Journal 8: Designing with Technologies

Chapter eight begins by talking about the multiple ways that problems can be solved when students are experimenting with different design programs. Often when using new design software students may run into many different roadblocks, but the important aspect of learning with innovative technologies is to realize that everyone will deal with the problems in a unique way. Furthermore, everyone’s creativity will also differ extremely when using even the same design features of a specific program. This chapter observes four main components necessary for being able to successfully design and build on the technologies at hand. The four main objectives to keep in mind when using design technology is as follows; drawing and experimenting with new design software, testing the design, developing different program skills and making creative use of the media and finally being able to design music with the composition software.
This week in class we were able to put all four objectives to use with the programs we used and experimented with. During class we made use of the programs, SCRATCH, and the Musical Sketch Pad. I really enjoyed manipulating and manoeuvring the different controls in the scratch program. I thought it was so interesting how easy and simple it can be to make your own mini-movie or computer game. However, I have to say that the most interesting part of the lecture was talking about the $100 computers that they will be implementing in third world countries in the future. I think this idea is a great way to get developing nations to become fluent in technology. I think that having access to each other’s computers, the internet and Scratch is a great introduction to the many types of technologies that exist. In short, the $100 computers is an extreme example of ingenuity in technology.

Answers to Questions

1. I think that the Design challenge similar to the one that we had to complete in class would be a good way to engage students while at the same time allowing them to explore the inner workings of the program. It is exactly like Professor Bruzesse stated, “that even though the class was given the same initial instructions, everyone’s design came out significantly different. Therefore, I believe that this situation is likely to arise upon the introduction of any type of design software.

3. I would agree that the best way to encourage students to continue to update and revise their designs would be to give them a variety of similar programs that all have different capabilities and functions but at the same time can be adapted to whatever they are working on. For example, the website project could be looked at in this way. Firstly, once the website is uploaded to FTP and works, students can then have the option to either really spice it up – or even begin working on another website that is to be looked at in a different light e.g. more professional, just for fun, or for something different altogether. I believe that the most important area is of intrigue for the students – as long as the program captivates their attention there will be a continued emphasis on learning new ways to manipulate the design technology.