1. Homes of the Future Project
Name:
Class:
Teacher:

2. About the project:
All of our homes are filled with a vast amount of technology. Most of you have televisions,
DVD players, computers, telephone answering machines, washing machines, central heating
and burglar alarm systems.
New advances are being made all the time and what is currently considered as belonging to
the realm of science fiction may soon become the gadgets of tomorrow.
In this unit, we will look at some technology which currently exists in homes, what technology
will be there in the future and what your ideal home would look like.
If you are working towards level 4 you should be able to…
• Put together different types of information (e.g. pictures of smart homes and some text).
• Use an application to draw simple plans of a two-three rooms of your Smart Home.
• Use the internet to do a basic search to find out about Smart Homes.
• Store all your work in a specific Smart Homes folder which is in My Documents.
• Name your work with appropriate names.
• Write very basically about technology and why it is used.
If you are working towards level 5c+ you should be able to…
• Think and chose carefully software to create fully detailed plans of a smart home and what
technology would be used.
• Search the internet effectively to find information quickly by narrowing down my search.
• Finding information, and can tell whether information is accurate or not.
• Save my work in an organised folder structure within My Documents.
• Write in a detailed way about Smart Home technology and how it can be used.
• Talk about how the unit will help you in future units.
• Check my progress as I work, and make changes as I go to improve my work.
• Talk about how ICT can be used in future homes in a detailed way, discussing the benefits and
drawbacks upon people in society.
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3. Task 1: Existing Advanced Technology
Here are some existing technologies which are used in a home. For each one, find a picture,
say what they are used for and what benefits it brings to the people who use them. You will
need to use the internet to help you.
Device Picture What is it used Benefits to people
for? who use them?
Sky+
Nintendo Wii
DVD Recorder
Wireless Picture
Frame
Wireless Router
HD-TV
VOIP Phone
Windows Home Server
Task 2a: Smart Homes
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4. What do you think a smart home is? Use Google Define to find a definition (e.g. “Define
Pizza”)
A Smart Home is…
Task 2b: Smart Home Pictures
Using an appropriate Picture Search Engine, find some pictures of some Smart Homes and
paste them below.
Some pictures of Smart Homes are…
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5. Task 3: Smart Home Research:
Undertake some research to find out what the home of tomorrow may be like. In the table
below, find five different pieces of technology which could be in a Smart Home and say what
they would be used for.
Device Picture (paste one What is it used Benefits to people
in) for? who use them?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Here are a few links to get you started (hold CTRL+ CLICK)
http://www.teach-ict.com/news/news_stories/news_smart_home.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0213643/tech.htm
http://articles.castelarhost.com/smart_home_technology.htm
http://nweb.waymaker.se/bitonline/2000/09/11/20000911BIT00760/09110076.htm
http://www.macnewsworld.com/story/31239.html
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6. Task 4: Your Smart Home
What if you were buying your own Smart Home? What would you put in it?
Using software of your choice, design a plan of what each room in your house would have in
it. Remember, to have the best Smart Home Technology.
An example is below:
Kitchen:
Self cleaning Electronic Window (digital views) Auto-open
oven draws and
cupboards
Computerised when
Fridge approach
Auto-raise from
Video Phone
the floor table Plasma TV
and chairs.
Washer /
Auto-open
Dryer and
draws and
Auto-Ironing
Also in the room: cupboards
Auto-open - Wireless music when
draws and approach
- Mood lights
cupboards Auto-Dog
when feeder
approach
Software you could use…
Serif DrawPlus Microsoft Word Microsoft Publisher
Serif PagePlus Microsoft Paint Any other software
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7. Task 5 – Extended Report: Assessment
By now you have looked at a range of different pieces of technology which could be used in
society. You now need to pick one and write a short report about them.
• What the piece of technology is you are writing about.
• What is it used for.
• Who would use it
• How much would is cost (estimated)
• What the benefits would be of using the piece of technology.
• What the drawbacks would be of using the piece of technology.
• When do you think the technology would be made available.
• Your overall opinion of the technology and whether you see it taking off (WITH
REASONS).
Your report should be one page or more. Remember to acknowledge your sources and
you can use pictures if needed. You cannot copy and paste text off the internet.
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