Design
Technology Department: An experienced British teacher has created
the Design Technology Department in order to provide free educational
materials for schools and colleges. The site is continually growing
and will eventually offer teachers and pupils, materials for all of
the Key Stages. The website contains quizzes, GCSE and A level revision
materials, handouts, GCSE Resistant Materials, AS and A level materials,
schemes of work, packaging, famous kite designers, structures, examples
of pupils work, furniture design, inventions, department policies
and links to educational and commercial websites. The site is linked
to over three hundred websites including the NGFL and the BBC.
Design
& Technology On The Web: A continually growing resource, currently
of over 500 original pages for KS3, KS4 and KS5 students that covers
all strands of study in the subject. Project help and advice sections
and a gallery of exemplar work are featured for Resistant Materials,
Graphics, Electronics, Systems and Control, Industrial Products, Engineering,
Product analysis and Food and Textiles. There are project outlines
with supporting worksheets for KS3 and KS4 that will be of use to
teachers and a crossword section has been introduced. Coursework help
sections guide students through the expectations of a variety of tasks
and the material is expanding in response to requests for materials
from students and teachers. A growing section on Designers and another
section on Inventors supply information that would be useful reference
sources for homework topics. As an additional useful resource a 'What's
New' section allows regular users to discover the new corners of the
site that might give starting points for students' design pages or
a source of new inspiration for teaching ideas.
IEEE
Virtual Museum: This website is premised on the belief that examining
what was increases our understanding of what is. It explores the global
social impact of electrical and information sciences and technologies
and demonstrates the relevance of engineering and engineers to society.
Designed for educators, pre-college students, and the general public,
the virtual museum debuted with two exhibits. The first, Socket to
Me! How Electricity Came to Be examines the early history of electricity
and how it has been used in fields such as communications, computing,
laser technology, and medicine. The second, The Beat Goes On: How
Sounds are Recorded and Played explores sound recording from the early
days of the phonograph to digital recording and distribution. Recent
exhibitions include Microwaves and World War II: How War Impacted
Technology. Exhibits feature interactive features and animations,
audio and video clips, and images of artifacts and historical social
events.
Design
and Technology Site: This is a site for teachers and pupils of
Design and Technology and provides a range of information sheets.
It covers aspects of technology such as; the design process, basic
electronics, gears, cams, moments of force, computer control, graphics
techniques, technology and cultures, vocational education, PCBs, keywords,
pic-microcontrollers, basic CNC work and more. One
of the main aspects is the design process section, which guides pupils
and teachers through folder work aimed at GCSE success in Systems
and Control, Resistant Materials and Graphic Products.
Inventions
of the Industrial Revolution: This excellent BBC website enables
the visitor to discover the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution
through animated models. Inventions covered include The Rocket, the
Beam Engine, the Blast Furnace, a Paddle Steamship, a Spinning Mill
and Winding Gear.
Ettore
Sottsass: Ettore
Sottsass was one of the leading members of the Memphis Group founded
in 1981. His versatility gave him the ability to design and create
products in a variety of very different materials. He designed buildings,
furniture, ceramics, metalware and glassware. His photography was
even internationally exhibited. In the 1970's he was a leading figure
of the 'Radical Movement' and played a very important role in 'Post
Modernism' in the 1980s. This website developed by Andy Davies provides
a detailed explanation of the life and work of Ettore Sottsass.
Bristol
Engineering Dept: Introducing and Demonstrating Earthquake Engineering
Research in Schools: Bristol University site for learning all about
earthquakes, how they affect buildings, and what engineers can do
to protect buildings.
Food
Forum: A professional development web site providing free guidance,
advice and materials to support the teaching of food, consumer and
citizenship education. Maintained by Ali Farrell, an ex teacher and
advisory teacher.
