Activity 6: Which is the best buy?

Objective of activity

At the end of the activity, you should be able to apply the concept of hire purchase to solve authentic problems on hire purchase.

Pre-lesson activity

You are to revise

  • the concept of hire purchase and the calculations involved
  • the use Spreadsheet to carry out simple operation such as add, subtract, multiply and divide

You can refer to the following websites for revision:


Scenario

In the school, all students subscribe to eLearning. Teachers can now post lessons and activities via the eLearning portal. Every student is expected to complete assignments online at least once a week.


The Welfare Committee of the Student Council has conducted a survey and found that some students do not have a computer at home, and they are not eligible for any financial assistance. As a result, they may have to buy a computer by hire purchase.


The Welfare Committee decided to do something to help this group of students. It is going to study some hire purchase plans and recommend the best possible plan to suit the students’ budget.


Task

4 students have approached the Student Council for help.



You are to form a group of 3-4 members. Your group has been tasked to study some hire purchase plans and recommend the best plan to suit the student’s budget.

To help you, the President of the Student Council has identified some brands of PCs that come with hire purchase plans. The websites are given under the Suggested Resources Section.

This is what your group has to do
1. Assign roles: Leader, Recorder, and Time Keeper. (3 min)
  • The leader has to keep the members of the team on task.
  • The Time Keeper has to ensure that the group keeps to the time given during each task.
  • The Recorder will take notes during the discussion.
2. Before you start, you may want to take a look at how you will be assessed under the Assessment Section. (3 min)

3. Study the profile the student your group is assisting, to understand what kind of plan he/she needs. (10 min)
  • Discuss in your group, the questions you have in the Blog.
  • List down the criteria for selection.
  • List down the things that you need to investigate in order to complete the task.

Alternatively, your group may use the online concept-mapping tool (http://www.bubbl.us/) to document your ideas.

4. Find out about the hire purchase plan. (40 min)
  • Do a cost analysis using Spreadsheet for at least 2 computer systems below the cost of $1000 (before GST).
  • State any assumption you have made in your calculation.
  • Recommend a plan for the student that will meet his/her budget.


5. Do a self-evaluation based on the assessment rubric before your presentation.

6. Present your reasoning and findings in your group blog.

Your presentation must include:

  • the factors that your group has considered that guided your search of the 'most appropriate and affordable plan'. This could be a mindmap or a list of pointers.
  • the cost analysis using Spreadsheet
  • your recommendation
  • Remember to acknowledge the source of information in your presentation.

7. In the next one week:

  • Your group will examine/evaluate the proposals by other groups in the next 1 week.
  • Enter your comments and questions in the group's blog (for their consideration)

8. One week later:

  • Study the comments and questions by other groups.
  • Refine your proposal.
  • Your proposal is now ready for submission to the Student Council.

Suggested Resources

The following are some suggested resources. You may look for information from other sources:

Assessment Criteria

Evaluate your work based on the rubric given (refer to Handout). Improve your work before your presentation!