Unit 1&2 Innovative Solutions

Unit 1&2 Applied Computing have just finished their Innovative Solutions group project and I think you’ll agree we have some very creative projects this year! The four projects were:

StressLess – Website

Emily, Helaena, Minnie and Kiara

Our project name was ‘Stress Less’ and our members included Emily, Helaena, Minnie and Kiara. Our idea was to create a website that assisted the stress many people face. Within the website we included a video that explained what the website was about, a stress relieving game called, ‘My Music Player’ and a fidget toy which was a fidget spinner called ‘Spinny’. We felt as though this idea was an innovative way to help users decrease their stress levels via distraction, sensory needs and calming the user.

Green Eugine – The Sustainability Robot 

Helena, Kaitlyn and Maria

Our project aimed to create a fun and engaging way to promote sustainability around the school, which we achieved by building ‘Green Eugine’, the robot that can sort rubbish through a series of yes or no questions. Additionally, we added a festive, thematically appropriate witch hat for Halloween.  

Robotics

Jasmine, Lola and Zali

For our project we made a website comparing the abilities and features of two different robots. We coded the robots ourselves to do this and made a website after collecting the results on the robots’ abilities. We did this to make it easier for people to decide which robot they should buy, especially teachers looking to buy robots to use for their school programs.

Get Litty – Drumkit Simulator

Carter, Jess and Isobel

Our project is an interactive and accessible tool for learning instruments – specifically the drums. Attached to each part of the drum is a microcontroller that lights up when that part needs to be played. The equipment is accompanied by a website where users can learn songs and music pieces and have the ability to upload their own to learn. Our solution aims to solve the age-old problem of wanting to play the drums, but not wanting to learn sheet music. Our solution is also aimed at people who have trouble with vision and sight-reading

Year 9 ETE

Year 9 Emerging Technology have been going from strength to strength with their programming and robotics. Earlier this term they designed and programmed their own version of birthday, Christmas and Halloween cards using the programming language Python and the Micro:Bits. More recently they’ve been working in teams to build and program their LEGO robots. Each lesson they are challenged to complete a different task with the Halloween catwalk proving to be a very popular activity that really showcased their creativity. Next week they will be having Sam Kingsley from The Brainary coming to their class to run a workshop that will introduce them to cutting edge robotic technology.

STEM MAD update

It was a very wet and windy day as our three groups made their way into Richmond to compete in the State finals of STEM MAD for 2023. Students had worked very hard on their projects and videos and relished the opportunity to showcase their work with the judges. We were delighted to get three awards on the day.

1. The MACS – Executive Director Award for Demonstrating the Catholic Ethos won by the CAVic team
2. The VicHealth Young Health Innovator Award Secondary won by the CAVic team
3. The Wellbeing Award Secondary won by the Active 8 Attention Chair team

Both the CAVic team (Year 7 students) and the Active 8 Attention Chair team (Year 8 students) were invited to the National STEM MAD showcase which took place yesterday. Well done everyone!

Read about their projects and their experiences at STEM MAD below.

Adrienne Donoghue
Learning Leader: Digital Technologies

Student Reflections

ADHD/Autism Chair

We created an ADHD/Autism chair to help students within the classroom who struggle to concentrate or sit still during lessons. On the day of the STEM MAD State Finals, we had to go into detail about our product and our design process. There were many questions asked about how we came up with our idea and our goal for our prototype, with many judges looking for personal connections or things that would help many people around Australia. The best part of the day was spending my time with people who share the same passions for STEM and seeing how other schools work around the idea of ‘Making A Difference’.

Matilda

Silent (Speaking in Letters and Emoticons via Non Verbal Technology)

Our Project is called Silent (Speaking in Letters and Emoticons via Non Verbal Technology) and it is a device that is used as an aid to help people with Autism. It could be used in workplaces, school, at home etc. It can be worn around the neck or like a watch. We have two different prototypes. Type one consists of a case which can be customised to the user’s preference and a Micro:bit that has been programmed to say simple words and letters but is best when selecting the emoticon function. This is best for discreet usage. Type two consists of all the same functions as type one, but has the Micro:bit extension text 32. It can do everything just as well as type one but small phrases and sentences are more easily readable. With our project we hope to eliminate the confusion of communication boards whilst still getting our user’s message across to whomever they may need to talk to.

On the day at STEM MAD finals we had to essentially pitch our projects to a panel of judges. After setting up our booth, we had three sessions of judging which were around one hour each. We all took turns showing the judges our invention, in the hope of it being liked and considered for the STEM Nationals. We didn’t just show the judges though, we also showed students from both high schools and primary schools along with their teachers. We showed off our work and gave each person a description of what it could do before getting our photos done in the photo booth and then finally proceeding to the awards ceremony.

The best part of the day for me was the judging sessions, getting our photos taken and finding out, that even though we didn’t win an award, we came runners up for two nominations! I really enjoyed this day and getting to spend time with other people who had the same interests as me. It was overall a great day and something I really hope to do again in the future.

Pratima

Silent (Speaking in Letters and Emoticons via Non Verbal Technology)

1. Our project is called S.I.L.E.N.T, which stands for speaking in letters and emoticons via non-verbal technology. It is composed of a Micro:bit and the Text32 extension for the Micro:bit, which is a digital screen, while the Micro:bit has a grid of LED lights. They can be used together or the Micro:bit can be used individually. The idea is for the Micro:bit to be coded with various simple symbols that can be displayed using the LEDs and text using the extension. This was aimed towards autistic or mute children who can struggle communicating.
2. We talked to a lot of different people – students, teachers from other schools, various judges and other people who worked in STEM. We had to pitch our product to them when they came over to ask about it and do our best to answer questions.
3. The highlight was getting to see everyone’s different reactions to our project. We had a lot of people saying that they loved the idea, and even a few people who said they would like to use it.

Sofia

Silent (Speaking in Letters and Emoticons via Non Verbal Technology)

1. My group created a project called SILENT. SILENT stands for ‘Speak In Letters and Emoticons via Nonverbal Technology’. It is a little Micro:bit that we programmed to show simple icons often symbolising emotions or letters. We made this device to help those who suffer from autism or can go mute to help them get their message across to people when they can’t communicate in a stressful or overwhelming moment.
2. On the day of the STEM MAD finals we woke up early and left straight away to go to Richmond. When we got there, we were greeted by some amazing looking projects and an introduction to the day. We then set up our table and got ready to present. Lots of lovely people came around and seemed to love our ideas which was great! We got breaks throughout the day to eat and relax and even got some free ice cream! There was also a very fun photo booth to capture memories we will never forget. Afterwards everyone gathered to hear the awards being read out and we were ecstatic to hear Kilbreda called out three times!
3. My favourite part of the day would have to be getting the free ice cream which was absolutely delicious. However, it was closely followed by getting close with the people in my group and getting to really know them!

Charlotte