StudyWeb
Technology Education: An excellent collection of resources that
can be used for teaching design & technology. A brief description
of the resource is followed by comments on its visual content and
the age group that would best benefit from the material. The resource
list includes: Introduction to Manufacturing System Design, Design
Projects for Technology Education, Electric Vehicles, Environmental
Technology Education, Technology & Industry, and AutoCad.
Journal
of Technology Education: The Journal of Technology Education provides
a forum for discussion on topics relating to technology education.
Produced by researchers in the USA, articles are available online
and contain useful information for technology teachers in Britain.
Subjects covered in the Spring, 1998, edition includes several articles
on successful school projects.
Design
& Technology Online: D & T Online website provides free
access to a wide range of design and technology materials, resources
and software for students to use as they engage in design and technology
activities as part of the UK National Curriculum. In some cases the
material will be relevant to science and mathematics as well as design
and technology. So far there are sections on electronics, packaging,
environments, food, pneumatics, mechanisms and manufacturing projects.
Marcel
Breuer: Marcel Breuer
regularly exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art but he was most famous
for his classic piece the 'Wassily Chair'. This was designed for his
mentor the great painter Wassily Kandinsky and was inspired by the
shape and form of a bicycle handlebars. Breuer was both a furniture
designer and architect. A student of the famous German 'Bauhaus School
of Design'. Breuer designed modern classic furniture made from chrome
plated tubular steel, in his opinion 'essential for modern living.
A amongst other things a description and images of the Whitney Museum
of American Art designed by Breuer are provided.
Resistant
Materials: This
new addition to Design and Technology Department was developed to
help GCSE students study for their Resistant Materials examination
paper. It offers a revision guide on Health and Safety including Finishes,
Ergonomics and Anthropometrics, Scale of Production, One-off production,
Batch production, Mass-production, Flow or continuous production,
Injection moulding, Vacuum forming, Jigs, Moulds, Thermoplastic, Thermosetting
plastics, Hardwoods, Softwoods and Performance Specification. This
is a must for any student revising for a GCSE or As/A level in Product
Design or Resistant Materials.
Technology
at GCSE: The
author of this website points out that the main reason for students
choosing Technology at GCSE is that they think it is easy. "Think
again!" he tells his visitors, "it is time consuming and
demanding". However, the author attempts to help by providing
resources on Drawing Techniques, Anthropometry, Materials, Mechanisms,
Fixtures and Fittings. There is also a picture gallery and advice
on written work.
George
Carwardine: The automotive engineer George Carwardine based his
Anglepoise task lamp upon the human form. This timeless classic lighting
system was inspired by the "constant tension principle of human
limbs". The articulated desk light has been copied many times
and is still mass-produced even today - sixty-two years after it was
first patented. This website provides information on Carwardine's
work and should be useful for students of Product Design and Resistant
Materials.
Automotive
Learning Online: This website is produced by Informative Graphics
Corporation, a commercial software company with visualization and
Web collaboration technology for document management, engineering
project Web sites and product data management. This site provides
a clear explanation how a car and its moving parts work. The graphics
that show the function of individual components are visually very
attractive.
Design
& Technology: Schemes of Work: The
Standards Site is managed by the Department for Education and Employment's
Standards and Effectiveness Unit (SEU). The main objective of the
site is to supply teachers with "guidance and tools to help schools
improve effectiveness, raise standards and reduce workload".
This includes a large selection of schemes of work for Design &
Technology.
Italian
Lighting Designers: In this new addition to the Design and Technology
Department the work of the classic Italian lighting designers Livio
Pier Giacomo, Achille Castiglioni and Gianfraco Frattini is examined.
Their work has been described as "Rationalism but at the same
time possessing humour and a sculptural form". The three men
designed such classic lights such as the 'Boalum lamp', the 'Luminator
floor lamp' and the 'Arco floor lamp'. Amongst their product design
achievements are the 'Mezzadro' (Sharecroppers stool) and the 'Sgabello
per Telephono' (Telephone stool).
