A number of leaders in technology education have indicated that a major difference between the technological design process and the engineering design process is analysis and optimization. The analysis stage of the engineering design process is when mathematical models and scientific principles are employed to help the designer predict design…

Extensive planning must be used to produce television programs. Students must develop sound design practices and understand these attributes of design in their production planning. Through the design and planning processes involved in television production, students learn that design is a creative process, and that there is no perfect design, but…

Like the "phoenix," technology education (TE) can, under the right circumstances, give life to new programs--curricula with different emphases and directions from technology education, yet sharing a common heritage: the belief that applied technology will continue to shape the world. How that shaping process takes place--and the problems that it…

Since a number of his special needs students have been in his class for three years, the author tries to continually create new activities that will challenge them. This article describes an activity wherein the author and his students design their own game with their own instructions. This activity encouraged students to learn about designing,…

There has been a great deal of discussion in the past few years about implementing engineering design in K-12 classrooms. Experts from K-12 education, universities, industry, and government officials attended the ASEE leadership workshop on K-12 Engineering Outreach in June of 2004 and came to a consensus on the need to implement engineering in…

"Designer babies" is a term used by journalists and commentators--not by scientists--to describe several different reproductive technologies. These technologies have one thing in common: they give parents more control over what their offspring will be like. Designer babies are made possible by progress in three fields: (1) Advanced…

In an effort to develop an engineering design project that would deliver the necessary content and reach out to the English Language Learner (ELL) community, faculty in the Engineering Academy at Springdale High School in Springdale, Arkansas instituted the ELL Engineering Collaborative. The ELL Engineering Collaborative has four primary goals…

In classroom settings, most problems are usually well defined, so students have little experience with open-ended problems. Technological design problems, however, are seldom well defined. The design process begins with broad ideas and concepts and continues in the direction of ever-increasing detail, resulting in an acceptable solution. So using…

This article describes the 2006 Technology Education Collegiate Association (TECA) Eastern Regional elementary competition, wherein teams of technology education students from nine different universities designed and built cardboard chairs. The competition required the teams (four or five to a team) from universities up and down the East Coast to…

Sketches the history of automobile design, current design considerations, and social/cultural aspects of car design. Provides a design brief that challenges students to develop an electric vehicle. (SK)

Provides information regarding technology education for elementary students using roller coasters as examples of technology principles. Includes a design brief and student quiz. (JOW)

This article features the British Schools of America and describes the curriculum these schools offer. The British Schools of America offer a broad curriculum based on the International Primary Curriculum, the National Curriculum (England) and the International Baccalaureate, and focus on the whole development of the child, aiming to equip every…

This elementary school activity describes how bicycles are designed and challenges students to develop an idea for a carrier attachment. It includes a quiz, student outcomes, and bibliography. (SK)

Technology students should be allowed to rethink and redesign their "completed projects" and thereby improve the final results. Students gain more knowledge and understanding when they take time to redesign. (JOW)

This learning activity is designed to increase knowledge of materials science; engineering; and technology design and the manufacture of the very small devices used in watches, computers, and calculators. It looks at possible innovations to come from micro- and nanotechnology. Includes a student quiz. (Author/JOW)