Dissatisfied with the options offered by big box stores--and wanting to save some money and go as green as possible--the author puts his design and construction skills to good use. In this article, he shares how he designed and built an eco-friendly shed. He says he is very pleased with the results of working with his own design, reducing waste,…

Last summer, the author finally acted on an idea that had been banging around in his head for the last couple of years. He decided to build his son a toolbox and equip it with the basic set of tools he'd need as a future homeowner. Thinking that other technology educators and their students might be interested in the project, the author describes…

On a Monday morning in July, a fan as tall as a refrigerator churned noisily in the cavernous classroom. As the outdoor temperature crept higher, teenage girls wearing hardhats and safety glasses wiped perspiration and sawdust from their faces. This was not a field trip. This was the second hour of camp at Ranken Technical College in St. Louis,…

Designing and building homes is normally the responsibility of a professionally trained workforce. So a lot of people are skeptical about the idea of a team of high school students taking on those tasks. Would a young, untrained group of students be able to undertake and successfully complete the construction of an entire home, from start to…

This article presents a simple design challenge, based on the PBS program "Design Squad's" "Watercraft" activity that will prove engaging to most technology and engineering students. In this floating boat challenge, students are to build a boat that can float and support 25 pennies for at least 10 seconds--without leaking, sinking, or tipping…

In this article, the author presents an activity that uses simple paperboard from the back of a pad of paper to illustrate some basic construction principles as students experiment with conducting load tests. The author describes the steps in conducting a load test as well as adding a strut support system. The important lesson here is that…

Customers determine whether a product fulfills their needs or satisfies them. "Quality control", then, is the process of finding out what the customer wants, along with designing, producing, delivering, and servicing the product--and ultimately satisfying the customer's expectations. For many years, people considered a product to be of good…

Using two cardboard boxes, a light bulb socket, light bulbs of varying wattage, a thermometer, and some insulation, students can learn some interesting lessons about how heat loss occurs in homes. This article describes practical experiments that work well on units related to energy, sustainable energy, renewables, engineering, and construction.…

This article describes an activity for the author's Principles of Technology class in which students bring together the concepts of force, work, and rate, and show how they apply to mechanical, fluid, electrical, and thermal systems by building and flying a hovercraft. Building, testing, flying, and racing hovercrafts isn't something very many…

Problem-solving activities let students use knowledge gained in various areas of their academic education. They bring together skills and knowledge from such areas as science, math, art, and English by simulating activities and projects students will encounter later in career and life experiences. A very important feature of most problem-solving…

According to Jacoby (1996), service-learning, officially defined in 1967, is "a form of experiential education in which students engage in activities that address human and community needs together with structured opportunities intentionally designed to promote student learning and development." Service-learning combines academic study,…

The Edison School of Applied Technology, a comprehensive public high school, has long had a reputation for producing top-notch crafts workers, tradespeople, project managers, estimators, and industry leaders. The school's graduates helped build the city and many currently have successful, productive careers in the public and private sectors. But…

This article presents an activity that allows students to use mathematics and critical-thinking skills to emulate processes used by the ancient Egyptians to prepare the site for the Pyramids of Giza. To accomplish this, they use three different methods. First, they create a square using only simple technological tools that were available to the…

Like many technology teachers, the author, a technology education teacher at Arthur Hill High School in Saginaw, Michigan, tries to stretch his budget by "milking" each student activity for maximum benefit. In the technology department, they use balsa wood towers to teach the basics of structural engineering. To get the most from their materials,…

In Rover's House project, students practice planning, measurement, layout, and processing skills in building a doghouse. The project is more than a doghouse--it is a learning activity that helps students develop and enhance their ability to work with reinforced concrete, steel and wood studs, trusses, roofing materials and a variety of…