Faculty in Focus - Design, Technology and Engineering

DTE DESIGN, TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING

2021 saw the establishment of the Design, Technology and Engineering (DTE) Department at Wilderness School. This important milestone was possible due to the vision and hard work from a range of people in the years preceding. The introduction of DTE has given the girls an opportunity to design, create and inspire each other, and to explore the future pathways in industries that are expanding here in South Australia. The Year 7 and 8 classes were introduced to Computer Aided Design (CAD). This is an important 21st century skill which provides students with the ability to create projects using our state-of-the-art 3D Printers and Lasercutter. As this was a relatively new skill set for most students, 2021 was a year of substantial growth. The skills acquired now will be useful in the years ahead. A highlight for the Year 8s, was the design and creation of their Shapeways Jewellery Project. They used the CAD program, Fusion 360, to bring their idea to life, before sending it off to a 3D printing service to have their creations manufactured from a range of precious metals. Towards the end of the year, they were able to make use of the Lasercutter to design and create clock designs from a selection of materials. This group also had the opportunity to build on their coding skills through the creation of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality projects using CoSpaces EDU. A highlight at Year 7, was when the girls explored the issue of future food security though the creation of a Virtual Reality Future Farm experience. The Year 9 girls had the opportunity to choose from a selection of new courses – Inspire, Creative Product Design, Cyber and Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics and Space and Subs in Schools. I would like to thank Mr Brad Snell, Mr Liam Sloan, Mr David Pyman, Mr Tobia Trentin, Mrs Brooke Porter and Miss Brittany Neeb for their support. It is great to have a team of staff who are passionate about this area and willing to support their students beyond their lesson times. I cannot wait to see what the girls will create in 2022!

Thomas Keller Head of Design, Technology and Engineering YEAR 9 ELECTIVES

Inspire: Creative Product Design In partnering with a globally recognised centre of excellence, the JamFactory, students were exposed to contemporary creative design ideas, and learnt from the best emerging creative talent. Working in the JamFactory ceramics studios, students gained a greater understanding of career pathways and enterprising opportunities in craft, design, and arts practise in Adelaide. The skills developed during these workshops were then applied back at school in our Art Centre, where students were supported by their teachers to develop their own functional ceramic wares, from ideation to realisation.

Cyber and AI The cyber program was designed to highlight the importance of online safety, with students completing courses that highlighted how much data and information was stored and collected on social media platforms. Within Artificial Intelligence, students investigated the ethical considerations that need to be made when developing machine learning technologies. They also created a concept for a new AI project based on Microsoft’s cognitive services and application programming interfaces. These concept projects included an AI waste detection system, a mobile personal wellbeing assistant, live speech translator and skin disease detector.

Robotics and Space The implementation of the Robotics and Space course involved the installation of a Robotics Challenge field into Room 38. The room will be further renovated over the 2022 Term 1 break to create a purpose-built robotics lab.

The girls were excited to undertake a range of robotics challenges. Problem solving and collaboration were key skills required for success. This group were given the opportunity to explore the local Space Industry through a series of excursions to the Lot Fourteen Precinct where they visited the Space Discovery Centre and spoke with a range of local companies.

Subs in Schools Subs in Schools gave the girls the chance to create a team, build a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and compete in a competition against other schools. The team had the support of a group of mentors from SAAB to help them with team collaboration, marketing, and engineering. Unfortunately, Covid caused the event to be postponed until later in the year and our teams were unable to compete in the competition due to a clash with other commitments. Despite this, the girls learnt a lot about what is required to successfully collaborate with others on a common goal.

Stage 1 Cyber Studies Pilot As the cybersecurity industry booms in Adelaide, so does the need for qualified employees. In Semester 2, four Year 10 students completed the SACE Stage 1 Cyber Studies pilot program by participating in online lectures and weekly tutorials. The program covered the fundamentals of Cybersecurity and taught students the importance of collaborative learning. Students also analysed scenarios and created client proposals identifying ways to improve Cybersecurity frameworks. Congratulations to Lily Craig, Lillian Maerschel, Eliza Quick and Nicole Webb on successful completion of the course. 2022 will see the addition of a Stage 1 Design, Technology and Engineering subject for the Year 10 cohort.