Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Bishop and I will be your design and technology teacher in today's lesson.

We are studying a unit called electronics: simple circuits and switches.

In today's lesson, we are going to be developing a design brief.

And we're going to be thinking about the different contexts and users that an electrical system might be used in.

In this lesson, you will need an exercise book or some paper and you will also need a pencil to write with.

Today you should begin by completing your intro quiz.

If you need to, you can pause the video and go and try it now, but well done if you've given it a go.

We're going to start now by looking at electrical products.

After that, we're going to be looking at Light it up.

Then we're going to look at our design brief.

And finally today, we will complete our exit quiz.

In today's lesson, there are some keywords.

I will say each keyword, and I would like you to repeat it after me.

Then I will read a definition of the keyword.

Our first keyword is LED.

Can you say LED? LED stands for light emitting diode.

It is an output device that emits light.

Our next keyword is user.

Can you say the word user? A user is the person who will use our electrical product.

Our next word is purpose.

Can you say purpose? Purpose is the reason a product is designed.

Now let's look at some electrical products and recap the learning that we've done so far within this unit.

How many electrical products or items can you spot in this picture? Pause the video now and have a go.

Welcome back.

Let's go through the answers together.

So, I can see this light fixture at the top.

I can see some more lights over there.

I can see some lights in the background again.

I can see this freestanding lamp.

I can see the television.

And I can see this lamp over here, too.

So there we go.

There was quite a lot of electric items in that picture, wasn't there? What about in this picture? Can you pause the video and see how many electrical items you can spot here? Welcome back.

Let's go through the answers together.

I can see again some lamps on the ceiling.

I can see the fridge.

I can see the oven and what looks like a built-in microwave.

I can also see over here some other type of electrical device.

I'm not sure what that one is.

Perhaps that's the microwave.

I can see here a coffee machine.

I can see here some LED lights in the ceiling.

I can see the extractor fan above the oven, and I can see the cooker.

All of these are electrical items. Well done if you spotted all of them.

Now, let's look in to what we are doing within this lesson.

There have been some developments in lighting over the years, and I want you to think about how those have changed how we light up our homes.

Have a little think about your home and what lights you can see around your home.

Welcome back.

Did you spot that there are some different types of light in your home? Maybe there's lights in the ceiling or freestanding lights, or lights that you switch on and off, or portable type of lights? There are many different types of lights.

And as humans, we've had a big journey with lighting throughout the years.

Early people, in fact, lit their caves with fires, and they did that to provide not only heat but light, so that they could do different things.

In around 200 BC people in China actually began to use candles made from whale fat to light their homes, and so we can see that there's been a development in lighting over the years.

But it wasn't until 1879 that a famous inventor called Thomas Edison invented and patented the light bulb.

And we still use light bulbs like these today.

They're called filament light bulbs, and they help light our homes in the evenings and when it's darker.

And then, quite recently, really, only really a hundred years ago, in 1927, LEDs, or light emitting diodes, were invented.

And they were an improvement on the light bulb because they use very little energy and they do not overheat when used.

They're often used on Christmas tree lights and also in other products around our home.

Let's look at these electrical products.

What do you think is similar about them? Pause the video now and have a think.

Welcome back.

Well, what did you say was similar about these electrical products? Well, I find that they give out light.

What do you think's different about these electrical products? Pause the video and have a think.

Welcome back.

What did you think was different? Well, I thought that they're all designed for different purposes or users.

And finally, who are the users of these electrical products? Pause the video and have a think.

Welcome back.

Well, I think the leaf lamp might be used by a nature lover, because it's made using natural materials and looks really pretty, I think.

The next one was our torch.

I think it could have many users, when people want portable light that they can easily use outdoors.

Perhaps used by cave explorers or by policemen.

There are many different users for a torch.

The next one was our bedside lamp.

Perhaps that's used by a reader, because I can see that book, and maybe some people use a bedside lamp late in the evening, just before they go to sleep, to read their book.

What a lovely thing to do.

And the bicycle lamp, I think its user was a cyclist.

And it's useful for whenever people are cycling at night, to keep them safe, so that they can see their way clearly.

Now, what do we think about this question? "Lights can only be powered by mains power." I think that that is false.

Some lights, like torches or nightlights, are battery-powered or even solar-powered.

Now, why might we need a light, then, that does not use mains electricity? Well, we might need a light that does not use mains electricity so that it can be portable or easily moved, so that it can be used outdoors safely, so that it can be used safely by young children, 'cause remember before we've looked at the dangers of mains electricity, and also can be used in places where there just isn't any mains electricity available.

Which of these lights do you think might be good, then, to go cave exploring? Do you think it's going to be the torch or the headlamp? Pause the video and have a think.

Welcome back.

Well, I think the headlight might be better for a cave explorer, as it means they can have both hands free to explore and climb in the cave.

So we can see that different lights are designed for different purposes.

What about these two lights? Which of these might be better to read by at night? Pause the video and have a think.

Welcome back.

What one did you think? Although the tea lights are really pretty and beautiful and a really nice way to light up a room and create a beautiful atmosphere, I think the torch might be better 'cause it provides a better and stronger light, so that we can really see the words on the page, just like this little boy in the picture.

Now we're going to look at our design brief and criteria.

Our design brief is to design, make, and evaluate a battery-operated night light.

Who will the user be? Well, you can choose.

It could be yourself or a younger child, could be a reader of books, or some grandparents, could be some friends, it could be another user.

I want you to decide what different user you want your night light to work for.

What's going to be the purpose of your night light? Well, it could be to provide a light to read, to help a child to sleep, or just to create a lovely, calming atmosphere.

Of course, you might think of a different purpose for your night light.

And finally, what will it look like? Well, it needs to be visually appealing to the user, but it also needs to be safe and easily used.

We're going to develop our design brief today.

So, we are going to design, make, and evaluate a battery-operated light.

You need to think about that maybe our child might be used by young children at night, but you could choose something different.

I'm going to say, from my design brief, that it's going to provide comfort and a calming atmosphere to help the children go to sleep.

It needs to be made from safe materials that have no sharp edges or points on it.

It also needs to be made from a material which is an electrical insulator, meaning that the child will not come to any harm whilst using the lamp.

For my lamp, too, it's going to be battery-operated to make it safe for younger children to use by themselves.

It'll be safe for the baby to use as it will not get hot or overheat, so will therefore not cause the baby to get any burns.

It will be visually appealing to the child.

It might be in the shape or size of the child's favourite animal or cartoon figure.

What I want you to do now is I want you to write your own design brief for your battery-operated light that you want to design and make.

Think carefully about the purpose of your nightlight and what your lamp may look like.

Explain why you're designing and making the light, making sure you include how the nightlight will meet the needs of the user.

Think carefully, too, about how your light will be safe to use.

Pause the video to complete today's task.

Well done for writing a design brief today.

Who was the user for your night lamp? Great.

And what was the purpose for your night lamp? Excellent.

I hope that your design brief has helped you to understand that that user and purpose is very important.

And throughout the rest of this project I would like you to keep this in mind, thinking about the things that you need to do to make sure that your design meets those user's needs and purposes.

In the meantime, I hope that you stay safe and happy and I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Goodbye for now.