This is rewrite of a unit which I really loved running, but somehow never knew how to assess. I was so unhappy with the assessment that I actually stopped teaching it, despite really wanting to keep it running. The addition of the Self Assessment Guide to the Year 7-9 ICT Course, means that I now have the tools to really do the unit justice, without getting bogged down in assessment which fails to add value.

The idea for this unit came to me first thing one morning whilst I was lying in bed desperately trying not to think about work. In the unit, students work in teams to combine hardware and software in the production of a system which allows them to remotely guide a blindfolded peer. Beyond the ICT aims, it provides students with an understanding of the world as experienced by the visually impaired, as well as the ways in which technology can be used to augment and improve the lives of people with disabilities. The video below gives a quick feel for how things work:

The system is entirely student-assembled and centers around a head-mounted web cam and freely available software. Being a relatively new school, we do not yet teach Home Economics or Design Technology, so this unit provided our students to work in a hands-on fashion that they do not often experience. In total, the cost of running the unit should be less than HKD$200 (USD$25) per group, assuming you do not need to purchase any laptops.