Spain 2º ESO Technology and Digitalisation

Chapters: 5

1. Problem-solving process

Problem-solving frameworks · Critical information search · Analysing products and systems · Structures for models · Basic mechanical systems · Basic electricity and electronics · Technological materials · Workshop tools and fabrication · Entrepreneurship and creativity

The Design Process: From Problem to Product – The design process is a loop of steps designers use to solve a real problem for real people: investigate the need, define it in a brief and a measurable specification, generate many ideas, build a prototype, then test and evaluate it against the specification. Whatever fails sends you back round the loop. This repeating is called iteration, and it is how almost every product, app, building and artwork is improved.
Research Skills: From a Question to a Finished Project – Research is a careful way of finding an answer. You ask a clear, focused question, plan how to answer it, find information and check that each source can be trusted, collect and analyse your own data, draw a conclusion that the evidence supports, and share it while crediting every source you used.
Product Analysis: Taking a Product Apart to Judge It – Product analysis means studying an existing product to understand who it is for, how it works, what it is made of, how it was made and how well it meets its users' needs. Designers use questions such as ACCESS FM, take the product apart (disassembly), test it, and then evaluate it against clear criteria to suggest improvements.
Structures and Forces – A structure is anything that holds a shape and carries a load: a bridge, a chair, a bone, an egg. There are three main types: solid (one heavy mass), frame (bars joined together) and shell (a thin curved skin). Loads cause forces inside the parts: compression squeezes, tension stretches, bending does both, shear slides, torsion twists. Triangles keep frames rigid. A structure is stable when the line down from its centre of gravity stays inside its base; it is strong when its material, shape and joints can carry the load without breaking.
Mechanisms: How Machines Change Motion and Force – A mechanism takes an input motion and force and gives a different output motion and force. There are four kinds of motion: rotary, linear, reciprocating and oscillating. Levers turn on a fulcrum; mechanical advantage (MA) = load ÷ effort. Gears and pulleys pass on turning motion; gear ratio = driven teeth ÷ driver teeth, and output speed = input speed ÷ gear ratio. Meshing gears turn opposite ways; a belt keeps the same direction. Cams, cranks and sliders, and rack and pinion change rotary motion into linear or reciprocating motion. Mechanisms trade speed for force: you never get more work out than you put in.
Electric Current, Potential Difference and Electric Circuits – Electric current is the rate of flow of charge, I = Q/t, measured in amperes with an ammeter joined in series. Potential difference is the work done to move a unit charge between two points, V = W/Q, measured in volts with a voltmeter joined in parallel. Charge flows only in a closed circuit.
Materials and Their Properties: Why Things Are Made of What They Are – Every product is made from materials chosen for their properties. The main families are papers and boards, timbers, metals, polymers (plastics) and textiles. Physical properties describe what a material is like (density, conductivity, how it reacts to heat and water). Working properties describe how it behaves when we use or shape it (strength, hardness, toughness, elasticity, plasticity, malleability, ductility). Materials come from natural sources such as trees, ores and crude oil, and are sold in standard stock forms like sheets, bars, tubes and planks. A designer picks a material by matching its properties to the job, and also thinks about cost, availability, looks and the environment.
Health and Safety: Hazards, Risks and Controls – A hazard is anything that can cause harm. Risk is how likely the harm is and how bad it would be: risk = likelihood × severity. A risk assessment finds hazards, decides who could be harmed, rates the risk, adds controls and is reviewed. Use the hierarchy of control: eliminate, substitute, engineering controls, admin (rules, training, signs), then PPE last. Safety signs use colour and shape. Workshops, art rooms and workplaces need guards, ventilation, labelled materials, clear exits and first aid. Laws in most countries make employers and workers share the duty to stay safe.
From Ideas to Startups: Entrepreneurship – An entrepreneur turns an idea into a business by bringing together land, labour and capital and taking the risk. New ideas replace old ways, which economists call creative destruction. Startups grow with help from investors, banks, incubators, government schemes such as Startup India and Make in India, and small firms called MSMEs. A business plan maps the idea, costs and customers. The profit and loss statement shows Sales − Costs, and the balance sheet shows Assets = Liabilities + Capital.
Entrepreneurship Development – Entrepreneurship is starting a new business by spotting a need, putting resources together and taking the risk. India needs entrepreneurs for jobs, new ideas and balanced growth. The process runs from knowing yourself to launching and growing. Start-up India (2016) supports new firms, funding comes from savings, angels, venture capital, banks and crowdfunding, and intellectual property rights protect new ideas, brands and creative work.

