Level 3Project 1 · Session 13
13

Project 1 · A page somebody actually uses

The brief, and your plan

What we are making: a plan, a named person, and a measurement from the place it will live.

The brief

Build a device that answers one question, for one named person, on a page they can read from their phone. It has to work somewhere in the school, not only on your desk. It does not have to stay there — that is the May project.

Choose one

  1. Is the lab free? Light or sound in; a page saying FREE or IN USE.
  2. Is the store room too warm? Temperature in; a page that goes red past a number somebody chose.
  3. How loud is the corridor? Sound in; a page showing the loudest reading.
  4. Is the door open? Light or distance in; a page that says so.

Write these four things down

  1. The question. What does the page answer, in one sentence, in plain words?
  2. The person. Who reads it. By name or by role — not ‘anyone’.
  3. The place. Where the sensor goes. Does the WiFi reach it? Is there power?
  4. The number. Your threshold, and how you will choose it.
💡 Tip
Go and stand in the place before you commit to it. Take a board with you and check the WiFi reaches. Five minutes now saves the whole project — and if it does not reach, the answer is the board's own hotspot, which you already know how to do.

Then measure it

Put your sensor in the real place and record the highest and lowest readings you see. Your threshold comes from those two numbers, not from a guess, and you will be asked which two numbers in session 16.

Before you leave

  • Your four answers.
  • Two readings from the real place.
  • Confirmation that the WiFi reaches, or a decision to use the hotspot.
  • Teacher sign-off.
Challenge optional — only if you finish early
  • Write down three ways your project could fail that have nothing to do with code.
12. One page, everything on it