← Years 7–8 Creating Digital Solutions

Possible future impacts of a solution

An effect a solution could have later on people, the environment or the economy, such as energy use, jobs or privacy.

Part of: 7-8 Digital Technologies: Evaluating digital solutions — Module 9

Understanding Possible future impacts of a solution in Years 7–8 Creating Digital Solutions

What it does: Privacy and security impacts look at how people's personal information could be put at risk in the future. Jobs are an economic and social effect on people. Having a screen is just a feature of the machine, not a future effect. Sustainability is about the environment and resources. Making and throwing away devices is an environmental impact. Speed is a feature, not a sustainability issue. Long-term impacts build up over months or years. Download time is a short-term detail about using the app, not a lasting effect on people or the environment. Future impacts can reach beyond users to the wider community, the economy and the environment.

Common mistakes: Text must be written inside quotation marks. It should be impact ← "energy use". A FOR EACH loop needs the word IN between the item and the list. It should be FOR EACH impact IN impacts DO.

Class: _____________________  ·  Name: _____________________  ·  Date: _________

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 50–125) and word search (Modules 3–125).

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Learning
Duo
A school adopts a new app that stores student photos on a server. Which is a possible future impact?
Student photos could be leaked later if the server is hackedThe app has a blue logo
Matches
impact = 'It works today, so there are no future impacts'
↓
This only checks the present. A solution that works now can still cause effects later, such as job changes or more energy use.
Applying
Meanings
Term
future impact
Meaning
An effect a solution could have later on people, the environment or the economy, such as energy use, jobs or privacy.
Practice
Solution: School canteen app
Testing
Gaps
IF energyUse 50 THEN
Check Answer
Spots
1impact ← energy use
2category ← "environment"

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Quick Questions

1. A school adopts a new app that stores student photos on a server. Which is a possible future impact?
A. The app has a blue logo
B. Student photos could be leaked later if the server is hacked ✓
A future impact is an effect that could happen later. A data leak is a privacy and security impact. A logo colour is not an effect on people, the environment or the economy.
2. Which statement about a future impact is TRUE?
A. It is an effect a solution could have later on people, the environment or the economy ✓
B. It is only a bug that shows up on the first day of use
Future impacts look ahead. They can affect people, the environment or the economy, not just whether the program runs today.
3. A company replaces cashiers with self-checkout machines. Which is a possible social and economic impact?
A. The machines will have a screen
B. Some cashier jobs may be lost over time ✓
Jobs are an economic and social effect on people. Having a screen is just a feature of the machine, not a future effect.
4. A school gives every student a new tablet that is replaced every year. Which is a sustainability concern?
A. Lots of old tablets could become e-waste and use up resources ✓
B. Students can open apps quickly
Sustainability is about the environment and resources. Making and throwing away devices is an environmental impact. Speed is a feature, not a sustainability issue.
5. Which is a LONG-TERM impact of a town using a smart bus app?
A. Fewer people may drive, so air pollution could drop over the years ✓
B. The app takes 2 seconds to download
Long-term impacts build up over months or years. Download time is a short-term detail about using the app, not a lasting effect on people or the environment.

Match the Pairs

future impact → An effect a solution could have later on people, the environment or the economy
long-term impact → An effect that shows up years after a solution is first used, such as e-waste from old devices
A future impact on privacy and security: an app stores personal data that could be leaked later → impact = 'data leak risk'
A future sustainability impact: a system uses lots of energy and creates e-waste → impact = 'high energy use'
impact = 'It works today, so there are no future impacts' → This only checks the present. A solution that works now can still cause effects later, such as job changes or more energy use.
impact = 'Only the people who use it are affected' → This ignores other people and the environment. A solution can affect non-users, the economy (like jobs) and the environment.

Key Term

future impact
An effect a solution could have later on people, the environment or the economy, such as energy use, jobs or privacy.

Fill in the Blanks

1. IF energyUse > 50 THEN futureImpact ← "environment" END IF
Hint: Type the comparison operator that checks whether energy use is greater than 50.
2. IF storesData THEN futureImpact ← "privacy" END IF
Hint: Type the keywords that close the IF block.
3. shortTerm ← "fast to set up" longTerm ← "old devices become e-waste"
Hint: Type the variable name for effects that only show up much later.
4. futureImpact ← "jobs may change" OUTPUT futureImpact
Hint: Type the pseudocode keyword that displays a value.
5. futureImpact ← "energy use may rise" OUTPUT futureImpact
Hint: Type the variable name that stores the possible effect of the solution.

Spot the Error

Question 1
A impact ← energy use
B category ← "environment"
C DISPLAY impact
Line A — Text must be written inside quotation marks. It should be impact ← "energy use".
Question 2
A FOR EACH impact impacts DO
B DISPLAY impact
C END FOR
Line A — A FOR EACH loop needs the word IN between the item and the list. It should be FOR EACH impact IN impacts DO.
Question 3
A jobsLost ← 20
B jobsGained ← "five"
C net ← jobsGained - jobsLost
D DISPLAY net
Line B — Jobs gained is stored as text, so line 3 can't subtract it. It should be a number: jobsGained ← 5.
Question 4
A data ← "student address"
B isPrivate ← TRUE
C IF isPrivate = TRUE
D DISPLAY "Encrypt the data"
E ENDIF
Line C — An IF statement needs THEN at the end of the condition. It should be IF isPrivate = TRUE THEN.
Question 5
A batteryLife ← 8
B target ← 10
C IF batteryLife > target THEN
D DISPLAY "Reduce energy use"
E ENDIF
Line C — The warning should show when battery life is below the target, meaning the solution uses too much energy. It should use < not >.

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