How does a CD
Player work?
Engineering Principle
Music
is in binary codes of ‘1’s and ‘0’s.
Activities
Part I
Demonstration – the outreach faculty member(s) will
demonstrate the experimental kit (see diagram) to the children. The demonstration shows how laser:
travels through space
get reflected through mirrors
through a receiver and processor,
the
information is read and translated into ‘1’s and ‘0’s, and is transported,
to the final receiver and the output
device.
Part II
‘Creation’
– children writes their own music.
After
seeing the demonstration and somewhat understand the process of how music is
interpreted into ‘1’s and ‘0’s, the children can now write their own simple
piece of music in ‘1’ and ‘0’. Their
own little ‘creation’ will be tested by inputting the binary codes into the
computer. The music will then be heard
at the speaker.
Part III
‘Name
that Tune’ – music will be played and the binary forms of ‘1’s and ‘0’s
will be spitted out at the computer screen, and children can try to name the
songs being played.
This
is a reverse process of part II.
Instead of inputting the binary codes, children will now see the binary
codes on the computer screen as the music is being played. This shows the children that this is a 2-way
process.
Targets
Age
7 to 11 years
According
to Piaget’s stages of child development, children at the age of 7 to 11 years
are at their ‘concrete operations’, where:
1.Reasoning
process becomes logical
can be applied to concrete
problems
begins to solve problems "in
head"
2.Makes
cognitive and logical decisions
decanters perception
attends successive steps
or sequences
3.Classification
and serration
mentally classifies objects
and events
mentally relates them
mentally arrange elements
according to size
mentally arrange events in
series
length
(7 years)
width
(9 years)
volume
(12 years)
4.Understanding
of space, time, and speed
5.Understanding
of cause and effect relationships
6.Solve
conservation problems
number (6-7 years)
area and mass (7-8 years)
volume (11-12 years)
7.Reversibility
of operations (A-B-C -> C-B-A)
8.Cooperative
communication evolves
9.Limitations
cannot solve intangible
problems
hypothetical
complex
verbal
involving
future
only problems using real
objects
isolate problems
Activity Program
Introduction 5-10 minutes
Warm-up 15 minutes
Demonstration 20 minutes
Explanation
of ‘Creation’ 5 minutes
‘Creation’
of music 5-10 minutes
Testing
out the ‘Creation’ 30 minutes
Explanation
of ‘Name that Tune’ 5 minutes
‘Name
that Tune’ 30 minutes
Wrap-up 10 minutes
Total
time involved 2 hours 25 minutes (approximation)
Introduction
Outreach
faculty members introduce themselves, and let children settled down and be
familiar with their leaders of the day.
Warm-Up
Some warm-up exercises with ‘music’. For example, playing ‘musical chair’, asking
children what music they like, or musical instruments they know of.
Demonstration
(activity part I)
Faculty members demonstrate how a CD player
works through the experiment kit that we have prepared. Children may adjust the angles of the
mirrors in the experiment, to increase the level of interaction.
Explanation
of ‘Creation’
Faculty members introduce and explain the
next exercise.
‘Creation’
of Music (activity part II)
Children are given pieces of paper to write
their own music in codes of ‘1’s and ‘0’s.
There is no limit to how long their music can be. Each note corresponds to a 4-digit binary
code as below:-
C 1010
C# 0011
D 1110
D# 0001
E 0110
F 1101
F# 1001
G 0010
G# 0111
A 1011
A# 1111
B 0100
Space 0000
(These codes have been programmed into the computer.)
Testing out the ‘Creation’
Children
will insert their creation in binary codes form into the computer. They will then hear their ‘creation’ from
the output device of speakers. They
can then make changes to their music, or have another ‘creation’ made for
further testing. This process allows
children to learn that their input of binary codes actually correspond to
musical notes that they are familiar with, and that music is actually ‘1’s and
‘0’s.
Explanation of
‘Name that Tune’ (activity part III)
Faculty
members introduce and explain the next exercise.
‘Name that Tune’
Faculty
members will play the music that has already been programmed into the
computer. These are music pieces that
children are familiar with, for example, ‘London Bridge is Falling Down’,
‘Happy Birthday’, and ‘We Wish You are a Merry Christmas’. These musical pieces are written in binary
code form. Children can compete against
each other to see who can name the song faster. Also, the binary codes of the music will be shown on the computer
screen as the music is being played.
Children can observe this and understand that this is a reversible
process.
Wrap-Up
Faculty
members ask children how they like the couple hours they have spent together,
and what the children have learnt that day.
Has Our Activity meet the
Requirement?
Engage the
students in an engineering activity
Yes! Our activity is an engineering activity,
and is intended to engage every single students.
Teach them
something about what engineers do
Yes! We are teaching them that some engineers
code and decode information, some do programming, and some invent new things we
enjoy like the CD players.
Appeal to all
types of children (not just competitive children who like to blow things up)
Yes! We believe that children of age 7 to 11 are
interested in how CD players work, and are interested in creating their own
things.
Engage about 30
children simultaneously
Yes! Our activity can engage groups of size from
5 children to 30 or 40 children.
Be safe, durable,
and suitable for an indoor classroom
Yes! All the activities are safe to faculty
members and children. They are designed
to be suitable for indoor classrooms, or for a beautiful, sunny outdoor
condition.
Employ principles
of universal design
Yes!
Binary codes are universal engineering language. CD players are popular in half of the world.
Be transportable
in a compact car.
Yes! The demonstration kit is designed to be
detachable, and is easily assembled.