Buckminster
Fuller: In this new addition to the Design and Technology Department
concerns the life and work of the engineer Buckminster Fuller. A visionary
who amongst other things gave us 'Geodesic Dome Structures' and the
futuristic 'Dymaxion car'. The invention of the geodesic dome was
a solution to the pressing housing problem at the time. Buckminster
Fuller also developed the first mass produced, prefabricated plastic
and duralumin houses. Buckminster Fuller was the first person to coin
the phrase 'Spaceship Earth'. He strongly believed that the creative
abilities of mankind were unlimited and that the use and development
of technology and design-led solutions would create a positive future.
German
Design Project:
Busstops is part of the five-year 'Art in the Public Sphere' project
in Lower Saxony, Germany, that was funded by the state lottery (Toto-Lotto).
Nine designers from all over the world were given the task of designing
a bus stop waiting room. The designers from America, Poland, Czech
Republic, Hungary, Italy and Spain, selected their sites from among
a pre-selected list of bus stops. Each site created problems that
the designers had to solve. For example, Alessandro Mendini from Milan
had the problem of designing a street-car stop at Steintor/Kurt Schumacher
Strabe, an area that has two extremely narrow, 50-yard-long boarding
areas. The finished bus stop waiting rooms, plus comments from the
designers concerned, are now available from this website and could
be used as a good starting point for a design & technology project.
Christmas
Cookbook: This website provides a collection of recipes from all
over the world that are associated with the winter holiday. This includes
Cranberry Sauce with Walnuts, Mint Cookies, Mushroom Rice, Crunchy
Almond-Caramel Brittle, Blueberry Salad, Sweet Kugel, Peachy Bread
Pudding, Noodles and Mashed Potatoes and Mailseet Corn Soup.
Great
Buildings: This
outstanding website is the gateway to architecture around the world
and across history documents a thousand buildings and hundreds of
leading architects, with 3D models, photographic images and architectural
drawings, commentaries, bibliographies, web links, and more, for famous
designers and structures of all kinds.
Samuel
Franklin Cody, as well as being one of the early pioneers of aviation,
is fondly remembered as being a flamboyant Wild West showman. There
is a Cody Appreciation Society, which actively teaches young people
about the subject of aviation and in particular the life and work
of the first man to fly a powered aeroplane in the UK. He even has
a chain of high street shop named after him selling novel gadgets,
toys, gifts and ingenious electrical products. If you wish to find
out more about this fascinating character visit the latest addition
to the Design and Technology Department website.
How
Stuff Works: Electronics: HowStuffWorks is a media company that
is internationally recognized as the leading provider of information
on how things work. Founded by Marshall Brain, HowStuffWorks offers
in-depth articles that explain the world from the inside out to millions
of readers every month. HowStuffWorks electronics offerings enables
you to learn about video systems, including your TV, your DVD player,
the cable TV system and MP3 players.
Classic
Packaging: Are
you studying Graphic Design and Packaging? If the answer is yes, you
may be interested in the new Classic Packaging section from the Design
Technology website. This new section of the site is under construction
but already offers detailed descriptions of such classic packaging
as ‘The Oxo Cube’, ‘The Brasso Polish Tin’, ‘The
Kiwi Shoe Polishing Tin’, ‘The Coca-Cola Bottle’ and
‘The Plastic Carrier Bag’.
LEGO:
Ever wish you had an infinite bucket of LEGO bricks for your children?
With BrickBuilder, you can create anything you can imagine, using
dozens of different virtual bricks and you'll never run out! (requires
Macromedia Flash.) This is one of the many interactive activities
and problem-solving puzzles included on the official LEGO website.
The
Memphis Group was founded in 1981 by Ettore Sottsass with a group
of recently graduated designers and journalist Barbara Radice as public
relations/art director. The group's main aim was to revive Radical
Design. The products created by the Memphis group included limited
production creations of unusual objects and functional designs. Most
products featured plastic laminate surfaces, bright colours and bold
patterns. The Memphis Group attempted to make a political statement.
