1 - Start ~4 mins
You have seen how the internet moves data and how search engines rank pages. Today you turn that outward. You will pick a real problem near you, dig into an Irish data source for real numbers, and frame that problem as something a program or a website could help with.
The table you build today is the evidence behind the proposal you will pitch next, so keep it honest and keep it safe.
Quick recap of the last two lessons (internet journey, search ranking), then name today's job: a real problem, real Irish data, a framed proposal. Do not let the opener run long; the data work needs the bulk of the period.
Before students open anything, name the save method for today (school drive, shared folder, or notebook) and write it on the board. Students will need their table and problem frame next session, and browser storage on shared devices is not reliable.
A fuller ethical, legal and technical pass sits in the pitch lesson. Today they gather evidence, note one ethical or legal point, and sketch a solution job only.
2 - What Makes a Problem Worth Solving ~5 mins
A problem worth solving is one that affects real people, shows up in real numbers, and might be helped by a program or a website. A vague grumble is not enough. You need evidence.
Today you will use one of three Irish data sources:
- GAA fixtures and results, for problems about sport schedules, travel, or who gets to take part
- met.ie weather data, for problems about rain, storms, school events, or outdoor plans
- Dublin Bikes station data, for problems about empty docks, full stations, or getting across the city
Your teacher will model one short path on the board first: one real reading, what the pattern might mean, and what a small program could do. Follow that path, then choose your own angle.
Your job today is not to solve the whole problem. It is to gather numbers, spot a pattern, and write a clear problem frame you can defend.
Model one full mini-path on the board before students open a source. Keep student copy short; the ethics/legal flash and worked issue line land as a 30-second board moment just before framing (step 4), not as a second content dump here.
Worked example (adapt to the source you projected). Prefer an in-session gather students can copy today:
- Reading: Dublin Bikes, Dame Street, right now: 0 bikes free.
- Pattern line: four stations within walking distance of school all show 0–2 bikes free right now.
- Ethics line (board flash only): a warning app must not track named students' journeys without consent.
- Legal line (board flash only): station counts are published by the operator; you may quote them, but you do not own the live feed.
- Tech line: a simple page could show nearby empty/full stations (display / warn).
If you want a morning-peak story instead, project a saved multi-morning snapshot and write on the board: "These are saved morning readings, not live right now." Do not model a multi-day 8.30am series students cannot gather live in one period.
Say out loud: "Dublin Bikes stations near school empty right now" is a problem frame; "bikes are annoying" is not. Stress that every number comes from the source, not a guess.
Misconception to head off: students may treat one dramatic reading as proof. Push them toward several rows of the same kind of measure so the chart can show a pattern, not a one-off.
Default plan: project one live source (or a saved snapshot) and have the class read values off it into their own tables if devices or networks are slow. The skill is gathering and framing, not the click path. Live individual browsing is a bonus, not the requirement.
Optional: flash the words ethical and legal on a starter slide so the step 4 issue line is retrieval, not first teaching.
3 - Hands-on: Record What the Data Says ~16 mins
Choose one problem angle that matters near you, and one Irish data source that could speak to it: GAA fixtures and results, met.ie weather, or Dublin Bikes.
Your teacher will share the exact pages, links, or projected source you may use today. Open your source first, find a real number, then record it in the interactive table. Do not type a guess.
Open the interactive table. Record what you find, one row per reading. Aim for at least four completed rows before you chart, so the chart can show a pattern rather than a single lucky number. Then chart your values and read what the chart actually shows.
- Write the source and the problem angle at the top of your notes.
- Add rows for each reading. Use Source for where the number came from (for example met.ie or a named Dublin Bikes station), What I measured for the thing you checked (for example rainfall in mm, or bikes free right now), and Value for the number, with units that make sense. Keep the same kind of measure across your rows so the chart compares like with like, for example bikes free at four named stations, home fixtures for four clubs, or rainfall in mm for four places or days.
- Chart the values. Does the pattern match what you expected, or something else?
- Keep the table. It is the evidence for your proposal next time.
What the data actually says
Suggested timing: about 3 minutes choosing a source and angle, 9 minutes recording (minimum four rows of the same measure), 4 minutes reading the chart.
Share the exact allowed pages or links at the start of this step, or keep one source projected and have everyone read values from the board. Treat the projected-source route as the default plan on shared or slow networks, not an emergency fallback.
