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GCSE Design Tech NEA Discussion - Megathread for 2020 -2021 cohort

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Has anyone got to the analysing other products for Nature and Environment yet? I have run out of products to analyse haha

What products have you analysed so far?

Reply 81

Emily~3695

Original post by FlaxenYapper287

Has anyone got to the analysing other products for Nature and Environment yet? I have run out of products to analyse haha

When I did this last year we only had to analyse 1 or 2 products in detail so I wouldn’t worry too much, how many have you done?

Reply 82

Emily~3695

Original post by FlaxenYapper287

Oh ok. I have 2 right now. Our teacher said we should do about 5 and the model papers all did quite a few.

Really, that’s quite a lot everyone else in my class did one I was the only one to do 2 and I got full marks for that section but I guess each school does it a bit differently, what ones have you already done I might be able to help you because I did sustainability last year :smile:

Reply 83

d3rin13

Hi does anyone have any advice on how to do a visit to the environment which the product will be used in
My teacher said to do this based on the problems we've chosen but I'm a bit confused about what we have to do

Has anyone done anything similar for their projects?

Reply 84

d3rin13

Original post by FlaxenYapper287

I am doing food waste for my problem so I asked a teacher in school at the moment to take some photos of the area around where people take food / put trays back. Basically take some photos, get some measurements and note down styles / themes of the area.

Ok thanks! :smile:

Reply 85

PetitePanda

Study Forum Helper

Original post by FlaxenYapper287

So far I have done https://www.amazon.co.uk/InSinkErator-75275-Stainless-Evolution-Disposer/dp/B004NOY3BQ and https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ecotonix-GCGG02-Green-Cycler-Pre-Composter/dp/B00IDEQ9WS

You could analyse a composter of different materials like wood or plastics (you can talk about the disadvantage of plastics as a material)?

Reply 86

pinkandgrey220

I know this thread was from a while ago but I've started my GCSE NEA and chose nature and the environment, focusing on the ocean. Have I gone to specific too fast because I'm struggling to come up with ideas. Help would be much appreciated!

Reply 87

CoolCavy

Volunteer Team

Original post by pinkandgrey220

If you are struggling for ideas you may have specialised too fast, having said that the ocean is a pretty broad topic so you can get a lot of subcategories for that i.e marine life, plant life, costal issues, littering, pollution, people who work out on the ocean.
Sometimes narrowing stuff down can actually help with the ideation process as you are focused in a particular area (nature itself is pretty wide and so you may not explore it properly if you are just trying to do general environment ideas), narrowing down too much can restrict you however so its a balance.
Personally i think choosing the ocean at this stage is fine, as i say its a pretty wide topic, if you had chosen something really specific straight away like albatrosses swallowing plastic then that would be too specalised really as you are limiting your ideas to just that (nothing wrong with getting that specalised later but you need to produce a range of design ideas so you can pick the best one)
Some good advice is to break the topic of ocean up into different areas (this can be done with a mindmap), under each area try to write a list of potential problems e.g under littering for example you could put a lack of bins, overpopulation on beaches etc etc
Unless you know about oceans loads already you will probably have to research some of these problems, this shouldnt be too difficult as there is a lot of environmental information on marine stuff nowadays. You only need to do some surface level research at this stage, when you come to narrowing the problems down into a select few thats when you research into it more to see what design potential the problem has.
Best of luck :smile:

Reply 88

d3rin13

Hi does anyone have any advice on how to carry out a survey because I can't find enough people for my target market (toddlers and their parents) to actually answer the questionnaire

Reply 89

Becca216

Original post by d3rin13

Hi does anyone have any advice on how to carry out a survey because I can't find enough people for my target market (toddlers and their parents) to actually answer the questionnaire

Maybe post on a local facebook group (if it is an online survey) or ask around to see if you have any extended family friends know of anyone you could ask.

Reply 90

d3rin13

Original post by Becca216

Maybe post on a local facebook group (if it is an online survey) or ask around to see if you have any extended family friends know of anyone you could ask.

