Note: some students may be asked to brainstorm as a group before submitting content for the “Is there anything specific you hope to do or learn in this course?” section. You will be advised if this affects you.
What are some cool advancements in electronics and computers? (“Cool Tech”)
How do I install operating systems such as Linux or Windows?
How do I network and configure computers?
What software will I install and use?
What kind of computer programming (coding) will I do?
How will I build and program circuits like a computer-controlled traffic light or an Arduino?
How do binary and digital logic make computers work?
What careers are related to computer technology and what education will I need for them?
What safety practices must I follow when working with electronic circuits and computers?
What are some environmental, ethical, and security issues related to computer technology?
Course Overview
This course introduces students to computer systems, networking, and interfacing, as well as electronics and robotics. Students will assemble, repair, and configure computers with various types of operating systems and application software. Students will build small electronic circuits and write computer programs to control simple peripheral devices or robots. Students will also develop an awareness of related environmental and societal issues, and will learn about secondary and postsecondary pathways and career opportunities in computer technology.
Course Outline/Resources
Always in development! Note that the ordered specified here is NOT the order the topics are learned. As in true “broad-based” or “project-based” fashion, the topics will be addressed as needed, depending on the projects chosen each semester.
This is a work in progress and will be updated throughout the semester.
We will be creating a colour house system with our students this year. We will be dividing students into 16 colour-named groups (houses) with approximately 32 students, and 2-3 teachers, per group. The purpose of the groups is to grow our school spirit, and provide a means by which to facilitate intramurals, competitions, collaborative work and connections with students in an exciting and meaningful way. The system was suggested and designed based on feedback from students and staff on what could be done to make our school better.
I recently had the pleasure of being in the audience for a presentation from Carol Arcus, Vice-President, The Association for Media Literacy (AML).
AML has many amazing resources for teachers at both their website and their YouTube channel.
One of the highlights for me was their “EULA Project”, where they have taken many social media end-user licence agreements and converted them to plain English posters that can be displayed in your classroom for your students, all for free.
Here’s an example, posted in low-res only (see the link below for full-sized PDFs):
Snapchat EULA in Plain English
To see AML’s EULA Project in its entirety, visit http://www.aml.ca/i-agree/ where you can download PDF versions of each EULA poster.
I always encourage students to use the personal Google account for school work so they still “own” the data after they leave high school.
But what if they haven’t, and they’re above to move on to a postsecondary school or the workplace?
There are basically two options:
Move your data to your personal account
Download your data
To move your data to a new account, just visit https://takeout.google.com/transfer and enter the relevant information. Just be sure you have enough disk quota in your personal account or you may run into trouble.
To download your data, visit https://takeout.google.com/settings/takeout and select the data you want to download. Note that this can take a long time, depending on how much data you have in your Google account.
Over the semester, you will be asked to do two informal presentations related to “Cool Tech”, one each half semester. Most students will choose to present on something technological (computer hardware, software, game platforms, entertainment hardware, etc.) that is relatively new, but you may also choose something else with the permission of your instructor.
Your presentation must be centered around a Google Slides slideshow. You must submit the form to get your topic approved and prepare a short slideshow to present to the class. Be sure the title of your slideshow includes the name of the topic and the course code.
D3.1 explain how emerging technologies can affect personal rights and privacy (e.g. video surveillance, cyberbullying, identity theft);
D3.2 describe some emerging technologies and their implications for, and potential uses by, various members of society;
D3.3 describe some of the solutions to complex problems affecting society that have been or are being developed through the use of advanced computer programming and emerging technologies (e.g., monitoring and regulating electrical supply and demand; using facial recognition programs to verify the identity of persons entering a country; analysing criminal activity by overlaying crime data on satellite imagery; analysing large-scale meteorological data to predict catastrophic storms).
