Using Technology in Classroom

This post is to fulfill a requirement for my EDU 519 class at American University. The assignment asked me to interview or observe someone at my school who uses technology effectively and reflect on it. So, here it goes...

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I've had the pleasure of interviewing and observing Mr. D throughout this year who is very effective in using technology in his classroom. He teaches an Engineering class at our school that uses an AUTOCAD program to teach students how to design and create various objects.

The class is structured to teach students the phases of developing a product from conceptual drawing all that way to actually forming a model of it using a 3-D printer. I took a particular interest in this process since I had to take a technical drawing class in my undergraduate studies, but it was all only done on paper. The only time we ever saw a design formed was when we were to use play-doh to create some of the shapes.

What really struck me was how active the students were in the learning process and how effective the software was in producing visualizations for what the students were creating. I realize that this is the purpose of AUTOCAD, but this was the biggest issue I had with the technical drawing class when I took it. We didn't use AUTOCAD and only did things by hand. I think technology might have been the saving grace for me. I have a hard time visualizing things in 3-D and I learned this about myself in taking this class. I actually asked my professor if I could use play-doh during tests to help me create and visualize the objects.

Observing Mr. D and seeing his students design a puzzle box on paper, produce a drawing of it in AUTOCAD, and then use the 3-D printer to create it has really shown me that I need to focus on getting my students to create products in the classroom. It is easier to do in a hands-on class like the one Mr. D teaches, but I need to create contextualized ways that my students can put their math skills to use and create an individualized product. How can I get my students to create a puzzle box of their own that they can plan, design, and physically create to produce an end product?