Participatory Design Environments
Davidson(above tel) has published two exciting design software packages...
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Davidson(above tel) has published two exciting design software packages. KidCAD encourages children to play architect, builder and interior designer with 3D electronic blocks for a treehouse or highrise. (Tip: find right mouse button to snap structure onto base.From Olson, Multimedia Home Companion.).Flying Colors arranges more than 1000 images into an index which can be set against 3D backdrops like the ocean, outer space or a forest. A symmetry tool (math) creates kaleidoscopic effects.
Some hardware vendors bundle art software with their basic equipment set up.
Check that your system accommodates multimedia projects. Color printers of excellent quality are now within the price range of schools and well worth it for this generation of students.
New versions of browsers, such as Netscape, allow you to open two windows, each running different software. For instance, an online student notebook with your annotations can run side-by-side with CD software or an interactive Web site.
The UN's site, CyberSchoolBus, is an opportunity for students to design and build an "ideal" city in all its complexity.The site can be used in Spanish and French, ie. a multilingual browser.
Using a combination of media, CD's and online information, BBN is sponsoring a student design project for Spectacle Island in Boston. After exploring the history and geography of the area students may plan a layout of the Visitor's Center and the new park itself.It involves authentic design from scratch yet within real-life constraints.
USFirst brings students and engineers togethers to design a champion robot. It is co-sponsored by industry at locations in the South and Eastern seaboard and Mid-West primarily.
For explanations about global warming in the Arctic read the article in the newspaper of the American Geophysical Union.
Annotation
Today's generation of students will need a solid background in synthesizing science (such as physics and engineering) and math principles with computer design in order to work in the 21st century. Until recently, these disciplines were so segregated in college and university curricula, that a student could barely "double major". Indeed, Silicon Valley is home to extraordinarily self-taught, talented young folks who dropped out of top colleges, because their interests could not be accommodated. Job estimations in this region project about 30,000 positions in the next few years. Keep a lookout for students who can contribute in this domain but who may be too young or inexperienced to recognize their own capacities and plan for their future.
