Project Based Learning Chapter Notes | Informatics Practices for Class 12 - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

Introduction

• Project-based learning provides students with practical exposure to real-world problems through project development.
• It helps students learn to organize their projects and manage time effectively to ensure successful completion.
• Projects are typically developed in groups, fostering skills such as collaboration, problem-solving, decision-making, and investigative activities.
• The process involves analyzing a problem, breaking it into smaller modules, applying methods to solve each module, and integrating solutions to achieve a complete resolution.
• Team members must collect relevant data in a specific format as required by the project.
• All team members should actively participate in accomplishing the project tasks.
• After data collection, the data is processed to address the problem, and results are reported in a predetermined format.

Approaches for Solving Projects

• The approach used for project development and completion is critical in project-based learning.
• Common approaches include modular, top-down, and bottom-up approaches.
• A structured or modular approach divides the project into manageable modules, each with a well-defined task, specific inputs, and a set of outputs.
• Integrating the outputs of all modules leads to the desired project outcome.

Steps in project-based learning include:

• Identification of a project: The project idea often stems from real-life situations, such as organizing a seminar. Students should understand the project’s usefulness and impact. Interdisciplinary projects are encouraged.
• Defining a plan: Projects typically involve multiple members, with one designated as the project leader. Roles for the leader and each member must be clearly defined. Specific activities are assigned to students, and the tools required for these activities should be identified. Considering extreme situations can lead to better solutions.
• Fixing of a time frame and processing: Every project has a time-bound nature. Students must recognize the importance of adhering to a time frame for project completion. Each activity requires a specific amount of time, and the project structure should be flexible yet well-organized to accommodate this.
• Providing guidance and monitoring a project: When participants face challenges, they may need guidance from resources like books, websites, or field experts. The project leader ensures project monitoring, with support from the guide teacher.
• Outcome of a project: The project outcome, which may be singular or multiple, should be thoroughly understood. Outcomes can be peer-reviewed and modified based on feedback from the guide teacher or other users.

Teamwork

• Many real-life tasks are complex and require collective efforts from multiple individuals, known as teamwork.
• Teamwork involves individuals working together to achieve a common goal.
• For example, in a cricket match, a team’s success depends on contributions from all members in batting, bowling, and fielding. A bowler’s good delivery requires a fielder’s catch to secure a wicket, illustrating the need for coordinated effort.

Components of Teamwork

• Effective communication is essential when a group performs a task together.
• Communication methods include emails, phone calls, or group meetings.
• This helps team members understand each other, resolve issues, and work toward the goal efficiently.

Listen to Others:

• Understanding teammates’ ideas is crucial for collaborative work.
• Listening occurs during group meetings, where members agree on steps to follow.

Share with Others:

• Sharing ideas, images, and tools is vital for task completion.
• Team members with expertise in specific areas should share their knowledge and experience to enhance efficiency and meet deadlines.

Respect for Others:

• Every team member should be treated with respect.
• All ideas and thoughts presented in group meetings should be considered respectfully.
• Disrespecting a member’s views can lead to conflicts and reduced contribution from that member.

Help Others:

• Offering help to teammates is a key factor in achieving success.
• Assistance may also come from external individuals who are not part of the team when needed.

Participate:

• All team members should be encouraged to actively participate in project tasks and group discussions.
• Active participation fosters a sense of importance and belonging within the team.

Project Descriptions

Project I: Online Shopping Platform

• Murugan plans to launch an online shopping platform called “APPAREL EASY.”
• The platform will feature two main merchandise categories: Men and Women.
• Sub-categories under both include Clothing, Footwear, and Accessories.
• Two mega events are planned: Festive Sale (from a month before Diwali to Christmas) and End of Season Sale (February and August).
• Murugan aims to track monthly revenue generation, category-wise sales, and sales during mega events.
• Records of discounts offered by manufacturers, payment sites, or promotional campaigns by APPAREL EASY must be maintained.

Specification:

• Apparel details for Men and Women are stored in a data file with fields: Apparel Code, Name, Category, Size, Price, Customer Name, Payment Mode, Discount Code, etc.
• For the Men category, apparels include Men’s Trousers, Men’s Shirt, Men’s Jeans, and Men’s T-shirt.
• For the Women category, apparels include Skirts, Top, Pants, Jeans, Kurta, etc.
• For Credit or Debit Card payments, details like card number, name, CVV, and validity are required.
• For Cash on Delivery (COD), no additional details are needed.
• Merchandise selected for sale should not exceed 70% of the total merchandise and is chosen randomly.
• Discount codes are FEST (Festive, 10% discount) or EOS (End of Season, 15% discount).
• A data structure must be designed to meet Murugan’s requirements, implemented using Python Pandas.
• Software must be developed to store merchandise details for online sales.
• Records of customer visits and orders placed on the e-commerce site must be maintained.
• Data should be plotted appropriately to support Murugan’s future marketing and promotion strategies.

