Justifying design and technology

This chapter asks the question why do we teach what we teach in the design & technology curriculum? It traces the emergence of design & technology in the curriculum in England and is in three parts. First it gives a brief account of its precursor - technology education. This is followed by a description of its development within the National Curriculum. The final part discusses some of the issues associated with ‘limiting’ technology education to design & technology

A Process for Co-Designing Educational Technology Systems for Refugee Children

There is a growing interest in the potential for technology to facilitate emergency education of refugee children. However, designing in this space requires knowledge of the displaced population and the contextual dynamics surrounding it. Design should therefore be informed by both existing research across relevant disciplines, and from the practical experience of those who are on the ground facing the problem in real life. This paper describes a process for designing appropriate technology for these settings. The process draws on literature from emergency education, student engagement and motivation, educational technology, and participatory design. We emphasise a thorough understanding of the problem definition, the nature of the emergency, and of socio-cultural aspects that can inform the design process. We describe how this process was implemented leading to the design of a digital learning space for children living in a refugee camp in Greece. This drew on involving different groups of participants such as social-workers, parents, and children

Exploiting popular culture : exploring pedagogical and motivational approaches for design and technology education

This paper describes a case study of pedagogical developments carried out with teachers and secondary school students in response to new curriculum content in Product Design courses presented in Scottish secondary schools. The pedagogy attempts to challenge the anti-commercial manufacturing attitude that prevails among teachers and students and is based on motivational principles. It makes explicit use of the language and tools of popular media culture, specifically 'ask the audience' interaction and investigative forensic science. An electronic voting system is incorporated as an introduction to detailed product evaluation and technical analysis collaborative activities. It examines the educational potential of such ICT systems to help students explore emotional response, product semantics and value judgements and make connections to commercial manufacturing detail design

What do others think is the point of design and technology education?

As a result of a national curriculum review in England (Department for Education [DfE], 2011), a new curriculum for design and technology (D&T) is being taught in secondary schools from September 2014 (Department of Education [DoE], 2013a). This curriculum is compulsory for a decreasing number of schools; two potential consequences are the nature of D&T in secondary schools changing to reflect local perceptions of the subject and maybe D&T being removed from the curriculum completely. The pressure on D&T’s curriculum content is likely to come from different stakeholders such as senior school leaders, D&T teachers, and pupils. D&T school departments could respond to this pressure by adapting the curriculum to popularise the subject or produce high exam results with a consequence that much of the subject’s value is lost. This paper reports on a small research project conducted in two secondary schools where stakeholder representatives were interviewed to identify their values of D&T. These different stakeholders were interviewed using the active interview method (Holstein & Gubrium, 1995), coded following Aurebach and Silverstein’s method (2003) and their values compared to Hardy’s values framework (Hardy, 2013b). Analysis shows most stakeholders believe a key value of D&T is to provide ‘practical life skills’ (Hardy, p.226), whilst only one recognizes that learning in D&T involves ‘identifying problems to be solved’. The outcomes from the research are being used to support critically reflective conversations within both D&T departments (Zwozdiak-Myers, 2012) framing their evaluation of their local curriculum and making changes to their curriculum

Qualitative Data Analysis Challenges in Co-Designing Educational Technology Systems for Refugee Children

There is a growing interest in the potential for technology to facilitate emergency education of refugee children. But designing in this space requires knowledge of the displaced population and the contextual dynamics surrounding it. Design should therefore be informed by both existing research across relevant disciplines, and from those who are on the ground facing the problem in real life. This paper describes a process that is based on literature from emergency education, student engagement and motivation, educational technology, and participatory design. We describe how this process was implemented leading to the design of a digital learning space for children living in a refugee camp in Greece. The challenge of data analysis is critical, as the qualitative data in the process is elicited from activities of various natures and thus moving from qualitative data to designs is a critical challenge that we are looking to cover for our process to be complete and applicable. We discuss some of the challenges that can be expected in such context

Development of flexible education systems for technology students : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology in Computer Systems Engineering at Massey University

The pressures on educational institutions to keep pace with the changes in educational theory and technology are growing rapidly. There is now more competition between education providers, especially in the tertiary and career training sectors, this has meant that students and industry is demanding more input into the education process. As a result a more flexible approach is being taken to the delivery of courses. This thesis describes the development and implementation of a flexible learning approach applied to technology related subjects. It addresses the work carried out in relation to a specific aspect of the Bachelor of Technology degree as taught at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand. Issues have been addressed in educational programme design, material presentation, and a major focus for implementation has been computer mediated assessment mechanisms. A guide has been developed to assist the educator in increasingly applying flexibility to subjects undertaken within the Bachelor of Technology degree reflecting the specific needs of the New Zealand industrial and educational sectors. Key words: Flexible education, flexible learning, computer mediated education, computer assisted learning, computer simulation is assessment, computerised marking, computer mediated assessment

Global communication part 1: the use of apparel CAD technology

Trends needed for improved communication systems, through the development of future computer-aided design technology (CAD) applications, is a theme that has received attention due to its perceived benefits in improving global supply chain efficiencies. This article discusses the developments of both 2D and 3D computer-aided design capabilities, found within global fashion supply chain relationships and environments. Major characteristics identified within the data suggest that CAD/CAM technology appears to be improving; however, evidence also suggest a plateau effect, which is accrediting forced profits towards information technology manufactures, and arguably compromising the industry's competitive advantage. Nevertheless, 2D CAD increases communication speed; whereas 3D human interaction technology is seen to be evolving slowly and questionably with limited success. The article discusses the findings and also presents the issues regarding human interaction; technology education; and individual communication enhancements using technology processes. These are still prevalent topics for the future developments of global strategy and cultural communication amalgamation