.

Then we're going to actually create our programme to control our circuit.

And then we're going to look at how we can present this.

Now, you might not have a physical micro:bit, that's fine.

So Mrs Mee is going to show you how you could present your idea as a final prototype.

So we are going to be using lots of key words in the lesson today.

We're going to revisit the word simple circuit.

And this is a path that an electrical current travels on, presented in a simple loop.

We're going to remind ourselves of this to then think about what the micro:bit is, whether that's a simple circuit or not.

We're going to use the word programme.

So we're going to programme the micro:bit today and this refers to a set of instructions if you remember.

So we're telling the microprocessor what to do and how to work in a particular way.

We're also going to be controlling the microprocessor.

So control refers to programming a microprocessor to control the electronic component within that.

We're going to refer to the word components again.

So this refers to individual parts that are put together to form a product.

So we've not only got the components on our physical products, we've got components on our system as well.

So before we begin, let's remind ourselves by revisiting our plan of making.

So we now need to begin making the system.

We will refer to our plan.

How will the tools and equipment be different when making an electrical system? So is it option one, we will use the same tools, or is it option two, we'll need to make the use of technology to simulate how our system works.

Which option is it for today's lesson? Build in our electrical system.

Point to the screen when you're ready.

Fantastic, yes.

We're not going to use the same tools today, are we? We're actually going to make use of technology.

So we're going to use a piece of software that's on the internet to simulate how our system will work.

Now let's look at our plan of making.

So take your plan of making out and let's have a look.

So we created a plan of making last lesson for our electrical system.

What did we include in our plan? Did we include materials? Did we include tools and equipment? Did we include components? And did we include images or videos? Which ones did we include in our plan? Have a little think and point to the options or tell me which options.

That's right.

We did include tools and equipment because today we do need a computer, don't we? And if you do have access to a micro:bit, brilliant, that would be a piece of equipment.

Now you might not have access but remember your local library might have a micro:bit.

I know my libraries in Telford, they have micro:bits that you can loan out.

Components, we are going to need components, aren't we? So I need my component parts for my model.

And then it did include images in my plan of making as well.

So what it didn't include is materials, because we're not using materials today.

So here is my plan of making.

So this is my plan of making and what I've done to present my plan to make it really simple, I've used a type of plan, which plan is this? Is it a table, is it a list, or is it a flow chart? That's right, it's a flow chart.

So Mrs Mee use screen captures of each of the stages to show how to make.

And I had to look at this when I was making it to remind myself how to actually make that product.

So I've got two electrical systems. I've got my electrical system for the light, for the eyes.

And then I've got my electrical system that I've made, oh sorry, I've got my electrical system that I've used to count every time someone disposes of litter.

So I need to use both of those to remind myself what I need to make.

So make sure you've got your plan to hand.

You might want to print it and have it there in front of you, or you might just want to look at it quickly and remind yourself.

So once you've got your plan, resume the video and we're going to start building our electrical system.

Fantastic, so what we're going to do now is create the programme to control the circuit.

So, we are going to build and programme and control your electrical system now.

Before we do that, let's just recap what we have learned previously about electrical systems. Can you jot down all of the things that you've learned about electrical systems in the previous lessons? Just write down everything that you can remember, pause the video, jot down all of your thoughts.

Fantastic, so have you had time to think? Brilliant.

Some of the thoughts you might have written down.

We've learned about inputs, process and output if you remember.

So what part of an electrical system is the input? That's right, it's the part that activates that circuit.

And the process is the bit in between the input and the output, isn't it? And what's the output? Yeah, the component that is activated.

We need to think about that today when we're building our circuit.

Remind ourselves what's the input, what do I do to make it work? And what happens once I've made it work? Simple circuit.

Now we're not using simple circuits today but we have learned about them, haven't we? And we're going to look, we're going to just recap that before we start today.

Microprocessor, that's right.

We're going to use a microprocessor today.

So our micro:bit, and here's Mrs Mee's micro:bit, is a microprocessor.

Mrs. Mee's micro:bit is actually stuck to her lid.

So we're going to be looking and reminding ourselves of that today.

We have learned how to programme them, haven't we? And that's what we're going to look at today.

And we've learned about key components.

