Designing With Technology

Drawing Design Ideas with Computer-Aided Design Software

• Drawings can be stored and used later by any person with access to the appropriate time-shared computer system
• Virtual drafting table to aid visualization
• Can flawlessly create figures from scratch
  
  Reflection
• My first reaction to this section was that CAD programs are far too advanced for the elementary classroom. It took me a while in order to simply understand what a CAD program was, let alone learn how to use one effectively. It is very obvious that this tool is not meant specifically for elementary ages. The programs remind me of high school calculus, and even then, I remember being overwhelmed. The example Jonassen mentions is in a high school setting for Tech and Design courses. I could understand how Tech and Design students could use technology like this to learn from and create.
• While I still see validity in my first reaction, as I think more on the matter I could see upper elementary students doing very basic things with programs like these. I can not speak too intelligently on the matter-due to my complete lack of expertise in the area-but I suppose that it is possible for upper elementary students to use these types of programs. While it may be possible, I doubt that it would be worth it. I think that there are other technology tools that can be used to adequately challenge a 5th or 6th grade student. On the other hand, I tend to underestimate students; I suppose I would need to learn more about CAD programs to really know. Even then, I would need to know about the students who would potentially use them.

Testing Designs and Building Mental Models with Simulation Software

Reflection

• “Simulations operate by running complex mathematical calculations in the background that generate a user-friendly view of predications of some rule-driven behavior in the real world. These programs can help students build casual links and explanations of how the system works and how elements within a system interact with one another.” (p.177)
• The above definition of simulations deepened my understanding of their purpose. Even though I think this concept may have been grasped in my mind, the way Jonassen articulated it brought me to a greater understanding. It never really clicked that “complex mathematical calculations” are what generate “user-friendly” views of “rule-driven behaviors.” My mind is not trained to see the equation behind what I am viewing, or the commands behind the actions I see on the screen. Using Scratch to design my Interactive Media Project gave me a taste of programming that I had never experienced. Each action and motion was specifically and meticulously scripted. But even with Scratch, the real “code” seemed hidden because of the kid-friendly, pictorial “code” off of which the program is based. The intricacies that go into creating a program or simulation truly blow my mind. It almost seems intangible.
• I think that the use of simulations in the elementary classroom may be limited to students learning from this type of technology. Students can benefit from seeing the simulation and interacting with it. Actually creating with the programs may prove to be more difficult. A junior high class created a gravity-powered catapult called a trebuchet. I can see how 5th and 6th graders could do this also. It may not be a project done as individuals, but designed and created as a collaborative effort. The creation of a simulation would foster even deeper understanding for students. They would then be learning with technology, instead of learning from it.

Developing Programming Skills While Designing in the Media Arts

Reflection

• After having used Scratch to create my own project, this portion of the chapter clicked in a lot of ways. Scratch is beneficial to teach elementary students the fundamentals in computer programming.
• I am not totally sure how I would incorporate Scratch into my classroom. It is such a neat, empowering tool that I feel as if I absolutely must use it! It is obvious how students could use scratch to learn FROM technology, and how it could be used to assess them. But I think that as children create their own games and simulations to communicate ideas and help each other learn, learning can become very meaningful.
• Creating programs on Scratch is definitely meaningful to students. This is unquestionably constructive learning (because they are creating a product), and it is also active. The students are engaged because they are at the center of the learning. Depending on the objectives, it should be intentional and goal oriented. Our Digital Interactive Media project was intentional in its requirements and objectives. Scratch can be collaborative as well, depending on how it is used. The only one of Jonassen’s criteria for meaningful learning that is not exactly met is authenticity. But Scratch can be authentic depending how you look at it. If a student is demonstrating knowledge, then I think the matter of authenticity becomes less of a factor. On the other hand, a student is essentially creating the context using this programming tool. Scratch has the potential of making learning authentic while demonstrating learning.
• I could see students having to create their own assessments using Scratch; the assessments could be used on each other and on the creator. I could even see myself using Scratch as an option that students can chose to demonstrate their knowledge to me. For example, after studying ecosystems, students could create different ecosystems using Scratch.

Designing Music with Composition Software

Reflection

• I personally found this section most interesting, and most pertinent to my life. For the last few months I have been doing a lot of work with recording equipment and software. All of the recording I have done in the studio has been with live instruments and voices, but no loops or pre-recorded segments of instruments; the only exception was a drum loop on one song in particular. I found the approach of Tuneblocks to be very interesting. It emphasized a student’s ability to work with musical chunks or groups of musical sounds, rather than individual notes on a five-line score.
• Grasping the idea of chunking music was fairly easy for me, as I have experience with the other end of music production. Suprisingly enough, it was a much more time consuming process than I had predicted. At first I viewed it as an easy, non-musical way to create. While this is partially true, there is still a knowledge and an ability to manipulate that are required to use these types of programs. I created a short song using GarageBand to test out such programs.