Modules

Below are the eleven modules which studetns can choose to explore during their time in the technology education classroom. [|Aerospace] :: [|Aerodynamic Principles] :: [|Mechanisms] :: [|Power and Energy]:: [|Alternate Energy] [|Engineering Structures] :: [|Construction and CAD] :: [|Communications]:: [|Desktop Publishing] [|Graphic Design] :: [|Environmental Management]

**[|Grading System]**: The grade for a module comes from an individual packet, notes, projects, print outs, online journal questions and a post test.

Exciting activities help students explore the history, development, and technology of air and space exploration. Engaging multimedia presentations use video, animation, and narration to illustrate the principles of flight. The positive and negative impacts of the technology are brought to life with a wide range of effects on business travel, noise and air pollution, land use, personal comfort, and safety. Given the challenge of purchasing a plane for a non-profit aid group, students compare how wing load, engine type, and plane size affect costs, runway length, cruise speed, and maneuverability of a plane. In hands-on activities, students test various models, investigating concepts such as weight, balance, and wing shape. They design their own high- performance gliders and build a prototype model to scale. To evaluate glider performance, students conduct multiple flight tests and calculate average flight distance. [|Back to top.] Students learn how aerodynamic principles affect the design of cars, boats, buildings, bridges, and planes. They gather information from multimedia presentations that use video, animation, and narration to illustrate these concepts, and include real-world examples such as a skyscraper design. Students also explore the economic, social, and environmental impacts of aerodynamic design choices. Students use a system simulation to compare the aerodynamic design of various automobiles. They assess how body shape, surface condition, and speed are related to fuel economy. Hands-on activities with the AES AeroStream21 wind tunnel spark student interest and bring the concepts of lift and drag to life. Students use both supplied shapes and creations of their own designs in wind tunnel tests. Computerized data acquisition via the AES AeroStream21 wind tunnel provides meaningful data for students to analyze and compare. Students can use graphic printouts to study and improve the aerodynamic features of their designs. [|Back to top.] Students discover the principles of mechanisms and explore their application in the world around them. Multimedia presentations reveal the many ways mechanical technology is used in the workplace. Students use a system simulation to design a basic material movement system. They alter the system’s ramp inclines, engine size, and simple gear transmission types to assess the cost, necessary space, and travel time before making a proposal. Students learn and understand safety rules prior to beginning hands-on activities using gears. Students set up and experiment with various simple machines, such as inclined planes, levers, gears, and pulleys. They measure force using a spring scale and calculate the mechanical advantage of different mechanisms. In addition, students determine the speed ratios of gear trains as well as sprocket and chain drive systems. [|Back to top.] compare how heating, cooling, framing, and insulation systems affect building costs, heating and cooling costs, and environmental impact. Hands-on activities introduce the use of computer-aided design (CAD) featuring the industry standard, AutoCAD LT®. Students learn the basics of AutoCAD LT® operation, using drawing tools, dimensioning drawings, saving and printing files, using symbol libraries, and much more. Students put their knowledge to work and design a floor plan to meet the needs of a profiled client. Floor plans are printed or plotted for final evaluation.[|Back to top.]
 * **Students learn about harnessing energy to provide heat, light, transportation, communication, and many other vital services. Students explore many ways of generating energy, with a special emphasis on electrical energy. They use a system simulation to design three systems for a city to generate electricity. They compare coal, nuclear and hydroelectric power sources and how each affects the cost to build, cost per kilowatt-hour, and environmental impact. During hands-on activities, students use a multimeter to measure voltage and current of electrical energy. Additional context-based activities explore real-world power generation. Students use a model power plant (8/10-ctivity Module) to test loads ranging from lighting to air conditioning. Students get firsthand experience with brownouts and recognize the social, environmental, and economic consequences of the world’s ever-increasing energy needs. Students will also learn about conservation as they perform a hands-on comparison between incandescent and fluorescent lighting.[|Back to top.]
 * ** Students discover alternate energy sources and their potential for providing electricity and heating. Through multimedia presentations, students explore the current state of alternate energy sources and their social, economic, and environmental impacts. Narrated video and high-quality animations help students understand the current use of solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal sources and their potential. Students use a system simulation to select solar energy systems for varying locations and seasons. They compare system costs, backup system costs, energy needs, and energy collected. Hands-on activities focus on alternate energy as a power source for both electricity and space heating. Students use multimeters to measure the voltage and current output of individual solar cells, as well as series and parallel configurations. Computation skills are used to calculate the power output of the solar cell array in these different configurations. Students also explore passive solar energy used as a heat source for residential applications. The design and construction of a flat panel solar collector is followed by a timed temperature test to analyze its performance.[|Back to top.]
