Today, many technology teachers in compulsory technology education teach design and design processes using a digital design tool, such as computer aided design (CAD). Teaching involving CAD is a relatively new element and not very much is known about what teachers intend pupils to learn in compulsory education. Thus, the aim of this study is to…

Spatial visualization ability is an important factor in a child's cognitive development. Its development is affected by numerous factors such as general intelligence, problem-solving skills, gender, playing building games, experience with engineering drawing and 3D modelling, etc. The study aimed to explore how engineering 3D modelling with…

Industrial Designers need to understand and command a number of modelling techniques to communicate their ideas to themselves and others. Verbal explanations, sketches, engineering drawings, computer aided design (CAD) models and physical prototypes are the most commonly used communication techniques. Within design, unlike some disciplines,…

The present article examines how practices of computer-supported collaborative designing may be implemented in an elementary classroom. We present a case study in which 12-year-old students engaged in architectural design under the guidance of their teacher and a professional designer. The students were engaged in all aspects of design processes,…

This paper investigates the interactions between design students' cognitive styles, as measured by Riding's Cognitive Styles Analysis, and performance in 2D drafting and design tasks in digital media. An empirical research revealed that Imager students outperformed Verbalisers in both drafting and creativity scores. Wholist-Analytic cognitive…

Difficulties in teaching a multi-disciplinary subject such as the mechatronics system design module in Departments of Mechatronics Engineering at Temasek Polytechnic arise from the gap in experience and skill among staff and students who have different backgrounds in mechanical, computer and electrical engineering within the Mechatronics…

Technology education in Irish post-primary schools is undergoing significant change. In recent years the syllabi of all technology-related subjects have been revised. A new subject, Design and Communication Graphics, has replaced the traditional Technical Drawing subject. This new subject aims to develop students' spatial awareness and graphical…

CAD (Computer Aided Design) has now become an integral part of Technology Education. The recent introduction of highly sophisticated, low-cost CAD software and CAM hardware capable of running on desktop computers has accelerated this trend. There is now quite widespread introduction of solid modeling CAD software into secondary schools but how…

This paper outlines past and present issues related to product data management (PDM) technologies and their implementation within organization. Included are the results from interviews with representatives from ten companies regarding their implementation processes related to PDM and PLM technologies. Results from these interviews are detailed in…

Online education has become a central element of the discourse on higher education. There seems to be an overall drive toward online learning given the mounting need for flexibility in scheduling and the daily emergence of communication technologies and capabilities. Online education is presented as a means of conveying instruction to an extensive…

The success of efforts to integrate technology with design education is largely affected by the attitudes of students toward technology. This paper presents the findings of a research on the attitudes of design students toward the use of computers in design and its correlates. Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools are the most widely used computer…

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…

The skills needed now and 5 years from now by workers in the graphic communications industry in New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming were identified through a mail survey of mountain states printing companies. Of the 478 companies to which surveys were mailed, 64 were returned (response rate, 13.40%). A paired t-test was conducted to identify…