Download 7th Grade Communication Technology

7th Grade Communication Technology
Lesson 2
Anticipatory set: Charades
Standards:
A2 The core concepts of technology
C10 The role of troubleshooting, research and development, invention and
innovation, and experimentation in problem solving
E17 Information and communication technologies
Objective: The students will demonstrate the concept of the Universal systems
model and technical writing skills.
Definition: Communication is the process of exchanging information either by
sending information or by receiving it.
Communication occurs between people, animals, & machines. We have even tried
to communicate with aliens.
Communication is like any system. It has input, which is the sender of the
message, a process, which is how the message is sent, and output, which is the
receiver of the message (Closed system). Feedback lets you know if your
message was understood (Open system). There is always a chance for interference
anywhere in the communication system. Interference is anything that gets in the
way of your message being understood. Interference could be the fact that people
speak different languages or it could take the form of electronic noise such as
static or it could be mechanical failure (broken wire, scratch on a CD etc).
Interference can occur at any point in the system.
Have you ever gotten frustrated by trying to understand written directions. Being a
technical writer is not easy. Technical writing is sequential “step by step” in
nature. You cannot assume the other person knows anything when using technical
writing.
(Activity1) Whisper down the lane:
The teacher will create a phrase and write it down on a piece of paper and have the
first student read the phrase, this student will then whisper that phase to the next
student and so on until this phrase reaches the last student, this student will then
say the phrase a lowed, the teacher will then read the original phrase. The teacher
will then explain the relationship of the Universal Systems Model to the activity
and how the interference changed the phrase and how the feedback fixed the
problem.
(Activity2) Lego Assembly:
The teacher will separate the class into groups and hand out a hand full of legos to
each group. The groups will then build two identical simple shapes. Utilizing
technical writing the students will create a set of instructions to build the shape
they have created. They will then disassemble one shape and trade those pieces
and their instructions with another group. The students will then attempt to build
each other’s shapes using only the directions. When completed they will then
compare the results.
Materials: Legos, paper, internet
Assessment: Class participation, in class activity, teacher observation, Quia
quiz on lesson one.