ICS3U
D2.1 demonstrate an understanding of emerging areas of research in computer science (e.g., cryptography, parallel processing, distributed computing, data mining, artificial intelligence, robotics, computer vision, image processing, human–computer interaction, security, geographic information systems [GIS]);
D2.2 demonstrate an understanding of an area of collaborative research between computer science and another field (e.g., bioinformatics, geology, economics, linguistics, health informatics, climatology, sociology, art);
D2.3 report on an area of research related to computer science, using an appropriate format (e.g., website, presentation software, video).
ICS4C
D3.1 describe the evolution of some emerging programming languages;
D3.2 investigate and report on innovations in information technology (e.g., webcasting, VoIP, multiplayer online gaming) and their potential impact on society and the economy;
D3.3 describe programming requirements for a variety of emerging technologies (e.g., web programming, smartphones, embedded systems).
ICS4U
D3.1 explain the impact of a variety of emerging technologies on various members of society and on societies and cultures around the world and on the economy;
D3.2 investigate an emerging technology and produce a report using an appropriate format (e.g., technical report, website, presentation software, video).
TDJ3M
C2.1 research and compare technological eras (e.g., agricultural, industrial, information), and describe ways in which societal needs influenced these eras;
C2.2 research and describe cases where technological design has improved the quality of living (e.g., fireproofing, prosthetic limbs, air purifiers, catalytic converters);
C2.3 demonstrate an understanding of ways in which history, trends, culture, and geography have inspired technological design.
TGJ4M
C2.1 independently research and report on political, economic, cultural, and/or environmental issues that affected technological innovations in the past (e.g., traffic congestion spurred development of compact vehicles, increasing population density led to the construction of taller buildings);
C2.2 describe examples of how culture, economics, and politics could influence the future design of products and/or processes (e.g., environmental awareness and rising costs for fossil fuels could increase the development and use of alternative energy sources);
C2.3 describe how technological change affects society (e.g., developments in telecommunications, health care, and robotics).
TGJ2O
C2.1 demonstrate an understanding of social standards and cultural sensitivity and use appropriate and inclusive content, images, and language in communications media productions (e.g., including people from different races, cultures, and backgrounds in media productions; portraying minority groups with respect and sensitivity; avoiding sexism, homophobia, and cultural or racial bias);
C2.2 describe the effects of recent changes in communications technology and applications on society and the economy (e.g., effects arising from the use of devices such as cellular phones, personal digital assistants [PDAs], and portable media players and from the emergence of computer-based social networks, user-generated web content such as wikis and blogs, and easy-to-download music file formats);
C2.3 identify emerging communications technologies and describe their potential impact on society and the economy;
C2.4 describe legal concepts and issues relating to communications technology and media production (e.g., copyright, privacy rights, consent);
C2.5 describe social and ethical issues relating to the use of communications technology (e.g., promotion of hatred, irresponsible use of the Internet, cyberbullying, cultural appropriation).
TIJ1O
C2.1 describe some of the effects that technological innovations of the past have had on society (e.g., effects on health, on people’s ability to travel and communicate, on living standards, on education) and the economy (e.g., creation of new types of jobs, automation of factories);
C2.2 describe how society is being affected today by various new and emerging technologies (e.g., electronic messaging, Global Positioning System [GPS], wireless access, hybrid vehicles, nanotechnology, biotechnology);
C2.3 describe economic, ecological, social, and safety considerations facing consumers when they make choices between particular products or services (e.g., natural versus synthetic materials, renewable versus non-renewable resources; inexpensive products created in developing countries versus more costly products created domestically; higher-priced products with additional safety features versus less costly products without them);
C2.4 demonstrate an understanding of, and respect for, cultural and social diversity as they develop and create various products or services (e.g., prepare foods from various countries around the world, use video or graphic images that are representative of the school population, demonstrate hairstyles from various cultures, compare traditional landscaping styles of different cultures);
C2.5 describe how social and economic factors influence the development and use of technology (e.g., high fuel prices and safety concerns influence automotive design, rotating blackouts speed the development of energy alternatives, people’s desire to be connected with family and friends drives telephone and wireless device design).