 * ** Multimedia presentations engage students in the science and technology of large structures. Students gain an appreciation of structures, from bridge types to structural stress to computer design software. Taking on the role of an architect in charge of designing a new bridge, they compare the social, economic, and environmental effects of various bridge types and designs. Students use computer-aided design software to test and evaluate several bridge designs. They are challenged to select a bridge that has a low weight and cost as well as aesthetic value for hands-on construction. Students test their bridges with a universal bridge test stand that adjusts to bridge length and allows the bridge to fail under stress without destroying it. Students can then repair the damage, modify their design, and retest. They use mathematics skills to calculate the engineering efficiency of their bridges.[|Back to top.]
 * **Students learn how technology impacts design and construction of structures. Interactive multimedia presentations cover topics ranging from construction techniques to new materials to aesthetics and energy efficiency. Students also cover industrial, civil, and residential construction and their impact on our society, environment, and economy. Students use a simulation to
 * **Engaging activities allow students to investigate, experiment, and problem solve in the area of communications technology. Multimedia presentations help students investigate the impact of modern communications technology on society. Using narrated animations, students explore the development of telecommunications—from the telegraph to satellite communications to the Internet. Students use a system simulation to design and evaluate a system to send and receive alphanumeric and video data. They compare satellite types, carrier frequencies, and the type of station at the customer’s site, as well as the effect these have on communication transmission rate and frequency. Students learn about web sitedesign, home pages, and hypertext markup language (HTML). In hands-on activities, they create a web site using a design template, text, clip art, and animation by following clear, easy-to-understand instructions. They preview their web site in an Internet browser.[|Back to top.]
 * **Interactive, multimedia presentations introduce students to the world of desktop publishing and its hi-tech tools. Students develop a broad range of communication, design, layout, and organizational skills to create and produce their own publication. A multimedia system simulation explores the social and economic impacts of desktop publishing technologies. Hands-on activities get students up and running with publishing software, including how to set the margins, import text, use text boxes, set font size and styles, import graphics, save, and print. A scanner allows students to incorporate their own photographs or drawings into their publications in addition to using the supplied clip art. Virtual Lockers enable students and teacher to keep track of in-progress work on the computer in a secure and easy format.[|Back to top.]
 * ** Students learn how to produce powerful graphic designs using graphic design software. Their designs are printed and transferred onto a T-shirt using a heat press. Multimedia presentations provide students with an understanding of the principles of graphic design including balance, contrast, color theory, proportion, and rhythm. Hands-on activities teach the students how to use professional graphic design software to create graphic designs. They learn how to draw shapes and how to create and manipulate text. Students practice advanced drawing techniques such as resizing, rotating, duplicating, and outlining objects as well as filling objects with colors and textures. In the design challenge, the students apply the knowledge they have gained to design a graphic for a T-shirt advertisement. The graphic is then printed and transferred onto T-shirts that each student can take home.[|Back to top.]
 * **Investigation and problem-solving activities teach students about environmental management from many different viewpoints. Students learn how technology can have both a positive and negative impacts on our management of natural resources. Interactive multimedia presentations show the use and abuse of the environment due to technology. Students use a system simulation to see how a dam can influence and even reduce regional water supply. Hands-on activities allow students to put environmental management theories to work. Students learn how technology can aid in water conservation in a creative application of electronics and sensors, as they manage the water used in an irrigation system. Continuing on this theme, students use three-dimensional landscape design software to plan an environment-friendly landscape. Students select plants from a database based on sun levels, soil acidity, and planting zones. They analyze how the landscape will change over the seasons and even “walk through” a three-dimensional view of their design. [|Back to top.]