So you've learned lots in terms of electrical systems. We've also learned about insulators and conductors.

Do you remember what an insulator is? So an insulator is an object or material that does what? That's right, an insulator stops the flow of electricity.

So an insulator might be a plastic covering.

What's a conductor? Yeah, a conductor is a material object that allows the flow of electricity, well done.

So out of all of these components, which component will we use as an output for your electrical system? Now that depends on you, doesn't it? Now Mrs Mee is using one electrical component.

Which one is Mrs Mee using? That's right, she's using an LED.

Now, if we were building a simple circuit, okay, let's say one LED, what other components might we need? We'd need an LED, correct.

We'd need a power, absolutely.

We'd need wires to process that electrical current.

And there's one component that's really important.

Do you remember what it is? That's right, it's the resistor.

So the resistor protects that component and controls the flow.

There are lots of resistors, but remember.

today we're using a micro:bit.

Is a micro:bit a simple circuit? No, it's not.

How many LEDs are in our micro:bit? That's right, 25.

So today we're going to programme the micro:bit to reflect the programme that you plan to make.

So you'll need access to the BBC website, the BBC micro:bit website to make and simulate your electrical system.

And remember, onscreen you can actually press play and see what the impact is.

So we're going to use the LED code icon and we're going to start creating our programme.

So Mrs Mee is going to demonstrate how she's built her programme.

And you might want to watch that.

But if you feel confident, you might want to start building your programme now.

If you're not confident yet and you need a few reminders, keep listening.

And before you start programming your own system.

So the first system that Mrs Mee's programming is the system of the lights.

So if you remember, let me press play, If you remember, Mrs Mee has got on her prototype these two points on each idea.

So she's got eyes and she wants the lights to flash.

So when you start coding, you go to let's code.

You go to the editor and you go to new project.

Remember to name your project.

So Mrs Mee is going to get rid of the on start.

Oh, sorry.

She's going to get rid of the forever for now.

And she's going to use the on start and just show you the impact.

So Mrs Me is using the basic tool, pulling the show LED lights.

She's creating a pattern.

Now I want my eyes to flash up and down, so you'll see what I'm doing.

But you see how I'm able to take that panel, that show LEDs, and quickly duplicate it, so that makes it easy.

So the first thing that Mrs Mee's doing is she's creating the lights.

And then I'm going to think about how I'm going to integrate the other parts of my system.

Now this part of the system, is it an input, a process or an output? Have a think.

It's right, it's an output.

And you can see I've pressed play to see how my lights work.

Brilliant.

So now that my lights work, now what I want to do is I want it, that's showing you what happens on start.

It creates the pattern and then it stops.

But if I change the loop to forever, the lights flash and it goes back round, and it does it again.

But now I want to integrate a input.

So I need to use the Logic tool.

So if is true then, now I am actually going to use an input.

I've explored with different inputs but I'm actually going to detect sound.

So I'm looking for the sound input.

So I want my lights to flash if somebody walks into the kitchen.

So I've used sound level and I've used the arrow going that way but then I do need it to switch off.

So I need to use another Logic to do the opposite.

So I'm going to use the if there else if, what am I going to drag there? Yep, another Logic tool.

And then at what input do I need again? That's right, I need sound.

So my system is activated.

So the input, the sensor is sound.

So when someone trots into the kitchen, the lights flash on so the youth goes, "Hmm, wonder what that is?" And then that makes them want to dispose of their litter.

So if the sound is below 50, then nothing.

There we go.

So you can drag the sound level, you see? So I'm going to move that to the forever loop and press play, okay? So it's above 50.

So obviously it's going to continue to flash, but if it goes below 50, what does it do? That's right, it stops at noise up.

And you can play with those noise levels.

So Mrs Mee had to do that as well.

So here is Mrs Mee's.

Why press reset? So actually when it's not, let me try to be quiet.

So it will work when I'm noisy, stops when I'm not.

When I'm noisy, it will work, you see? And I've taken a screenshot.

So you see, each time I talk it starts flashing those eyes.

And what I will show you when we test it is I'll actually show how that actually looks in the product.

So obviously I've only got one micro:bit.

But each time I talk the eyes will flash, you see? Need to be back on, there you go.

Boo, hello.