They strived to break down the barriers between high class and low
class. To some, this concept was alien but to others it offered freedom.
Viking
Boat: This project
from Minersville Area High School got its start as a requirement for
senior graduation. Sixteen seniors were divided into groups of from
one to three. Just like the Viking builders, each senior had a set
of building tasks. The project's goal was to replicate a twenty-one
foot cargo boat. Plans were obtained from the Viking Ship Museum in
Oslo, Norway. Upon completion of the boat successful sea trials were
held on a local lake and the boat was donated to the Nordic Heritage
Museum in Seattle, Washington for its final resting place. Educationally,
the project combined the disciplines of Social Studies with Industrial
Technology. The website was created and maintained entirely by the
students. The site includes the boat's history, sailing and tour information,
photos of the boat's construction, displays including a visit to the
Smithsonian Institution, animated blueprints, and a 360 degree view
of the boat.
TECHtionary:
The producers of this website claim that it is the world's first animated
dictionary on technology. With more new terms everyday the website
currently includes more than 600+ terms and 250,000+ Macromedia Flash
animation effects on telecommunications, data communications, networking
and Internet technologies, TECHtionary can be accessed anytime-anywhere
to learn how things work. TECHtionary also provides key terms and
concepts for preparation of the NACSE – National Association
of Communications Systems Engineers.
Nutrition
Foundation: Every aspect of nutrition and food safety is covered
on this website. There are sections on Nutrients, Diet, Food Commodities,
Food Functions, Balanced Diet, Mood and Food, Topical Information
Sheets, Food Requirements and Careers Information. There is also a
Teacher Centre and Parent Area.
Food
Link is organised by the Food and Drink Federation in association
with the Food Standards Agency, the Royal Environmental Health Institute
of Scotland, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, the
Local Authorities Co-ordinating Body on Food and Trading Standards,
the Departments of Health, Food and Education, the National Farmers
Union, the British Retail Consortium and the British Hospitality Association.
The programme provides a focus for communicating messages aimed at
helping everyone understand and carry out the basic precautions which
they can take to reduce the risk of suffering from food poisoning.
DT
Online is produced by the National Association of Advisers and
Inspectors in Design and Technology, in cooperation with Dial Solutions,
using materials provided by teachers for pupils. DT Online is free
at the point of use and has three aspects: (1.) It is an online repository
of information relating to most DT focus areas. (2.) For electronics
and packaging, there are interactive designer sections that allow
online production of circuits and packaging nets (3.) There is a developing
projects section that also provides access to remote manufacturing
centres in volunteer schools and colleges.
Ero
Aarnio: Have you have ever seen the following films’ 'Tommy',
'Dazed and Confused' and 'Moon Zero Two' or the cult sixties series,
‘The Prisoner’? If your answer to this question is yes then
you would have probably seen some of the radical furniture designs
of Eero Aarnio. This
new addition to the ‘Design and Technology Department’ examines
the work of Eero Aarnio. He started working with plastics in 1960
and opened his own design office in 1962. He created two of the most
famous chairs of the decade, the 'Ball' or 'Globe' chair and the 'Pastilli'
or 'Gyro' chair for which he was awarded an A.I.D. Aarnio has now
returned to traditional materials like wood.
Techitout:
Everything for Design and Technology in 5 sections with its own search
engine. Contents, Exams, Projects, Resources and Skills. Already it
has 190 Searchable pages, 100 Pictures and 100 Edited related links.
For two years, Tony Bell has been designing a simple logical system
for storing and retrieving all Design and Technology data. An expanding
series of pigeon holes. Eventually the Skills section will include
short instructional Video clips.
Bad
Designs: A scrapbook of illustrated examples by Michael J. Darnell
of things that are hard to use because they are badly designed. Objects
are listed under the following categories: Things that don't work
the way you expect. Things that are hard to see. Things that don't
work well together. Things that get in your way. Things that are hard
to handle. Things that are hard to remember. Things that don't fit
you. Things with ergonomic designs. There are also sections on Signs,
Names and Labels, Displays and Controls.
