Technology that helps: litter, cameras, code
Technology is a tool or machine made to solve problems. We can use it to keep our school clean. First we can count litter: with gloves and a grown-up, pick up paper, plastic and metal, sort them and make a tally chart. The chart shows which kind is dropped most. Next, think about a camera at school to stop littering. Advantages: it can show where litter is dropped, so we know where to put bins. Disadvantages: people may feel watched, privacy matters, it costs money and it can break. Good technology needs good rules and kindness. We never share names, photos or passwords online. Technology can also help in floods. A camera on a drone, a small flying machine, can fly over a flooded area to show where help is needed. To tell the drone where to go we write code, a list of steps. We can write code with arrows on a grid, where each arrow moves the drone one square. The steps must be in the correct order. We test the code by following the path with a finger, and if we find a mistake we fix it.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| shows where litter is dropped | people may feel watched |
| helps us choose where to put bins | it costs money and can break |
Litter count, with gloves and a grown-up. Collect paper, plastic and metal litter from one area. A grown-up handles glass and anything sharp or dirty. Sort it, make a tally chart with a total, and decide where one more bin should go. Then draw a 3 × 3 grid, put a cross on the start and write arrow code that visits every square. Give it to a partner, who tests it with a counter. Never share names, photos or passwords online.