Ok thanks

Most Facebook groups I've found unfortunately say that they won't answer any surveys and can't find anyone in my family to answer them :frown:

Do you think that maybe I could make it up if I can't find anyone??

Reply 91

Emily~3695

Original post by d3rin13

Ok thanks

Most Facebook groups I've found unfortunately say that they won't answer any surveys and can't find anyone in my family to answer them :frown:

Do you think that maybe I could make it up if I can't find anyone??[/
A lot of people in my class made up results and they still did well, it would be better for you to do the survey but making them up is fine as well, the examiner will never know :smile:

Reply 92

whitebearr

Hello, please could you complete my survey if you don't mind? My context is multi-purpose spaces and I'm looking at how I can make it easier to move, store and use a laptop in different spaces around the home. I haven't yet narrowed down the age group my product will be aimed at, so feel free to do this regardless of your age. Thanks!

Here's the link: stakeholder questionnaire

I'm really grateful for anyone who completes it, and I'm happy to complete your survey if you need. Thank you so much :smile:

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 93

d3rin13

Original post by whitebearr

Hello, please could you complete my survey if you don't mind? My context is multi-purpose spaces and I'm looking at how I can make it easier to move, store and use a laptop in different spaces around the home. I haven't yet narrowed down the age group my product will be aimed at, so feel free to do this regardless of your age. Thanks!

Here's the link: Stakeholder questionnaire

I'm really grateful for anyone who completes it, and I'm happy to complete your survey if you need. Thank you so much :smile:

Done!

Reply 94

whitebearr

Original post by d3rin13

Done!

Thank you so much for your help, it's really appreciated!

Reply 95

Emily~3695

Original post by whitebearr

Hello, please could you complete my survey if you don't mind? My context is multi-purpose spaces and I'm looking at how I can make it easier to move, store and use a laptop in different spaces around the home. I haven't yet narrowed down the age group my product will be aimed at, so feel free to do this regardless of your age. Thanks!

Here's the link: Stakeholder questionnaire

I'm really grateful for anyone who completes it, and I'm happy to complete your survey if you need. Thank you so much :smile:

Done

Reply 96

whitebearr

Original post by Emily~3695

Done

Hi, thank you very much, that's so helpful! :smile:

Reply 97

moomoa

For anyone doing Edexcel this is the contextual challenges:
Climate emergency
Cinemas
Coasts
I really wish I wasn’t doing Edexcel the topics are so boring and difficult. Is anyone else doing Edexcel?
Also if you’re wondering I chose climate emergency

Reply 98

PetitePanda

Study Forum Helper

Original post by d3rin13

Hi does anyone have any advice on how to carry out a survey because I can't find enough people for my target market (toddlers and their parents) to actually answer the questionnaire

Maybe ask your friends or classmates if they know anyone?

Reply 99

CoolCavy

Volunteer Team

Original post by d3rin13

Ok thanks

Most Facebook groups I've found unfortunately say that they won't answer any surveys and can't find anyone in my family to answer them :frown:

Do you think that maybe I could make it up if I can't find anyone??

Out of interest why have you chosen toddlers and parents? If you really cant find anyone it could be worth choosing a different more accessible topic. You can make it up but honestly i wouldnt recommend it, you dont just need a client at the beginning - ideally you are meant to talk to them throughout the project to get feedback on your models and design ideas.
Have you tried posting your survey on netmums or mumsnet type forums?

Original post by whitebearr

Hello, please could you complete my survey if you don't mind? My context is multi-purpose spaces and I'm looking at how I can make it easier to move, store and use a laptop in different spaces around the home. I haven't yet narrowed down the age group my product will be aimed at, so feel free to do this regardless of your age. Thanks!

Here's the link: Stakeholder questionnaire

I'm really grateful for anyone who completes it, and I'm happy to complete your survey if you need. Thank you so much :smile:

Done

It might be worth putting in a few more open questions (ones that arent just set answers) as this can help you get a range of ideas as opposed to just the problems you have presented to the people taking the survey. An example of an open question would be 'what qualities would an ideal product have in relation to laptop storage and/or use'. It's just a bit wider and allows a person filling in a survey to contribute their own ideas :yep: