If we intend to teach through educational media, we also have to teach about those media. This article explores the implications of this perspective for the use of computer games in the classroom. It seeks to explain why and how teachers might teach about computer games as a medium in their own right, just as they teach about film or television or…

Design plays a central role in a range of subjects at different educational levels. Students have to acquire the knowledge necessary for the execution of tasks that enable them to construct an artefact or model that can be tested by simulation and that satisfies some requirements and verifies some constraints. They achieve this by means of a…

Teacher and student roles continue to change as computers continue to influence the design curriculum (Kaplan, 1997). Educators and administrators continue to grapple with the best ways to teach, implement, and maintain current technology. Few technology teachers would argue that computers, software, and hardware found in technology laboratories…

Computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing, computer-aided analysis, reverse engineering and rapid prototyping are tools that play an important key role within product design. These are areas of technical knowledge that must be part of engineering and industrial design courses' curricula. This paper describes our teaching experience of…

An investigation of alternative methods of managing lower division graphics courses is described. Nonexam grading time was reduced to nearly zero, creating time for professional growth, proposal development, and meaningful research. Grade profiles and attitudes of students taking the altered course are discussed. (KR)

The goal of this document is to bring instruction in graphic design to the presentation of information in all subject areas and to encourage educators to embrace graphic design as a powerful tool for accomplishing the daily task of communicating information and ideas to students. The document uses activities to reinforce the concepts discussed in…

This article describes the AutoCAD Laboratory at Hawaii's Kamehameha Secondary Schools, offering the perspective of the AutoCAD instructor and Technology Department Head, looking at a day in the AutoCAD Laboratory, and explaining how teaching students about computer-assisted design and drafting can prepare them for college or careers. (SM)

Motivating students to master the basics in any field is a demanding task. In technical education, while the direct benefit--almost certain, well-paying employment--is obvious, the challenge is to keep students' interest high. Absent that, the technical workforce lacks skilled replenishment, and the possibility of being overtaken by competition…

Engineering design graphics education has come a long way in the past two decades. The emergence of solid geometric modeling technology has become the focal point for the graphical development of engineering design ideas. The main attraction of this 3-D modeling approach is the downstream application of the data base to analysis and…

This paper outlines the work in progress undertaken by the School of Engineering Technology faculty to identify, assess, and develop a course to address the depth and breadth of drafting/plan preparation and plan reading skills required by the various engineering technology programs offered at Youngstown State University. The methodology used to…

Spatial abilities are fundamental to human functioning in the physical world. Spatial reasoning allows people to use concepts of shape, features, and relationships in both concrete and abstract ways, to make and use things in the world, to navigate, and to communicate. Surgeons, pilots, architects, engineers, mechanics, builders, farmers, trades…

In college apparel design courses, computer simulation of design and manufacturing, aimed at effective transfer of knowledge and skills from classroom to workplace, augment traditional teaching techniques. Students are encouraged to undertake independent research and studio projects and participate in competitions. Successful integration of…

Graphical plans for construction of machinery and architecture have evolved over the last 6,000 years beginning from hieroglyphics to drawings on printable media, from the "Golden Age" of engineering graphics to the innovation of computer graphics and prototyping. The evolution of engineering design graphics as a profession has also evolved. Years…

The results of an experiment in teaching engineering graphics using the traditional lecture-homework-laboratory technique are compared to a newer lecture homework proposal. Although the newer method reduces professor-student contact, it may prove to be as effective as the older method requiring laboratory instruction. (KR)

At some point in their education, pre-engineering students will take physics and/or calculus. For many freshmen who aren't certain about their career paths, taking these courses is a litmus test to determine whether they have the aptitude or desire to pursue an engineering degree. Therein lies the challenge for many students in the U.S. Science,…