Tech Directions - December 2007 - (Page 25)

Poster Project Maps Out Design Process By Mike Fitzgerald mfitzger@doe.state.in.us HEN I taught technology education, I often searched for ways to increase the quality of work that my students put into planning their projects. One helpful activity that I developed involved the use of poster portfolio projects. This article will cover the basic elements that I taught, and I include a template that middle school students can use as an illustration and description of the design process. The activity helped my students produce better-organized, higher quality work, and they seemed to enjoy the opportunity it gave them for displaying their projects. While the examples shown are from a CO2 dragster activity that many middle school and high school teachers conduct, you can apply this format to a variety of other design and technology activities. W them a video segment of an automotive design facility. The film demonstrated the role of the design process from simple sketches to mockups with clay models to the final working prototype. Following the video, I taught the basic elements of the design process using a design loop (Fig. 1) as an organizer. On the first day of the unit, students learned that the elements of the design process are connected and that each part relates to an earlier effort. I taught them that to effectively plan and construct a mockup or prototype, they must document their early ideas. The design loop (Fig. 1) is the best format to use Analysis & to illustrate the integration growth of their design. We can describe the early elements of a design process in various ways. For instance, some teachers have students use thumbnail ideas, rough ideas, and working drawings to map organizers in planning a project. Regardless of the terminology you choose, always describe the design process as an activity that documents and develops ideas from initial idea to finished product. In this article, I use the terms of concept sketches, design sketches, and selected solution. In a storyboard, or portfolio, layout approach, designers sketch several possible layouts. The designer then reviews different visual Redesign & reimplemention Testing & evaluation Prototyping The Graphic Design Process Before beginning a design process with my students, I showed Mike Fitzgerald is a technology education specialist, Office of Career and Technical Education, Indiana Department of Education, Indianapolis. Developmental work Framing a design brief Information gathering Choosing a solution Generation of alternative solutions From: Hutchinson, Patricia. Problem Solving in the British Craft, Design and Technological Programs. Unpublished Doctorial Dissertation. New York University. 1986. Fig. 1—The design loop www.techdirections.com TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION 25 http://www.techdirections.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Tech Directions - December 2007

Tech Directions - December 2007 Technically Speaking Contents Direct from Washington The News Report Technology Today Technology's Past Mastering Computers Is This Op-Amp Any Good? Lab-Built Checker Removes All Doubt Here Comes the Sun! Residential Solar Systems Add Up to Savings Pinhole Cameras—For Science, Art, and Fun! Poster Project Maps Out Design Process Gifts for Geeks E-gallery More than Fun

Tech Directions - December 2007

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