2. Communicating and sharing ideas

Technical communication skills · Technical drawing: dimensions and scale · 2D and 3D CAD · Digital tools for technical documents

Communication Skills: How to Share Meaning Clearly and Kindly – Communication is sharing meaning between people. A sender encodes an idea into a message, sends it through a channel, and a receiver decodes it and gives feedback. Barriers such as noise, hard words, strong emotions and cultural differences can block or bend the message. We send meaning with words (verbal), with face, eyes, gestures, posture and tone (non-verbal), and with pictures (visual). Active listening — attention, patience, questions and paraphrasing — proves the message arrived. Good communicators adapt to context: formal or informal, spoken or written, and use polite requests, kind refusals, sincere apologies and assertive (not aggressive or passive) language.
Technical Drawing: Communicating Design Ideas – Technical drawing is a shared visual language for showing the exact shape and size of an object. Designers start with freehand sketches, then use pictorial views (isometric, oblique) to show the object in 3D, and orthographic projection (front, top and side views) with standard lines, dimensions in millimetres and a scale so that anyone can make it. Today most drawings are made with CAD software.
CAD Modelling: From a Sketch to a 3D Part – CAD (computer-aided design) means using a computer to draw and build exact models of objects before they are made. A design starts as a freehand sketch. In CAD it becomes a 2D sketch with constraints and dimensions. 3D tools such as extrude, revolve and cut turn the sketch into a solid. Each step is saved in a feature tree, so changing one size rebuilds the whole model. Parts are joined in assemblies, tested by simulation, shared as drawings and sent to 3D printers, laser cutters or CNC machines.
Office Software: Working with Electronic Documents – An office suite is a set of programs for electronic documents: a word processor for text documents, a spreadsheet for numbers and calculations, and a presentation program for slides. A document is built from elements (headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, images, headers and footers) and formatted with fonts, alignment, spacing and styles. A spreadsheet is a grid of cells named by column letter and row number (B3). Cells hold text, numbers, dates or formulas that start with =. Functions such as SUM, AVERAGE, MAX, MIN, COUNT and IF calculate over ranges (B1:B3), and results update automatically. Relative references change when copied; absolute ones ($B$1) stay fixed. Charts turn data into pictures. Presentations use one idea per slide. Save in editable formats (.docx, .odt, .xlsx, .ods, .pptx) or export to PDF.

3. Computational thinking, programming and robotics

Algorithms and flowcharts · Simple apps and intro to AI · Programmed control and IoT · Robotics fundamentals · Debugging and learning from errors

Introduction to Problem Solving – Problem solving on a computer has stages: analyse the problem (inputs, outputs, rules), develop an algorithm (a finite, clear, ordered set of steps), code it in a programming language, test it with different inputs, and debug (find and remove errors). An algorithm can be shown as a flowchart (oval = start/stop, parallelogram = input/output, rectangle = process, diamond = decision, arrows = flow) or as pseudocode (structured plain English). Decomposition breaks a big problem into smaller sub-problems that are solved separately and then joined.
Artificial Intelligence: How Machines Learn to Think – Artificial intelligence (AI) is the skill of a computer system to do tasks that normally need human thinking: seeing, understanding speech, deciding and learning. An AI system is an agent that senses, thinks and acts. Old AI followed rules written by people. Modern AI mostly uses machine learning: it finds its own rule from many labelled examples (data). Neural networks are layers of simple units whose link strengths (weights) change during training. AI is used in maps, translation, health, farming and games. It can be wrong or unfair when its data is one-sided (bias), so people must check it, protect privacy and stay responsible.
Control Systems and Feedback – A control system makes a machine or process behave the way we want. Every system has input → process (controller) → output. In an open-loop system the controller does not check the result (a toaster on a timer). In a closed-loop system a sensor measures the output and feeds it back; the controller compares it with the set point and corrects the error (a thermostat, cruise control). Real systems are built from sensors, a controller (electronic circuit, microcontroller or PLC) and actuators (motors, heaters, valves, pneumatic cylinders). Many are now networked (IoT, SCADA) so they can be watched and controlled from far away.
Robotics: How Robots Sense, Think and Act – A robot is a machine that senses the world, decides what to do with a program, and acts with motors. It has a body (structure), sensors, a controller, actuators, a transmission such as gears, and a power supply. Robots help in factories, hospitals, farms, homes and space.
Programming Basics: Sequence, Selection, Loops and Functions – A program is a set of exact instructions a computer follows. Every program is built from three structures: sequence (steps in order), selection (if/else choices) and iteration (loops). Variables store values. Functions group code into reusable, named blocks, which makes programs modular and easier to test, debug and maintain.