Each time I talk, it flashes, see? Okay, so that is my electrical system for my lights.

Now my electrical system for my other part, which I haven't actually downloaded onto this is, how I can actually use this part of my lid to actually count the litter when it goes into the bin.

So this one is slightly different.

So let's have a look at how I've done this.

Now it did take some exploring and experimenting to do this.

And I did have a look at the previous project.

And I actually used a project called a Counter.

Because I wanted it to count each time that I disposed of litter.

So this time what I'm going to be using is something we call a variable, and you can make a variable.

Now my variable I've called it points because I want the user to have points each time they dispose of their litter.

So you've got two systems that you need to build.

You need the start and you need the forever system.

So with the start system you'll look, I'm just dragging the variable and we've got from the input show number zero.

So that's what I wanted to do at the beginning.

And you can see, you can change that variable so you could call it whatever you like.

So set points to zero.

So when my system first is played, it says zero.

So when the user sees it, there's a zero on their.

Show number one, that's it, that's one flow chart.

And my next flow chart is a forever flow chart and I'm going to use the if.

So if is above a value, it will activate it.

So acceleration is actually detecting the movement and I've put it really, really, really high, so it's really sensitive.

And I had to play around with that value.

So if we just tap or if it's touched slightly, what it's going to do, it's going to change the variable.

So if you look at variable, change points by one, show number of points.

So now I have to show you this one on screen.

So if I press play now, it will show zero.

But if I slightly tap it, so let's say if I chuck some rubbish in, each time I throw a bit of rubbish it knocks the micro:bit slightly, and it changes the number.

So that is my second electrical system.

Do you like it? I think it's quite inventive too.

Now it did take Mrs Mee quite some exploring and experimenting to do that.

And I knew what I wanted to do.

I didn't know how to do it.

So I did look at some of the tools on the website to help me.

So I actually looked at old projects and I actually looked at the project called Counter.

Because I knew I wanted it to count and I had to explore with different inputs.

So, now that you've looked at mine, what I'd like you to do now is pause the video and go off and programme your electrical system, following your plan of make, to demonstrate how you can programme an input and an output for your electrical system.

Once you're finished, press resume, and we will continue today's lesson.

Fantastic, so hopefully you've had a go and I hope your ideas are just as imaginative.

So what we're going to do now is we're going to show how that will look on our final prototype.

So what we need to think about now is how we're going to present our final prototype? So we're going to show how our electrical system will connect to our physical model.

Now, Mrs Mee is very, very lucky because she's got an actual micro:bit.

So if you've got an actual micro:bit, you can download the programme onto the micro:bit and you can actually think about how you might fix it to your model, but you might not have access to that.

So what I'd like you to do is I'd like you to maybe take a picture or draw a sketch of your final prototype and actually show how the electrical system will go onto your physical model.

So Mrs Mee has done this just to demonstrate to you how you could do this.

So here is my photograph.

So I've taken a photograph of my final model.

I'm just turning off my micro:bit, it's flashing away in the background.

And all I've done is I've labelled it to explain how my electrical system would be integrated into my model.

So I've got a screen capture of the programme for the light, the eyes, and then I've simply annotated it.

LEDs will be embedded into the eyes of the product.

So when the user is nearby it detects noise and they will flash.

So that's the first system.

And then the second system is the counter.

LED counter display will be embedded at the front.

So that when the user places recycled items into the bin, boom, like a basketball, dump, it will detect movement and it will count each time.

So that is my final prototype.

What I want you to do is do exactly the same.

So take a picture or draw a sketch of your final prototype and annotate it to explain how your electrical system will be embedded into that.

So pause the video, have a go at doing that, when you're finished, press resume.

Fantastic.

So hopefully now you have done that and we are ready to conclude today's lesson.

So today you have completed the intro quiz.

We've looked at revisiting our plan of make.

We've created a programme to control the circuit and we've presented the final prototype.

Fantastic.

So if you've got anything you'd like to share with me today, please send in your photos.

Ask an adult to take a picture of your work and share on Twitter @OakNational, using the hashtag LearnwithOak.

I've really enjoyed working with you again today.

And I look forward to seeing you next lesson which will be our final lesson of this unit.

Goodbye.