KS3 design and technology – Design a remote control

What's included?

PDF lesson plan

Key Stage

KS3

Age

Years 7-9

Subjects

This KS3 design and technology lesson plan offers a basic introduction to wireless communications technology. It uses infra-red as a starting point…

Infra-red is relatively simple. The components are cheap and it enables students to understand some of the basic principles of how wireless control works.

Communications technology is a huge industry worldwide. Companies have developed a vast range of electronic products that offer better, faster and wider communications between people across the world.

The prevalence of mobile phones is a good example of this, as well as the emergence of wireless networks. These enable people and devices to communicate with each other without cables and wiring.

KS3 design and technology lesson plan

This lesson focuses on the electronic design and programming elements of this type of project. You may want to build in other elements of product design such as casing design, CAD/CAM, modelling etc as appropriate.

You can adapt this plan to the needs of your school, students’ abilities and the skills and knowledge you wish to impart. It could be as part of a full design-and-make project. Alternatively, you could adapt it for use as a series of focused practical tasks or as standalone activities to introduce concepts, ideas and knowledge.

David Taylor coordinates Electronics and Communications Technology at The Radclyffe School, Oldham.