4. Digitalising the personal learning environment

Digital devices · Digital communication systems · Learning platforms · Content creation tools · Storing information safely · Online safety and digital wellbeing

Basic Computer Organisation – A computer system has hardware (parts you can touch) and software (instructions). Input devices bring data in, the CPU (ALU + Control Unit + registers) processes it, and output devices give results. Memory forms a ladder: registers and cache are tiny and fastest, primary memory (RAM, ROM) holds running programs, and secondary storage (HDD, SSD, pen drive) keeps data permanently. Memory is measured in bits and bytes: 8 bits = 1 byte, and each bigger unit (KB, MB, GB, TB, PB) is 1024 times the one before.
Computer Networks and How the Internet Works – A network is a group of devices linked to share data. Each device has an IP address. Data is cut into numbered packets. Routers pass each packet hop by hop towards its address, and TCP puts the packets back in order. DNS turns a website name into an IP address. Clients ask, servers answer. Firewalls, passwords, updates and encryption keep a network safe.
How Networks Grew and How Data Travels – A computer network is a group of connected devices that share data. Networking began with ARPANET (1969), grew into NSFNET (1980s) for universities, and joined with other networks to become the Internet, a network of networks. Every data communication has five parts: sender, receiver, message, communication media and protocol. Bandwidth is the range of frequencies a channel can carry (in Hz); data rate is how many bits travel per second (bps). Every device on a network has an IP address. Data can move by circuit switching (a fixed path is booked first) or packet switching (data is cut into packets that travel on their own).
ICT Basics: Using Computers, the Cloud and Learning Platforms Safely – ICT means information and communication technology: the devices, software and networks we use to create, store and share information. Every computer takes input, processes it, gives output and stores data. Storage is measured in bytes, and each bigger unit (KB, MB, GB, TB) is about 1000 times the one before. Good digital learners keep files in clearly named folders, use learning platforms to get and submit work, store files in the cloud and on devices, back up with the 3-2-1 rule and protect accounts with long passphrases and two-step login. ICT also lets you make creative projects such as videos, websites and podcasts.
Office Software: Working with Electronic Documents – An office suite is a set of programs for electronic documents: a word processor for text documents, a spreadsheet for numbers and calculations, and a presentation program for slides. A document is built from elements (headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, images, headers and footers) and formatted with fonts, alignment, spacing and styles. A spreadsheet is a grid of cells named by column letter and row number (B3). Cells hold text, numbers, dates or formulas that start with =. Functions such as SUM, AVERAGE, MAX, MIN, COUNT and IF calculate over ranges (B1:B3), and results update automatically. Relative references change when copied; absolute ones ($B$1) stay fixed. Charts turn data into pictures. Presentations use one idea per slide. Save in editable formats (.docx, .odt, .xlsx, .ods, .pptx) or export to PDF.
Cyber Crime and Cyber Safety – Cyber crime is any crime that uses a computer, phone or the internet as a tool or target. Common forms: hacking (breaking into a system without permission; ethical hackers test security with permission), eavesdropping (secretly intercepting communication), phishing (fake emails, SMS or websites that trick you into giving passwords, OTPs or card details), ransomware (malware that locks or encrypts files and demands money), cyber trolls (people who post provoking, offensive messages) and cyberbullying (harassing, threatening or humiliating someone online). Malware includes viruses (attach to files and spread), worms (spread by themselves), trojans (look useful but open a back door), spyware and adware (unwanted pop-up ads, often tracking). Safe browsing: https sites, updated software, antivirus and firewall, no unknown links or downloads. Identity protection: strong unique passwords, two-factor authentication, never sharing OTPs, careful sharing of personal details, and logging out on shared devices.

5. Sustainable technology

Technological development and ethics · Sustainable technology

Science, Technology and Society: How Discoveries Change Our Lives – Science finds out how nature works; technology uses that knowledge to make tools and solve problems. Society shapes science too, by asking questions, paying for research and making rules. Big changes such as the printing press, the steam engine, electricity, vaccines and the internet changed how people work, live and think. Every technology has benefits and risks. To decide wisely we look at evidence, weigh benefits against risks, ask who gains and who loses, think about ethics and the future, and use safety rules.
Sustainable Design: Products That Are Kind to People and Planet – Sustainable design means making products that meet our needs while harming nature and people as little as possible. Every product has a life cycle: materials, making, transport, use and end of life. A life cycle assessment adds up the ecological footprint (energy, CO₂, water, waste) at each stage. The social footprint is the effect on workers and communities: pay, safety, child labour, fair trade. Designers use the six Rs (rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, repair, recycle), design for maintenance, repair and disassembly, and avoid planned obsolescence. Ecodesign also weighs the economic side: a product must be affordable and profitable, so the best designs balance environment, society and economy.