Images

3-D Printing

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3-D printing allows for students to brainstorm, design, and create in a whole new way. Rather than just draw solutions to problems, they can make those solutions come to life. This allows for a whole new dimension of problem solving (no pun intended). When students see their work come to life, it excites students in a new way. It helps students understand that what they do can have a huge impact on the world. Students will learn how to utilize programs (both beginner and intermediate) that will allow them to draw and generate designs for their projects. Students will not only be able to gain a deeper understanding of the software, but to deepen their knowledge of the hardware behind the machinery. 3-D printers can be complicated, but when students begin to better understand the general concepts, they begin to better understand the products. 3-D printing is a hot topic in technology education courses as transforms the students ideas into physical objects.

Programming & Robotics

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This picture shows that of an Ardiuno Uno board. This is a great example of programming and robotics at work. In this case, the picture is illustrating how you would wire the board to make an LED blink. Programming courses push students to learn and think in a new way. When you learn to write programs, you are learning to think and write in a new language. Coding, also, demands and calls for creativity, organizational, and problem-solving skills. Without any of those, it makes it very challenging to write effective code. When effective code meets with robotics, the skill becomes even more useful and powerful. Robotics allows for code to be read and preformed. Robotics is nothing without effective code. When students are introduced to the exciting world or programming and robotics, their life is enriched in a whole new way. Very few things in this world are more satisfying and rewarding than that of your code coming to life via that of robotics.

Photography & Video

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Nowadays, it is no secret that everyone has a camera in their phones and mobile devices. People are taking pictures now more than ever. This is a step in the right direction! Now that we are more familiar with this type of equipment, it would really benefit us to take it one step further: learn the ins and outs of the camera. As you learn more about ISO, shutter speed, flash, frame rate, etc., the more you are able to manipulate, be creative with, and explore photography and videography. Understanding photography and videography is great for many reasons. Photography and videography are art forms that are quite technical, but still allow for self-expression and discovery. Although these topics are better practiced outside of a boring classroom, these types of classes typically call for outside exploration and experimentation. This type of trial-and-error and free-spirit mentality is really what makes these types of courses exciting for both the student and the educator.

Adobe Programs

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Anyone who has ever used any of the Adobe programs understands how useful and powerful these programs are.

A list of some of these Adobe Programs are as follows:

• Muse
• Photoshop
• Illustrator
• InDesign
• After Effects
• Premiere

Nowadays, employers are not looking for exerts in any one program, they are looking to hire well-rounded people who have had experience with all programs. Teaching courses that dabble in any (or all) of these would be super impactful on the students and make them more marketable employees. Not only are theses courses perfect examples of technology education courses, but these courses also act as a perfect segway and introduction to the idea of business.

Manufacturing/Engineering

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Manufacturing and engineering type courses offer a more hands on experience. These classes allow for students to brainstorm, design, and create using a more physical approach. One of the best features of technology education is that of the fact that they are all hands-on. Manufacturing and engineering courses are perfect examples of hands-on courses. A lot of students simply preform better in tech ed courses because of the fact that the have more of a visual and hands-on learning style. If I could ever be the teacher that taught any of these types of courses, I would  be excited to know that my class is an outlet for a lot of these types of hands-on and visual learners. These courses help students design, problem-solve, and make their ideas come to life. They utilize many types of materials from different types of woods to plastics. A lot of people would agree that making something out of nothing is a very satisfying and rewarding task.