ICT

• What is a problem?

  A situation where there are barriers or difficulties between you and something
• What is a solution?

  Series of steps or actions that will overcome the difficulties
• Creating solutions.

  1. Understand the problem
  2. Investigate ways of solving the problem
  3. Develop a solution
  4. Reflect and review
• Understand the problem 


  First step to understand a problem.

  You have to be clear about what you want to achieve and what is stopping you from getting there.
• Clear goal


  When you have clarified a problem that you want to solve, you can then start thinking about solutions to your problem
• Investigating a problem


  1. Remember times that you have faced problems like this before and what solutions worked

  2. Ask other people for advice, particularly people who have experienced this problem themselves

  3. Do research to investigate the problem

  4. Make up a new and creative solution
• You can learn from your own mistakes and from other people's mistakes
• You can ask adults for advice, and people who have had special training and those who have had a lot of experience of life are good people to ask
• Questions to ask when solving a problem

  1. Have you faced a similar problem before and can you explain what you did to solve it?

  2. What solutions have you heard about that might help solve this problem?

  3. Think of a plan to try to solve the problem. What steps could you take?
• Developing solutions


  1. Understand the problem

  2. Investigate approaches to the problem
• Storyboard


  A way to think about your solution and spot any problems before you start
• Strategies for developing a solution

  • Prepare and plan before you start
  • Think about possible risks
  • Keep trying
• Preparation and planning


  1. Get tools

  2. Get friends to help

  3. Ensure work area is neat and tidy
• Writing down your plan

  • Key tasks: Make a note of each task you need to include
  • Storyboard: Lay out your solution using a storyboard
• Storyboards are used to plan films, computer games and multimedia presentations, and can be used for problem solving too
• Storyboard


  A series of boxes where you can describe each step in your solution. Each box has: a line to enter the title of the step, an area for you to draw what happens in that step, space for a description of the step.
• Storyboard


  • Lets you lay out your solution visually
  • Helps you think about your solution and spot any problems
  • May show if you have some of your steps in the wrong order
• Minimize risks


  Think of what might go wrong in your plan and take precautions to avoid unnecessary risks
• Keep trying


  Many people give up if the solution does not work. But you should treat every failure as a chance to learn more about the problem.
• When creating a plan steps need to be carried out in a sequence.
• Sequence 


  Means the order they go in. The order may not matter, sometimes actions depend on the results of previous actions.
• You have to define what success looks like and be clear about what you want to achieve.
• Ask yourself these questions:

  1. What have you learned from this experience?
  2. What approaches have you tried that worked well?
  3. What approaches have you tried that did not work so well?
  4. What would you do differently this time?
• It is helpful to keep a record of problems you faced, what you did and what was the result