Flow of Activities
Activity An information system
How can technology help to warn communities of a natural disaster?
Australian Curriculum Alignment
- Digital systems (ACTDIK014)
- Investigating and defining (ACTDIP017)
- Collaborating and managing (ACTDIP022)
What's this about?
A disaster information system is an example of an emerging information system designed to protect communities.
Generally, the process to develop these systems includes describing the problem, gathering information, specification of the system requirements, design, construction and implementation of the system, followed by review.
Learning tasks
- Students conduct an inquiry related to an information system; for example, an early response warning system for a particular disaster such as a bushfire alert, Australian Tsunami Warning System, or emergency social media platform.
- Use a collaborative tool such as Padlet or OneNote to brainstorm ideas about ways to warn people about an impending disaster. Consider the needs of the user; what information is most useful and what is the best way to provide that information?
- Students investigate existing early warning systems and technologies and summarise the pros and cons of each; eg
- satellite communication technology
- mobile phone technology
- remote sensing and geographic information systems applications.
Supporting Resources
VicEmergency
VicEmergency is a centralised website for Victorians to find emergency information and warnings. You can also access preparedness and recovery information related to emergencies.
Tsunami alert
The Australian Tsunami Warning System delivers timely and effective tsunami warnings to the Australian population
Queensland alert
The Queensland Government website provides information about disasters and alerts.
Assessment
Suggested approaches may include
- Presentation or demonstration
- Adapted worksheet
- Artefact analysis
- Labelling diagram
- Text
- Digital capture
- Design plan
Activity Online communication
What data and information is required to make the system work?
Australian Curriculum Alignment
- Digital systems (ACTDIK014)
- Investigating and defining (ACTDIP017)
- Collaborating and managing (ACTDIP022)
What's this about?
An information system for a warning system typically requires users to access information in a relevant format, often transmitted from a central location. The system includes computer hardware and software, telecommunications, databases and storage, people and procedures.
Maps with overlays of spatial information provide data that enable patterns and trends to be identified more easily than numerical data on its own.
Learning tasks
- View images of maps or similar spatial information to identify the reach and coverage of the impact of a disaster such as a bushfire, flood or cyclone.
- Relate the impact zone to communities that might be affected and what technologies could be used to warn communities.
- Look at existing solutions such as SMS messages, which can be sent to people’s phones if they are within the boundary of an impending disaster.
- What information would the system need to operate? How would this information be developed, stored, transmitted, accessed and protected? Use a collaborative tool to share and refine ideas.
Supporting Resources
The Australian National Map
Browse a data catalogue and add data sets. Visualise data on a map of Australia.
FloodCheck map
View flood lines, imagery, and data and the extent of floodplains in Queensland.
Queensland Globe
View location-based information for Queensland.
Map of bushfire-prone areas
This map identifies land falling within, or partially within, a bushfire-prone area of Western Australia as designated by the Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner.
Assessment
Suggested approaches may include
- Presentation or demonstration
- Adapted worksheet
- Artefact analysis
- Labelling diagram
- Text
- Digital capture
- Design plan
Activity Collaborate online
What functions are available in existing technologies?
Australian Curriculum Alignment
- Digital systems (ACTDIK014)
- Investigating and defining (ACTDIP017)
- Collaborating and managing (ACTDIP022)
What's this about?
Smart phones can be used for a range of purposes. Messaging apps enable text messages and images to be sent and received. Mobile phone data provides information about the user’s location through the built-in GPS receiver. Another program is the phone’s voice-activated assistant, which translates words into a digital signal. Smart phones also have email capabilities. Social media apps enable immediate updates of information and can be used to locate missing people (eg using the ‘Find my phone’ app) or the location sharing feature in SnapChat.
Learning tasks
- Examine the smart phone as a form of technology. What role can it play in information systems?
- Investigate the ways in which a smart phone can be used to access early warning information. Read examples of authentic scenarios where social media platforms have been used effectively during severe weather events (eg Queensland Police has used Facebook).
- Use a collaborative tool such as Google Docs to share and refine ideas. What considerations should be made to cater for people without up-to-date technology or people with special needs?
Supporting Resources
Queensland police are pioneers in social media
Collaborate on shared documents.
Flooding Facebook: The use of social media during the Queensland and Victorian floods
Social media has been used in disasters such as flooding.
Assessment
Suggested approaches may include
- Presentation or demonstration
- Adapted worksheet
- Artefact analysis
- Labelling diagram
- Text
- Digital capture
- Design plan
Activity Early warning system
How do you create an early warning system?
Australian Curriculum Alignment
- Digital systems (ACTDIK014)
- Investigating and defining (ACTDIP017)
- Collaborating and managing (ACTDIP022)
What's this about?
Students design a digital solution, applying their understandings by first empathising with the target audience, going through a process of ideation and then designing.
Learning tasks
- Design an early warning system for a particular disaster. Visually present your ideas showing the flow of information, data requirements and ways that the information is managed. A good way to do this is as a paper prototype.
- Consider the ways personal data would need to be protected. Consider the sustainability of this system. How will it meet future local community needs? Students can present their ideas in the form of a paper prototype rather than as a digital solution if time does not permit.
- This project should be undertaken by students working collaboratively in teams. They develop file management systems, allocate tasks and responsibilities, set timelines and determine other ‘rules’ or protocols.
Supporting Resources
Developing early warning systems: A checklist
This site provides background information that can be used to help students create their own checklist for an early warning system.
Early warning of disasters: Facts and figures
This article looks at early warning systems for disasters, their uses and limits, and what accounts for the gap between warning and action.
Assessment
Suggested approaches may include
- Presentation or demonstration
- Adapted worksheet
- Artefact analysis
- Labelling diagram
- Text
- Digital capture
- Design plan