If helpful, put a one-line cheat sheet on the board per source (for example: met.ie → rainfall mm for four named places; Dublin Bikes → bikes free at four named stations right now; GAA → number of home fixtures this month for four named clubs).
Circulate for empty tables, invented numbers, mixed metrics, and one-row investigations. Ask: What would a second reading change? and Who is affected if this pattern is real? Do not let anyone chart until they have at least four real rows of the same kind of measure.
If two students pick the same source, that is fine; their problem angles can still differ (for example weather for a match day versus weather for a cycle to school).
Look-fors:
- At least four real readings of the same measure, not one dramatic figure or a mixed bag
- Units that make sense (count of bikes, millimetres of rain, number of fixtures)
- A chart the student can explain in one sentence
4 - Frame the Problem ~9 mins
First, open the interactive activity. Drag each sample problem frame into the solution job that fits best: Warn, Schedule, Display, or Match. This is quick practice for the job word you will circle in your own frame.
Then turn your table into a problem frame. Your teacher will show a four-box template with the stems already printed and the four job words ready to circle. Fill the boxes in your notes (or on the handout); do not invent a new structure.
- The problem in one sentence. Stem: Near us, … because …
- The evidence. Quote two numbers or readings from your table.
- One ethical or legal issue. Fairness and privacy, or ownership and permission. Stem: One issue is … because … If you need a start, use a board bank line your teacher shows and finish the because.
- What a solution might do. Circle one job word from the sort (warn, schedule, display, match) and say what it would take on, using skills you already have or are building.
Copy your table and your four frame answers into the place your teacher named on the board before you finish. You will need both for the pitch next time. If anything is missing, rebuild the key rows from your source now rather than hoping they reappear later.
What job could a solution take on?
Suggested timing inside the 9 minutes: about 2 minutes on the drag-sort (or run it as a quick whole-class oral match on the board if the class is slow to settle), then the four frame boxes. Hard checkpoint around minute 7 of the step: "problem sentence and two evidence numbers must be down." Use the last minutes for the issue line, circled job word, and named save.
Just before students write box 3, take 30 seconds to flash the ethics/legal checklist on the board with the step 2 worked lines: fairness and privacy; ownership and permission. Offer 2–3 banked stem starters for support (for example: "One issue is tracking students without consent because…"; "One issue is who owns the published station counts because…"; "One issue is who gets left out if the tool only covers one area because…").
Project or hand out a fill-in four-box template with the stems already printed and the four job words (Warn / Schedule / Display / Match) pre-printed as circle options for box 4 so students circle-and-finish rather than invent a fifth word. Leave the step 2 mini-example visible as a filled model. Do not offer "collect" as a job word today; that arrives in the pitch.
This is framing, not a full proposal speech. Four fields only today; a fuller ethical, legal and technical pass sits in the pitch lesson. Stop students who start designing screens or writing code; the outcome today is a justified problem, not a product.
Listen for issue lines that are only labels. Push for a concrete line: whose privacy? or who owns the station data? The drag-sort job words should reappear as the circled word in box 4.
Before they leave the step, say: "Copy your table and your four frame answers into [school drive / shared folder / notebook] now. Browser tabs will not keep them." Name the real method you chose in prep; do not leave the save unspoken.
5 - Tiny Page Sketch ~3 mins
Your teacher will show a simple one-screen page stub: a title line, two number boxes, and a button label. This is a quick sketch so you can see a page-shaped outcome. You are not building the product yet.
- Write a short title for your problem (a few words).
- Copy your two evidence numbers from your frame into the two number boxes.
- Set the button label to the job word you circled (Warn, Schedule, Display, or Match).
A problem becomes worth solving when real people are affected and real numbers back it up. Your chart is stronger than a hunch, and the ethical or legal question stops a clever idea turning into a careless one. You have framed a challenge a program or website could help with, and you have the evidence ready for the pitch.
Suggested timing: about 2–3 minutes filling the stub, then 1–2 minutes hearing two or three volunteers.
Project or hand out a pre-made one-screen stub with three empty slots only: title, stat A, stat B, and a button label. Students write or type into those slots from their frame. No layout design, no extra screens, no code. Stop anyone who starts decorating or adding features.
Ask each volunteer speaker for one number from their table and their job word. Name the move out loud: data first, solution second.
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