Philippe
Starck is on of the best-known contemporary designers in the world.
He has not only received public acclaim for his amazing building interior
designs but has also proved to be an accomplished architect and product
designer. This website produced by Andrew Davis allows you to examine
the variety of projects that Starck has been involved in from the
mid sixties to 1991.
Ettore
Sottsass was one of the leading members of the Memphis Group founded
in 1981. This Austrian-born designer has been described as "a
forward-looking designer who is also mischievous!" Throughout
his remarkable career Sottsass drew inspiration from a variety of
sources such as popular culture, other cultures and of course his
own travelling experiences. His work was colourful and humorous in
contrast to the black, modern products of the 1980's. It could never
be accused of being bland and dull. In the 1970's he was a leading
figure of the 'Radical Movement' and played a very important role
in 'Post Modernism' in the 1980s.
Food
Link is organized
by the Food and Drink Federation in association with the Food Standards
Agency, the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland, the
Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, the Local Authorities
Co-ordinating Body on Food and Trading Standards, the Departments
of Health, Food and Education, the National Farmers Union, the British
Retail Consortium and the British Hospitality Association. The programme
provides a focus for communicating messages aimed at helping everyone
understand and carry out the basic precautions which they can take
to reduce the risk of suffering from food poisoning.
Stormsky:
Stormsky is a site designed by Adam Montandon, a Lingo and Multimedia
developer for Imagenius 3D Studios in Canada. On the site you can
take a look at many forms of experimentation in these areas as well
as great tutorials covering subjects such as Gravity Lingo and 3-D
Cameras. The website also a Forum and you can take a look at demonstrations
of some of Montandon's experiments.
Composite
Materials: When two or more materials with very different properties
are combined together they form a composite material. The different
materials work together to produce a new material, which combines
all of the properties of the previously separate materials. Within
the composite it is still possible to easily tell the different materials
apart. They do not tend to blend or dissolve into each other. Composite
Materials can be either man-made but they may also exist in nature.
Find out more about such composite materials as mud bricks, car tyres,
concrete and fibreglass at the Design and Technology Department website.
Design
& Technology On The Web covers just about everything students
of Design and Technology might want to know. This includes help with
KS3 homework, projects, coursework guidance, exam revision or just
checking out issues linked to technology. A growing site that already
with over 300 original pages. Type in your keywords and you should
find references quite easily. There is an A-Z section to check out
those topics you didn't know you wanted to check. Whether its Resistant
Materials, Graphic Products, Systems & Control, Electronics, Industrial
Production (Engineering), Food, Textiles, A Level or whatever - there
should be something here. If you find something is missing then the
site designer is always interested in adding new material to satisfy
student needs.
Polyprop
Chairs: From 1963 to the present day over 14 million Polyprop
chairs have been sold in twenty-three countries. Designed by Robin
Day, this chair has been described as one of the most democratic modern
designs of the 20th century. You can find out more about Robin Day
and the the Polyprop Chair at the Design-Technology website.
Primary
Design & Technology:
This website is produced by the Nuffield Foundation Design & Technology
Project. On the website you'll find information about the Project,
examples of pupils' work, classroom materials to download and other
resources for teachers. Free computer control materials will soon
to be available from this site.
Design
and Tech: This
website provides links to over 400 sources of information on Design
and Technology. The material is organized under the headings: Resistant
Materials, Electronic Products, Textiles, Graphic Products, Systems
& Control and Food Technology. There is also a list of links to
schools with good Design and Technology websites. Students also have
the facility to send photographs of work produced in Design and Technology
lessons.
GCSE
Technology: Student visitors to this website are told: "The
biggest single reason for students choosing this option is that they
think it is easy. Think again! It is time consuming and demanding!"