Project II: Automating a Books Donation Camp

• The Bookworm Club organizes an annual Book Donation Camp to promote Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle principles.
• The camp collects books and notebooks, which volunteers assess and categorize as Fit, Needs Mending, or Unfit.
• Unfit books’ pages are repurposed to create paper bags and envelopes.
• Fit and Needs Mending books are resold at half price.
• Notebooks with remaining pages are torn apart, rebound attractively as new notebooks, and sold.
• Various recycled objects are created and sold.
• Software is needed to store camp details and efficiently manage data storage, retrieval, and visualization using Pandas.

Specification:

• Collection details are stored in a CSV file with columns: Item Category, Item ID, Item Name, Item Type, Condition.
• For Item Category “Book,” Item Type can be Academic or Non-Academic, with Item ID prefixed by ‘B.’ Academic books require a class entry.
• For Item Category “Notebook,” Item Type can be Single Line, Four Line, or Five Line, with Item ID prefixed by ‘N.’
• Condition can be Fit, Needs Mending, or Unfit.
• Refurbished item data is stored in another CSV file with columns: Item ID, Item Name, Item Category, Quantity, Price. Item Category can be Paper Bags, Notebook, or Books (with Class for books).
• An order CSV file stores Item Category, Item Name, Quantity, and Price, updating the refurbished CSV’s quantity upon orders.
• Data should be plotted using appropriate visualizations to show sales, refurbished items, and collected items for effective decision-making.

Project III: A Survey of the Effect of Social Networking Sites on Behaviour of Teenagers

• The Internet revolution has connected people globally, with teenagers spending significant time on social networking sites.
• Social networking sites influence teenagers’ behavior, and excessive use may impact mental health.
• A well-crafted survey questionnaire can uncover insights into these effects.

Specifications:

• Create a survey questionnaire using freely available online tools (e.g., Google Forms) and store responses in a CSV file.
• Prepare data analysis questions to guide the survey’s objectives.
• Import the CSV file into a Pandas DataFrame.
• Perform statistical computations (e.g., mean, median) on the identified questions.
• Visualize survey findings using appropriate charts.

Project IV: Utilising an Open Data Source to Use a National, State or District Level Dataset

• The Open Government Data (OGD) Platform India (www.data.gov.in) supports open data initiatives.
• The dataset “Special Tabulation on Adolescent and Youth Population Classified by Various Parameters for India, States, and Union Territories, 2011” is used, contributed by the Ministry of Home Affairs under the National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy (NDSAP).
• Published on 07/09/2015, the dataset contains 12,168 rows and 123 columns.

Key columns include:

• State: Serial numbers for states.
• Area Name: Names of states and union territories.
• Total/Rural/Urban: Data for total, rural, or urban areas.
• Adolescent and Youth: Data for different age groups.
• Total Male/Female: Total number of males and females.
• SC-M/SC-F: Males and females of Scheduled Castes.
• ST-M/ST-F: Males and females of Scheduled Tribes.
• Literates-M/F: Literate males and females.
• LiteratesSC-M/F: Literate Scheduled Caste males and females.
• LiteratesST-M/F: Literate Scheduled Tribe males and females.
• Illiterates-M/F: Illiterate males and females.
• IlliteratesSC-M/F: Illiterate Scheduled Caste males and females.
• IlliteratesST-M/F: Illiterate Scheduled Tribe males and females.
• MainWorker-M/F: Main worker males and females.
• MainWorkerSC-M/F: Main worker Scheduled Caste males and females.
• MainWorkerST-M/F: Main worker Scheduled Tribe males and females.
• MarginalWorker-M/F: Marginal worker males and females.
• MarginalWorkerSC-M/F: Marginal worker Scheduled Caste males and females.
• MarginalWorkerST-M/F: Marginal worker Scheduled Tribe males and females.

Specifications:
The dataset supports various analyses to answer questions such as:

• Total population, male, and female population aged 10–24 in India.
• State or Union Territory with the maximum number of illiterate youth.
• Percentage of people working as marginal workers.
• Top five states or union territories with the highest marginal worker population.
• Comparison of sex ratios in urban vs. rural areas using graphs.
• States with the highest and lowest literacy percentages among Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes.
• Comparison of female vs. male marginal workers by state using graphs.
• Percentage of Scheduled Tribes in urban areas, with a pie chart showing literate vs. illiterate proportions.
• State-wise ratio of literates vs. illiterates across all age groups.
• States with the maximum and minimum Scheduled Tribe populations.
• State-wise literate female vs. male counts, with a bar graph showing the highest and lowest ratios.

A project can involve selecting 4–5 of these questions (or similar ones) and solving them step-by-step with detailed explanations and documentation.