Any ideas for a year 11's work experience project?

[theriver]

Hello folks

 

Hope someone can help me out.

 

A while ago we agreed to take on a year 11 for work experience in our IT group. He's on a GCSE computing course, has an interest in it, and says he particularly enjoyed a Python project he had to complete recently.

 

Anyway, the work experience week is next week, and for reasons outside of our control the timing is awful. With work experience students we like to invest a bit of time with them (some come back to work for us in university holidays if they're any good!) but this time we're going to have to leave him to his own devices a little more than normal.

 

I don't want to call it off, because that's shoddy, but on the other hand I don't want to waste his time either.

 

I have no dealings with year 10/11 computing so I am not sure what he should be able to do, so what I am looking for is ideas for a project we can set on day one, and he can research and work on on his own with some input and steering from us. I want him to feel he's achieved something, not just stared at a wall when we've been running from crisis to crisis.

 

Anyone got any ideas to share?

 

Thanks

[dhicks]

I have no dealings with year 10/11 computing so I am not sure what he should be able to do, so what I am looking for is ideas for a project we can set on day one, and he can research and work on on his own with some input and steering from us. I want him to feel he's achieved something, not just stared at a wall when we've been running from crisis to crisis.

 

Get him to implement a system for @quietriot1983

 

http://www.edugeek.net/forums/how-do-you-do/127545-card-entry-type-setup.html

[tech_guy]

Go and get garden snails and paint the shells in the livery of the F1 teams?

[rad]

Intranet page. We had a G and T student do our current one.

[tech_guy]

Intranet page. We had a G and T student do our current one.

 

You had a gin and tonic student? Amazing!

[mjs_mjs]

Maybe if he's got an interest in electronics get an arduino and a temp sensor with a network shield and get him to program it to send e-mail to you when the temp hits say 30 degree... server room monitor.

 

It's a little bit electronical but alot of coding.... for a nube.

[theriver]

Go and get garden snails and paint the shells in the livery of the F1 teams?

 

Sadly, he's allergic to molluscs.

 

NEXT!

[elsiegee40]

As I understand it work experience is more about shadowing than actually working. They are supposed to see what it is like to be in a real work environment, but like the interns, if you make them do work they are supposed to be paid. It's a good idea to find a mini project, but he does actually need to see what you do as well.

[Gatt]

They need to get the left handed screwdriver from $room, to fix the flux capacitor in $switch located in $cab.

To reach it they will need to get the long stand from the caretaker...

[Steve21]

They need to get the left handed screwdriver from $room, to fix the flux capacitor in $switch located in $cab.

To reach it they will need to get the long stand from the caretaker...

 

You forgot to pickup those skyhooks!

 

Steve

[tmcd35]

You forgot to pickup those skyhooks!

 

Steve

 

And the Tartan Paint

[jamesreedersmith]

and some sparks for the grinder, oh and can i have some more dial tone please (mines stuttered!)

[tech_guy]

And some glass hammers.

[theriver]

As I understand it work experience is more about shadowing than actually working. They are supposed to see what it is like to be in a real work environment, but like the interns, if you make them do work they are supposed to be paid. It's a good idea to find a mini project, but he does actually need to see what you do as well.

 

Thank you for this, I've not heard it framed that way before.

 

My approach to taking on students is driven partly by my own work experiences - the first of which was a week is a lab, where I spent the whole time just watching someone do experiments and hearing them talk about what they did which (despite my enjoyment of chemistry) was exceedingly dull, and my time with a law firm, which despite my lack of interest in their work was more pleasant as they got me to do actual stuff. I try to strike a balance, and assuming the students are useful and do actually help rather than cause problems (truanting during work experience? Really?) we give them a treat at the end.

 

I hear what you're saying - I think (hope) we get the balance about right.

 

My concern with this one is that for various reasons the people who normally would be shadowed will be unavailable for periods of time, and I don't want him just sat there wasting his time when we're unavailable.

 

Thanks for your comment.

[Gatt]

You forgot to pickup those skyhooks!

 

Steve

 

And the Tartan Paint

 

and some sparks for the grinder, oh and can i have some more dial tone please (mines stuttered!)

 

And some glass hammers.

 

You expect a Y11 to remember all this - most of the Y11's I knew couldn't remember their own name

[Sirbendy]

Oh, you lot are MEAN. Surely you have cupboard and stores of dead equipment that desperately need testing and auditing?

 

I always quite enjoy it - I can show then what we do, a little insight into how I don't always follow approved procedure, but instead apply "fuzzy logic" and interpret the rules as guidelines when I know there's a better way, and generally show then that despite all appearances, IT Support aren't just trying to make life difficult, we're just doing our jobs in the face of stupidity..er, I mean adversity.

 

Last one I had, we had a call from Performing Arts to say an amp was smoking in their rack. I took her with me, we fetched old smokey out. I then used an extension to plug it back in outside to see what it was doing..that was quite fun. Hairclip dropped through the cooling vents onto the power amp board.

 

"Now, obviously we don't OFFICIALLY do this, that would be QUITE irresponsible. Hence I'm doing it out here where there are no smoke alarms. I think we can confirm that this unit is beyond help - see the glow inside the casing? That's not supposed to happen. Don't you do this - health and safety is important, and this could be an electrocution risk. As for me, I've never really had that much time for it, and I'm old. I predate the H&S hysteria. "

 

To be fair, I do make it clear to them that I don't take risks, but I'm not averse to getting stuck into electronics and teardowns where needed - it's what I grew up with, repairing old TVs and things.

 

We get them to rebuild PCs we dismantle, install an OS etc..things that are NOT Office, I figure they have enough of that in IT lessons (or is that controversial? ). They also man (or woman) the helpdesk/phones/Impero screen watch/block games.

[theriver]

Yes yes, all very amusing.

 

I'll be sure to work my way through those after I've had him ring round our suppliers for some new cursors.

 

NEXT!

[Gatt]

tell him the IT Dept need access to "The Internet"

 

 

Tell him he isn't to drop it or he'll break the Internet for everyone.

Oh and he is to remind the IT Dept not to Google "Google" or they will break "The Internet"

[mjs_mjs]

They need to get the left handed screwdriver from $room, to fix the flux capacitor in $switch located in $cab.

To reach it they will need to get the long stand from the caretaker...

 

And some glass hammers.

 

 

Oh you guys - left handed screwdrivers do actually exist... http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=51

Glass hammers also exist, but their called glazing hammers, or break glass hammer for emergency exits....

 

I was sent to find a 6 inch pix axe on my work experience - being the son of a builder I knew no such thing existed, however an ice axe is the next best thing, which is what I returned with - the look on their faces, hehehe.

[elsiegee40]

To add to the list... there is also the white toner for the black and white printer.

[Gatt]

Room $classroom needs a tin of ID-10-T (can be found with either the caretaker or science prep room)

[Garacesh]

Oh you guys - left handed screwdrivers do actually exist... http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=51

Glass hammers also exist, but their called glazing hammers, or break glass hammer for emergency exits....

 

I was sent to find a 6 inch pix axe on my work experience - being the son of a builder I knew no such thing existed, however an ice axe is the next best thing, which is what I returned with - the look on their faces, hehehe.

Oh, you killjoy, you!

 

It's alright, you have some wiring to do, right? Make him fetch the skirting board ladders.

[Gatt]

Another: A length of WLAN Cable...

[Garacesh]

White toner

[NikChillin]

And a fallopian tube from the D and T dept!