Technology Around Us
What is technology? How much we actually use it 
everyday? In the morning we wake up on when the alarm clock rings, cook food on a stove and take food from a fridge. And when we are leaving home we check that we didn’t forget the phone. Almost all the information can be found from internet. We need a car or other vehicle for travelling. These are only few examples of the technology we use.
Technology doesn’t only make communication and travelling easier but also increases the efficiency of agriculture and the quality of life because the medical advances are based on technology.
Here you can find materials and ideas related to the StarT theme Technology Around Us. The materials are categorised according to the year group.
The best Moving Devices projects from earlier seasons
The Best Technology Around Us projects
StarT 2020
Alternative Solar Energy
Name of the learning community: Primarschule Atelier Zwillikon, Switzerland
StarT theme: Technology around us
School state: primary school
What subjects have been used in the project: natural sciences, mathematics, languages (German, English), handicrafts.
Link to the project diary
Briefly: Because it would be too difficult to invent an electric car, the children decided to do experimental work with parabolic mirrors and Fresnel lenses. Children created solar-powered charging stations for electric cars.
PIP.01
Name of the learning community: Alyadodah Secondary School For Boys, Jordan
StarT theme: Technology around us
School state: High school
What subjects have been used in the project: Physics, electronics, information technology and English
The project was chosen as a favorite of the audience in international public voting
Link to the project diary
Briefly: During the project, the environmentally friendly robot PIP.01 was completed. PIP.01 works with voice commands and is able to have a conversation. PIP.01 is a miniature of what we can achieve in the field of robotics.
Safety improvement of amusement device in Yi Haicheng-”protective shield” of the swing”
Name of the learning community: Project-based learning group of “Xing Si” school, China
StarT theme: Technology around us
School state: primary school
Link to the project diary
Briefly: The swing is a favorite of every child around the world. It can be dangerous because some children stand while swinging. After the analysis and experimentation processes, a safe swing is created.
SnakeBot
Name of the learning community: Tampereen lyseon lukio, Finland
StarT theme: Technology around us
School state: High school
Link to the project diary
Briefly: Snakebot is a bionic robot with the properties of a snake, a caterpillar and a scorpion.
StarT 2018
- Baret_care, Turkey
Project diary
In this project, the students designed an improved helmet for mine workers. The helmet measures the temperature, humidity and gas content of the surrounding air, warns the worker of dangerous levels, reports the location and measured data to a central system and contacts an emergency number if necessary. LUMA StarT Award winner 2018.
- #biopolku, Äänekosken lukio, Finland
Project diary
During a course on bioeconomy, the students visited companies and educational establishments and did laboratory experiments. They also prepared and presented a talk in English to an international group and created a mystery path for other students, where a hint leads to the next point. LUMA StarT Award nominee 2018.
- UV alarm, Clube Ciência Viva ESDMII Braga, Portugal
Project diary
The objective of the project was the construction of a portable prototype that can alert humans about dangerous levels of UV radiation. LUMA StarT Award nominee 2018.
- e-Cycle, Salpausselän peruskoulu, Finland.
We are building cell phone charging stations out of two old excercise cycles and “pimp” them. They will have slightly different components. National Best project nominee 2018.
StarT 2017
- Flight/Aviation project, from Echipa Multitouchnme, Romania, was a nominee for Inetrnational LUMA StarT Award 2017.
Since the aero-spatial engineering exists, for about 100 years, it has earned the reputation of being the leading edge of technology. Flight has diminished distances, allowing people to travel freely. The aero-spatial technology has totally changed wars, defense and security concepts and paradigms of the modern world. The theme offers students the possibility of choosing a career path and elite role-models. Patrik, a student in the 9th grade, studying Mathematics and Computer Science in an English Bilingual class, created a webpage as an interactive educational resource, which can be used by both teachers and students. It supports the E-learning process, modern interactive methods of teaching, specific to the Era of Information and Knowledge. To create this page, he used the following programming languages and programs: HTML, Javascript, Photoshop and Movie Maker. In addition to the classical bibliography and research, we collaborated with our mentors, experts in aviation, from Romania and Belgium. EUROCONTROL. The project participated in 4-7 march 2017, in the National Interdisciplinary Contest Istorie i societate în dimensiune virtua (History and society in a virtual dimension), where got the 3rd Prize. With the flight simulator we received from our mentor, Marian Stan, engineer at Continental, Germany, the students from our college are initiating themselves in flight. We have also started some parachuting and flight courses in collaboration with the Romanian Air Club, part of our most recent partnership.
- SOS Glove was made by a team from Semesta Billingual Boarding School, Indonesia. The team was also a nominee for International LUMA StarT Award 2017. (the learning diary)
The Eravicte team is from Semesta Billingual Boarding School, Indonesia.The team consists of three students from 8th Grade . We learn, discuss, and assemble the project together. The team carry out the project by discussing the problem with the supervisor, then trying to find the solution, looking for references related about the solution or project. The project was created by assembling the circuit board and components of SOS glove. - A team from Centenary Heights State High School MSE Group Year 10, Australia build a torch without any battery. (the project report)
All minds are very technical and physics based and they were determined to create a torch suitable to Finlands cold climate. Aware of the limited life-span of cellular batteries, the students devised a hand held torch which would be powered by the thermal heat of their hand. They made the torch and will be displaying it along with their poster at our school science fair in August. The most frustrating thing for the group was to locate the components for their torch, and then wait for their delivery. It was absolutely priceless to see their faces when the items arrived. They could barely conceal their excitement and couldnt wait to create their torch.
Materials
Kindergarten and preschool (3-7 year olds)
Primary School (7-12 year olds)
Lower Secondary (13-15 year olds) and Upper Secondary level (16-19 year olds)
The materials are produced by the Technology around us team:
Pekka Hirvonen (the chairman)
Risto Leinonen
Tarja Sipiläinen
Pekka Hiippala
Veli-Matti Ikävalko
Lotta Sundelin