However, the author has done what he can to make the subject more
accessible. There are excellent sections on Drawing Techniques, Anthropometry,
Materials, Fixtures & Fittings and Mechanisms.
Inventors
and Inventions: A new part of Bill Richmond's website, Design
& Technology On The Web, currently details the achievements of
25 inventors and their inventions with additional individuals and
their achievements in the pipeline. This is a useful homework help
and coursework-inspiration resource that is allied to the Designers
& Designs section that covers the achievements of 35 international
names and their designs.
Essaybank:
Technology: This website is the UK's largest database of free
student written essays. It offers a database of student written essays
on a wide variety of topics to assist students and non-students educate
themselves, appreciate wider points of view, and see concise overviews
of complex issues. All of the essays on Essaybank have been purchased
by Essaybank or have been contributed by its users.
Teacher
Resource Exchange: This website is designed to help teachers develop
and share ideas for activities and resources. Contributions take the
form of simple ideas and questions, to complete lesson plans or schemes
of work, which will enable other teachers to use these resources within
their own lessons. This section covers Design & Technology. You
can browse and download resources without registering. You will, however,
need to register if you would like to submit new resources and add
comments or materials to existing resources.
Bridge
to Classroom: Designing and building a bridge to withstand earthquakes
is no easy challenge. With this website you can explore the science,
technology and people involved in the new Oakland Bay Bridge with
these interactive learning modules and simulations! Learn what causes
earthquakes and see what scientists are predicting for the coming
quake. Take on the challenge facing bridge designers and design a
bridge that can withstand a Maximum Seismic Event - then test your
bridge to see how it fares. You can also explore key moments in the
bridge's construction and meet some of the people and technologies
involved in the new bridge.
Sodarace
is the online Olympics pitting human creativity against machine learning
in a competition to construct virtual racing robots. Sodarace invites
both human and artificial intelligences to compete. Humans, from young
to old, use the sodaconstructor interface to learn to construct handcrafted
virtual robots. Artificial Intelligences, created by researchers the
world over, use the Sodarace API (Application Programming Interface)
to learn to construct computer-generated virtual robots.
eLearning
of CAD: This Secondary Technical School in Zdar has created webpages
for eLearning of CAD. These pages can be used either directly in lessons
or by any users at home, they serve to students missing from school
because of illness. The webpages give the detailed methodology of
modelling and technical drawing. The theory is supported by a great
number of figures, pictures and practical examples from the companies
where the school's leavers work. The user can learn how to draw and
design assemblies and parts, use animation and strength calculation,
learn CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) processes. There is a special
chapter in which users can contact teachers and discuss learning problems
with them. At the moment there is only a Czech language version available,
but the teachers are working on English and German versions.
Virtual
Craft Place: Käspaikka (Virtual Craft Space) is a national
virtual community linking learners, teachers and researchers. It’s
purpose is to support the sharing of the newest knowledge of design
and bring it available to all. Käspaikka, based in Finland, includes
free study materials produced by crafts teachers and learners. Käspaikka
represents a significant step in the process of establishing working
relationships and dialogue between schools and other educational institutions.
Käspaikka represents an important development in establishing
project-based learning and collaborative designing between schools
and teachers. All these activities will facilitate social creativity
and will foster the emergence of best practices and new knowledge
concerning craft education.
IST
Design Technology: This is a school based department resource.
It covers many areas of Design Technology (DT) education from the
beginning of KS3, through IGCSE and on to the International Baccalaureate
at post 16. The aim is to offer students, parents and colleague's
insight into what this multi-faceted subject is about. Many, I believe,
misunderstand it. There are colleagues already involved in delivering
aspects of DT education around the globe but there are also those
who are looking for some basic guidance on the philosophy and approach
to delivering DT education. The best way to develop is by seeing what
others do and being inspired through different ideas and methods of
approach.
Do you
want to have your website listed in our web directory? If so, send
a brief description (about 150 words) and the URL to spartacus@pavilion.co.uk.
