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Technology Mandatory

Crack the Code

Teacher Information Book

A design project using ‘Control technologies’

Copy and paste the following binary code into a translator to see who wrote this unit. You can skip
the binary code if you are using a screen reader.

01010100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000

01110101 01101110 01101001 01110100 00100000
01110111 01100001 01110011 00100000 01110111
01110010 01101001 01110100 01110100 01100101
01101110 00100000 01100010 01111001 00111010
00100000 01000100 01100001 01101110 01101001
01100101 01101100 01101100 01100101 00100000
01010011 01100001 01110101 01101110 01100100
01100101 01110010 01110011 00101100 00100000
01000001 01101100 01100101 01111000 01100001
01101110 01100100 01100101 01110010 00100000
01010011 01110100 01100101 01110111 01100001
01110010 01110100 00100000 01100001 01101110
01100100 00100000 01001010 01101111 01101000
01101110 00100000 01010111 01100001 01101100
01101100 01100001 01100011 01100101 00101110

© State of NSW, Department of Education, 2017 1

Teacher information / outline
This unit of work fits under Control Systems in the existing stage 4 Technology (Mandatory) Syllabus
and is designed to provide teachers with a non-threatening pathway for teachers to develop skills,
understanding and appreciation of coding, with an eye for syllabus developments?

The brief provided to the writers was to produce a complete unit of work that provided all the
resources required for a teacher with no background in coding or electronics. The unit of work had to:
 Include all teacher resources required
 Include student resources
 Provide students with a take home project (project based learning)
 Contain a “shopping list” of equipment for class teachers
 Have face to face workshop introductions as there is a wide range of concepts to
master

This unit of work and is available on the NSW Department of Education1 website and consists of the
following parts:

1. Crack the Code student work booklet. Which has an introduction to the unit,
information about Arduino and the design brief with marking criteria. Plug Run Play (PRP’s)
student tutorial/activities to get familiar with coding and building control systems.
2. Crack the Code teacher work booklet which contains all the students work booklet
information as well as suggested answers to most of the exercises.
3. Teaching program including a unit overview and resource list.
4. Teacher presentation that complements the student work booklet with answers and
additional explanations. These are: “Control Technologies Class Presentation” and “Basic
Electronics”
5. Topic test for use at the end of the unit
6. Other resources

In addition, Teachers will also need

7. Arduino software. (Free download).
8. Components and tools needed to complete the PRP’s and unit.

https://education.nsw.gov.au/curriculum/tas/s4-5/resources

© State of NSW, Department of Education, 2017 2

Hardware bits and pieces
 Computer(s) setup with Arduino software installed from The Arduino website2. (There
are more detailed instructions in the Arduino Install Guide for eT4L ):
 Arduino Uno boards3 with USB cables.
 MAAS ThinkerShields4 that are already mounted on Arduino Uno boards.
 Breadboards5 will be needed later on for prototyping design projects to take home.
 LED6s in various colours.
 Jumper leads7.
 Piezo buzzers
 Copper tape8

https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Arduino_001.jpeg

https://maas.museum/app/uploads/2015/10/MP-867-0006.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Breadboard_1480259_60_61_HDR_Enhancer.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/LEDs.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/A_few_Jumper_Wires.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/5mm_copper_tape.jpg

© State of NSW, Department of Education, 2017 3

  Multimeter9
 Heat shrink10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Multimeter_Strommessung.JPG

10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Video_of_Heat_shrink_tube_before_and_after.ogg

© State of NSW, Department of Education, 2017 4

Components and costing
The following is a guide to pricing of the components required to complete the project.

© State of NSW, Department of Education, 2017 5

 Part Qty Approx Consumable Total Note
for Unit cost per
clas cost student
s of
20
Arduino Uno Clone 42 $6.00 $6.00 $252.00 Students will keep one of the
boards as their project

Thinker Shield 21 $22.00 $0.00 $462.00 These remain at the school.

Breadboard - Mini Modular 21 $4.00 4.00 $84.00 Required but consumable is

(White) optional.
(School could keep)

Multimeter 1 $10.00 $0.00 $10.00 Minimum of one required for

testing.

LED - 5mm – Assorted 84 $0.03 $0.15 $15.00 Consumable. (cheaper to

colours purchase in pack of 500)

Momentary Pushbutton 21 $0.40 $0.40 $8.40 Some students may want more
Switch - 12mm Square than one switch.

LDR (Mini Photocell) 21 $1.00 $1.00 $21.00 Consumable.

Potentiometer [10K] 21 $1.40 $1.40 $29.40 Consumable but Not all students
will need one in their project.

Large Enclosed Piezo 21 $1.40 $1.40 $29.40 Consumable.

w/Wires

Resistors - 220 ohm 5% 84 $0.05 $0.20 $4.20 Consumable.

Resistors – 10K ohm 5% 42 $0.05 $0.10 $2.10 Consumable.

9V to Barrel Jack Adapter 21 $0.90 $0.90 $18.90 Consumable.

Copper Tape - 5mm (50ft) 1 $5.00 $0.25 $5.00 Consumable.

Heat Shrink Tubing (Roll) 1 $5.00 $0.25 $5.00 Consumable.

150mm Plug To Plug 160 $0.10 $0.60 $16.00 Consumable. Usually available
Jumper Leads in pack of 40

150mm Plug To Socket 160 $0.10 $0.60 $16.00 Consumable. Usually available
Jumper Leads in pack of 40

150mm Socket To Socket 160 $0.10 $0.60 $16.00 Consumable. Usually available
Jumper Leads in pack of 40

Total setup cost for a class of 20 students is approximately $1000 with an ongoing consumable cost
of $360 which is approximately $18 per student.

© State of NSW, Department of Education, 2017 6

Tools
The following tools and equipment are required but may already be available in the school.
 Computers capable of running the software and connecting to the Arduino boards via a USB
port.
 Pliers – long nose and bull nose
 Side cutters
 Hair dryer or heat gun. (For heat shrink tubing)
 A box. Students may need a box on which to setup their project.

Other tools may be required depending on the complexity of the student’s designs.

© State of NSW, Department of Education, 2017 7