L2 Electronics and Mechatronics

~ Inquiry ~

Y12 Overview

Learn Electronics Skills

Robot Project (91894)

Electronics Project Brief

Electronics Development91897 & 91357

Summary External (91899)

Why is Inquiry important?

An Inquiry allows you to understand the problem through user research. It allows you to set aside your assumptions and gain insight into users and their needs. It allows you to analyse your observations and synthesise them to define the core problem or problems.

It also can help with:

Clarity of Purpose: It helps to clearly define the research objectives, questions, and hypotheses, ensuring that the researcher and stakeholders are aligned on the purpose of the study.

Resource Planning: It allows for the estimation of the resources required, including time, budget, and personnel, which is crucial for effective project management.

Ethical Considerations: A well-prepared proposal addresses ethical considerations and ensures that the research will be conducted in an ethical manner, especially when involving human subjects or sensitive data.

Feasibility Assessment: It provides an opportunity to assess the feasibility of the research, including the availability of data, access to participants, and potential challenges that may arise during the inquiry process.

Peer Review and Feedback: A research proposal can be reviewed by peers and experts in the field, providing valuable feedback and improving the quality of the research design before the actual inquiry begins.

Benefits of Inquiry for you...

“Inquiry-based learning focuses on helping learners get from the curiosity stage into critical thinking and deeper levels of understanding.”

There are lots of advantages of inquiry-based learning

You build skills that are beneficial for all areas of learning and day-to-day life - comprehension, critical thinking and communication skills.

You deepen your understanding of topics and content.
You explore topics of interest to you. You take ownership in your own learning.
You are engaged! You immerse yourself into the learning process. You make connections, ask questions and learn more effectively as you reach conclusions backed by research.
You use initiative and self-direction.
You learn how to ask questions, discuss topics, collaborate and cooperate with others.
You create a love of learning.
You learn on a higher level.

YOUR PROJECT

How can you help? How can you make a difference? Even if it is just small....

Focus / Context

How do you decide on the focus of your inquiry?

The scope of your inquiry could have a global, national, or local focus. It could be how the issue is dealt with in your community or your suburb, school or home. The community can be global, national or local.

Some starters to help you decide what your focus might be ....

What ideas am I interested in?
What do I know about the topic?
How do I know about it?
What experience do I have with this topic?

What do I want to know?
What am I wondering?
What are my questions?
What am I feeling?

Places to find Big Picture Ideas

If you are keen to solve an issue check out some of these places...

United Nations SDGs

Galaxy Zoo

ECan

Task #1: Project Working Document

You are going to work through your electronics project to explore an area, come up with some ideas, define what you are going to make and the design and create your idea.

You will use one document to collate all your work as you go, make a copy of Electronics Project document

NOTE PLEASE READ

This DOC is setup so you can focus on one project. If you want to just submit for the inquiry standard please just remove the parts you don't need before beginning the assessment

Task 1 - Write your Focus or Context

You can tell a story, write a statement, or a question. This can be general or more specific. At this point there should be nothing about the solution.

I love gaming
I have always drawn and I would like to explore what I can do with my drawing further
I want to be able to help.......
The underrepresentation of trans people in fictional media, and the limits placed on existing representation

Task #2: Brainstorm

INTERESTS & SKILLS + OPPORTUNITIES & END USERS

Think about all the possible electronics projects you'd like to do. At this stage, write down every idea that comes to mind. Don't worry about how complex it is; just get the ideas down.

Start by thinking about the following:

Skills & Interests: What do you enjoy? Are you into music, sports, art, gaming, or sustainability?
People & Problems: Who is important to you? What kind of problems do they have that an electronic device could solve?
Hobbies & Enjoyment: What do you do in your free time? How could a custom electronic device make that activity better or more interesting?

Essential or Big Question

You have an area you are focused on. Now you need to work out what the key question is you are going to try and answer or solve?

For example.....

How do I create a successful brand?
How do I make an awesome game?
How can I help my grandparents?
How can I help my pony club?

How to raise awareness about mental health?
How can I create good transgender representation that is not harmful to transgender people, and challenges modern transphobia, without limiting the depiction of transgender characters?

Task 3 - Write your Big Question

Based on your area of focus what is the main question (also known as essential or big) you are trying to find answers to?

Task 3 - Write your Questions

Based on your area of focus what is the main question (also known as essential or big) you are trying to find answers to?

These might help you get started:

What does this area/s involve?
What is a problem/issue?
What are the digital area/s?
What are the conventions you need to consider in your dt area
Relevant implications that may be important
Software options / skills etc
Who could end users be - majority users and extreme users

What was the Focus, Problem, Issue?

Sticker

Skateboard Rack

Children's Bike Area

Business Card

Pavement Lights

Blood bank gauges

Dashboard Sticker

From the doco:

What was the Focus?
What was the Big Question?
What were all the smaller questions?
What was the outcome?
Who was involved
Who were the end users?
Who was this going to help?
What issues did they have?

Check out some of these if you are stuggling with what you could do with your ideas

Kea Airspace

#nz

https://www.christchurchnz.com/business/growth-sectors/aerospace-and-future-transport/kea-aerospace?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Positive Climate Pitchfest 2023 - NZ

https://battery-tech.net/tasmanion/

Christchurch based Solar company

https://www.prlog.org/11876220-enatel-motive-power-wins-innovative-hi-tech-hardware-product-award.html

Basics of ESP 32's

Circuits

PCB Design

Task #4: Your Project Direction

Based on your brainstorm, what area will your project focus on?

Consider the potential impacts of any project. Who or what might be positively or negatively affected by it. Some impacts could be monetary, emotional, physical or spiritual, environmental.

For example:

You should make sure you are not stealing other people's ideas (intellectual property).
You should make sure you are allowed to use other people’s content like music or tutorials (copyright).
The content should be inoffensive and age appropriate (moral/ethical and legal).
The content should be viewable by ALL people on their device and not create any barriers to them viewing it. (accessibility).
How will you protect your own work? (intellectual property)
And lots more!

Here are some ideas specifically for Electronics:

Ideas

Arduino/ESP32 temperature & humidity logger – Displays data on an OLED or sends to a phone over WiFi.
Portable phone charger – Li-ion battery, charging module, USB output. Students learn about power regulation.
FM transmitter or receiver – Small-scale, short-range (introduces RF basics).
Solar-powered gadget – Like a solar garden light, fan, or mini water pump.
Reaction timer game – LEDs light up randomly, player must press a button quickly. Displays time on a 7-segment display.
Electronic safe – Box with servo lock, opened by password or RFID tag.
Smart plant monitor – Soil moisture, light, and temp sensors, with data logged/displayed.
Bluetooth-controlled car – ESP32/Arduino car driven via phone app.
Mini CNC drawing machine – Uses servos/stepper motors to draw shapes.
Home energy monitor – Current sensor + microcontroller to log household power use.
Wearable step counter (pedometer) – Accelerometer + microcontroller + display.
Counter-Strike LAN server monitor – Simple ESP32 device showing number of players connected (ties nicely to your Ubuntu/CS project).(Focus on why the circuit is made, not just how)
Hearing aid amplifier – Simple audio amp tuned for speech frequencies. (Focus on why the circuit is made, not just how)
Classroom noise monitor – Shows LED levels when the class gets too loud. (Focus on why the circuit is made, not just how)
Low-cost burglar alarm – PIR sensor + siren, possibly with SMS notification (ESP32).

Now it's time to get an understanding of the requirements for your project by doing research

Next: Project Research

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