This document provides an introduction to inventions from the UK and discusses the television show Dragons' Den. It outlines several famous UK inventions such as the television, telephone, World Wide Web, trains, and cat's eye. Examples of pitches on Dragons' Den are given, including a magic wand remote for Harry Potter fans. Students are instructed to work in teams to develop their own product idea to present at the next lesson, similar to pitches on Dragons' Den.
2. INTRODUCTION
What gadgets do you use every day?
Who invented them?
What famous inventions come from your
country?
Have you seen the show Dragons' Den? Do you
like it?Why?
3. UK INVENTIONS
The television
The Idiot's Lantern is actually a British
invention, dreamed up by Scotsman John
Logie Baird in February 1924.
In 1928 Baird also began experimenting
with colourTV and in 1932 made the first
TV broadcast between London and
Glasgow.
4. UK INVENTIONS
The telephone
Taking existing telegraph tech as his cue,
Brit AlexanderGraham Bell used his
experience working with mute children
to come up with the harmonic telegraph-
a system that could transmit different
tones across wire using multiple reeds.
5. UK INVENTIONS
TheWorld WideWeb
Where would we be withoutTim Berners-
Lee?The Oxford University graduate is
credited with coming up with the notion
of theWorldWideWeb - "a common
information space in which we
communicate by sharing information".
6. UK INVENTIONS
The train
The first steam trains appeared in the
early 19th Century, but it wasn't until
George Stephenson's Rocket arrived in
1829 that the age of the train truly
arrived.
7. UK INVENTIONS
The cat's eye
This British invention was dreamed up by
Halifax resident Percy Shaw in 1933 as a
way to mark out lanes and pavements to
traffic travelling at night.The
originalcat's eye works by holding a pair
of glass 'eyes' in a white rubber housing
that's laid into the fabric of road - the
eyes reflecting light coming from a car's
headlamps back at the driver so he can
see the road ahead.
8. UK INVENTIONS
Stereo
Jet Engine
Photography
Electric Motor
Computer
TheTank
Radar
iPod
Lightbulb
19. DRAGON’S DEN
Dragon’s Den is aTV show where members of the public
pitch new inventions and business ideas to a team of
entrepreneurs who decide whether or not to invest in the
product.
Watch the pitch and answer the questions which follow.
https://youtu.be/hp5gTE9ZScw
(2mins)
20. HARRY POTTER MAGICWAND REMOTE
What is the product and how does it work?
What questions would you ask the inventors?
What are the invention’s strengths and
weaknesses?
Do you think it’s a good product to invest in?
Why/why not?
21. PART 2
Could you answer those questions of your own
product?
Homework:
Work with your team on agreeing on a new
product.Your IDEA must be ready to work on by
your next lesson.
