The Technology Department warmly welcomed some new staff this year and it has been a pleasure to work alongside them in their specific Technology areas as mentioned below. The Digital Technology room will be finally moving to the Technology Block at the end of 2015 and this is sure to enhance the department by every Technology area being under the one roof! Technology has been consumed in an array of exciting projects and events which have definitely been keeping everyone very busy this year. They are as follows:

FABRIC TECHNOLOGY

This year in Fabric Technology our wonderful Year 9 students have been introduced to a wide variety of skills and techniques. These students have shown so much flair and creativity in typical Logan Park fashion which I hope to see them carry through to their later years of study. The Year 10 students have been consistently extending their skills within the brief, designing and creating complex projects which included quilting, applique and pattern making. The class atmosphere is hard-working and extremely creative, ensuring all students are more than ready for NCEA Level 1. Year 11 students have demonstrated excellent execution of garment manufacture and construction, including pants, long sleeved dresses, hoodie-dresses and sweatshirts. Basic pattern adaptions to commercial patterns were completed before the construction to ensure originality and individualised styling. Year 12 students began the year drafting a basic pattern block to their own measurements. This block was then adapted to change the structural and/or style features of the basic pattern, demonstrating advanced pattern manipulation. They then tested their garments for fit through toiling and altering where necessary, in order to construct excellent outcomes that are ready to wear. Year 13 students drafted patterns from scratch for a formal garment of their own design. Simone and Taylor both produced exquisite evening dresses, and Emma constructed an exceptional steel-boned corset. Emma is intending to pursue a fashion degree at Otago Polytechnic, where she will join Shaz from Fabric Technology last year. I wish all my departing students well for their futures and I have really enjoyed teaching them throughout their time at Logan Park.

FOOD TECHNOLOGY

The Foods Department welcomed a new part-time teacher this year. Mrs Michelle Holt taught for Term One and then Ms Cat Hunter has taught from Term Two on. Students in the Foods Department have been busy on an increased number of interesting projects. Some highlights of Junior Hospitality have been Year 9’s BBQ meal for a friend and their food science experiments along with Year 10 trials to produce an original foods product for sale at the Otago Farmers’ Market over Labour Weekend. Senior Hospitality projects included making soup to donate to a food bank, favourite teachers invited to lunch, original ice-creams and cheesecakes designed and sold at the annual Rock Concert day and sandwiches produced and sold at the school canteen. Next year will see a continuing emphasis on student-led projects and functions.

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

A very busy year indeed! Year 9 students enjoyed immersing themselves in the digital communication with Southside High School in North Carolina USA and they particularly enjoyed the Skype session early one morning as well as making an American favourite ‘Smores’, all the ingredients for which were very kindly sent by Southside to our students. Year 10 researched, designed and produced an array of board games and magazines which were diverse and unique for teenagers or families. They have also been programming innovative games for Year 8 students to trial at the end of the year. The seniors were introduced to Computer Science Achievement Standards this year and enjoyed programming an interactive game for children. They also showcased their skills with lots of interesting digital manipulation. The Year 12 and 13 students had a challenge of choosing a theme and creating music videos and television screencasts. Two Year 13 teams were entered in the ‘University of Otago Annual Information Science Technology Challenge’ and won two of the top three prizes (see the article in this magazine).

In addition, Year 10 girls had the opportunity to attend the ‘Programming Challenge 4 Girls’ at the University of Otago in November. Alise Allnatt and Amy Lloyd won a Gold Award and Shiloh Holman won a Silver Award for their inspiring coding games.  The ICAS Digital Technologies exam this year saw several students achieve ‘With Distinction’ which was a fine achievement.

MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY WOOD 2015

Creativity and innovation has once again come to the party in the workshop. From Year 9 through to Year 13, students have designed and created original pieces of ‘practical art’ as part of their technological practice. This included establishing a real life problem or need and thoroughly researching all aspects of design, problem solving and manufacture. Once again the standard of craftsmanship has led to a range of fabulous family heirlooms for the future. This year in the senior school a variety of chair styles have been developed. Some have been original designs and some inspired by existing styles such as the Cape Cod Chair. Timber laminating has been very successfully incorporated in many of the designs to add to the challenge and intrigue.

MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY METAL

All levels started the year with a skills based unit. Year 9’s with a Junior Hacksaw and Year 10’s with a Container unit. Year 11’s were introduced to Level 1 NCEA with a set of Parallel Clamps, and Year 12’s who had not completed Level 1 started with a Tack Hammer. The main focus of these early units is to further develop students’ skills in working with hand tools, and machines.

The senior classes were then free to develop their own design(s) for the balance of the year. Projects included a modified grass kart, gun cabinet, mini clown bicycle, movie camera jib, skate boards, and drift trikes. Once again there were some outstanding design and craft skills demonstrated.

DESIGN AND VISUAL COMMUNICATION

Another successful year in DVC included junior students focusing on developing skills in graphical communication such as freehand sketching, rendering and formal drawing. Level 1 students enjoyed the contrast with previous years involved in working almost exclusively on Design Briefs. The first was a Product Design unit to design a form of Outdoor Seating, which was followed by Spatial Design in the form of a Sleepout.

Level 2 followed a similar format with a Lamp design followed by a 3 Bedroom House using a Sustainability theme. These ranged from traditional timber framed construction to a straw bale house.

Level 3 students are encouraged to follow their passions as much as possible, and have the flexibility to design their own assessment strategy, by either completing 2 briefs (a Product and Spatial), or focusing on one, and including an Exhibition. Nobody chose the Exhibition, however 2 students opted to complete an externally assessed unit known as ‘Design Ideation’. Broadly, this is the process of producing new design ideas from an initial starting point, which could be any of an infinite range of experiences, images, objects etc. While the idea might have a start point, it typically does not resemble this too closely in its final form. This unit has a strong focus on design thinking, and the creation of original or innovative ideas.