Chapter 8: Designing with Technologies

Before reading this chapter, I was not sure how it was going to address designing with technologies. I agree that designing is something that everyone does in many different careers and fields of study. Learning how to design is important for students to develop in order to apply this knowledge in the future. I think designing with technology is something I would be more likely to use with older students because of the complexity of designing problems. Some of the information presented in the chapter is difficult for me to understand and follow let alone for elementary students to understand and apply. Some of the sites I found interesting for informal education include sonic.org, asme.org, and usfirst.org. These competition sites are useful in motivating students to develop deeper understandings of concepts. One of the designing techniques that I am most likely to use with my future students is testing designs and building mental models with simulation software. An example site is http://www.funderstanding.com/coaster. By using this site, students can learn about physics (mass, speed, velocity, friction, and gravity) by building their own roller coaster simulation.

As a teacher, I could have students convert their conceptions into usable graphics by using the computer-aided design (CAD) program. This is a useful program for students to use because it provides them with a virtual, visual representation of data/information. The great thing about this program is that some versions are available free for schools. After reading further into the CAD program, I became more and more confused about the details of the program. I do not completely understand how younger elementary students could benefit from CAD and what type of content could be learned using the program. Also, the chapter mentions how CAD programs such as Pro/DESKTOP student edition are used for long-term design projects. What type of projects could be done at the elementary level? I would like to learn more about CAD and how to best implement it into my future curriculum.

Some of the programs mentioned in the chapter including SketchUp are used for architectural design and would be less likely to be used by elementary students.. These programs seem complicated for younger children and extremely time consuming for in-school instructional use.

Testing designs and building mental models with simulation software can help students learn key science and engineering ideas. One example of a simulator used by middle school students is called a trebuchet. This simulator is a gravity-powered catapult that students create in order to make decisions based on evidence and gain a more thorough understanding of scientific concepts. Although I think this simulator is a great idea, it is one I would use at the middle or high school level. A similar design program is used to model cars. Using the SIMCAR program, middle school students use concepts to help them understand why some cars work better than others. This is another program that I think is interesting ad useful but most appropriate at the middle and/or high school level.

The next part of the chapter was very familiar to me because it talked about “microworlds” and Scratch. In our EME class, we have been working on Scratch to create a program that addresses a Sunshine State Standard for a particular grade level. Although Scratch seems complicated at times, with the right guidance and instruction, I think elementary students could benefit from this program. I would have my future students practice using Scratch to learn the fundamentals of computer programming. Students could practice using and manipulating graphics, animations, and sounds to create a programming design that could be used for learning. For example, for my Scratch project, I am designing a fishing game where the player catches the correct fish/answer by performing addition and subtraction algorithms. Students could create a similar game and play it while learning the particular content being addressed. The iStopMotion software is another program mentioned in the chapter that I would possibly use in the classroom. I would use this program for students to create storyboards for group projects and in language arts when learning about plays.

Unless used in a music classroom or for music instruction, designing music programs are not as practical as some of the other programs mentioned. This program is designed for students to create musical “chunks” or sounds rather than individual notes. For music education teachers, I think programs such as Impromptu would be a great source for students because they can create music and keep records of their progress. Students learning music could be more engaged and excited about using interactive programs such as Garageband, Impromptu and Musical Sketch Pad. Musical Sketch Pad seems like useful, accessibly, kid-friendly program because it is designed by elementary students.

All in all, I thought this chapter was interesting because although many of the design programs mentioned are useful for learning, they seem less useful for classroom learning. I would use some of the programs with my future students such as Scratch and various “microworlds” but probably not the more complicated programs. I learned a lot from this chapter about designing with technologies that I was not familiar with before.