LARGO HIGH SCHOOL
TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
Teacher: Mr. Rawlings
Mr. Sabur
Course Title: Foundations of Technology
Grade Level: 9th – 12th Grades
Course Abstract:
This course is designed for mostly hands on activities with individualized progress and accomplishments with emphasis on Pre-Engineering and the Core Technologies. These include Electricity, Electronics, Mechanical Systems, Fluid Systems, Optical Systems, Structural Systems, Small Engines (Thermal Systems) and Materials Technology.
Long Range Goals and Objectives:
“Foundations of Technology” is aligned with the Prince George’s County Public School’s Scope and Sequence for Technology Education. Additionally, the class reinforces students’ mastery of those Core Learning Goals identified by the State of Maryland for its High School Assessment Program. The class work in this class will enable students to learn:
· Characteristics and Scope of Technology;
· Core Concepts of Technology;
· Relationships among Technologies and the Connections between Technology and Other Fields of Study;
· Cultural, Social, Economic, and Political Effects of Technology;
· Effects of Technology in the Environment;
· The Role of Society in the Development and Use of Technology;
· The Influence of Technology on History;
· The Attributes of Design;
· Engineering Design;
· The Role of Troubleshooting, Research and Development, Invention and Innovation, and Experimentation in Problem Solving;
· The Ability to Apply the Design Process;
· The Abilities to Use and Maintain Technological Products and Systems;
· The Abilities to Assess the Impact of Products and Systems;
· Select and Use Medical Technologies;
· Select and Use Agricultural and Related Biotechnologies;
· Select and Use Energy and Power Technologies;
· Select and Use Information and Communication Technologies;
· Select and Use Transportation Technologies;
· Select and Use Manufacturing Technologies;
· Select and Use Construction Technologies.
The following table details each unit, the Big Idea associated with it, the lessons for each unit, and the Extension Activity associated with each lesson.
UNITS OF STUDY / LESSONS / EXTENSION ACTIVITIESUNIT 1
Technological Inventions and Innovations
Big Idea – Inventions and Innovations are a result of evolutionary technological development and systematic research and development. / Lesson 1 – The History of Technology
(5 Hours) / Students will use appropriate technology to depict a technological development in history. The event should relate to the historical period the student(s) researched in the exploration activity. Students will present the event to the class. Students may alternatively redesign a common board game to include questions that depict the history of technology and the historical periods.
Lesson 2 – Inventions and Innovations: An Evolutionary Process
(5 Hours) / After being assigned a topic from the 21st century by the teacher, students will create a basic website that depicts the evolutionary history of the topic while specifically mentioning the original invention and a series of innovations to that lead up to the given technological device. Students may alternatively use a web 2.0 technology to create the timeline.
Lesson 3 – The Role of Research and Development: A Problem-Solving Approach
(6 Hours) / Students will develop a design proposal for an original idea, including a price point for the product, working drawings, and a timeline for their innovation.
Lesson 4 – Advertising and Marketing Effects on Technology
(5 Hours) / Students will develop an advertisement for the product they designed in Unit 1 Lesson 3. Students will research how advertising, the strength of the economy, the goals of the company, and the fads of the time period contributed to the design of their advertisement and the overall success or failure of their product. Students present their advertisement in an electronic format (e.g., webpage, video, blog, wiki, podcast, etc.).
TOTAL: 21 Hours
UNITS OF STUDY / LESSONS / EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
UNIT 2
The Engineering Design Process
Big Idea – The Engineering Design Process is a systematic, iterative problem-solving method that produces solutions to meet human wants and desires. / Lesson 1 – The Engineering Design Process
(8 Hours) / Students apply the steps of the Engineering Design Process to complete the Crane Strain Design Brief using the design folio to document their process. The data collected during the testing of the design challenge will be used in Unit 2, Lesson 2.
Lesson 2 – Collecting and Processing Information
(5 Hours) / Students generate basic statistics for the class results from the Crane Strain in Unit 2, Lesson 1 and use Excel to create graphs representing the relationship between features of the crane.
Lesson 3 – Design Principles
(8 Hours) / Students apply aesthetic and engineering design principles to design a marshmallow launcher. Students present their designs, including a description of the aesthetic and engineering design considerations and universal design principles.
Lesson 4 – Criteria and Constraints
(3 Hours) / Students propose criteria and constraints to the Pringles Design Brief and include a detailed description explaining how three of the criteria and three of the constraints affected the design of their final solution.
Lesson 5 – Prototypes and Modeling
(6 Hours) / Students develop conceptual, mathematical and physical models to solve a given design problem. Students will apply orthographic drawing, isometric drawing, technical writing, and mathematical modeling to develop a physical model that represents their solution to the design problem.
Lesson 6 – Documenting the Design Process
(8 Hours) / Students develop an electronic Engineering Design Journal to record the steps in their solution to the robotic stacker design problem. Students document the steps in the Engineering Design Process electronically.
TOTAL: 38 Hours
UNITS OF STUDY / LESSONS / EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
UNIT 3
The Designed World
Big Idea – The designed world is a byproduct of the Engineering Design Process, which transforms resources (tools/machines, people, information, energy, capital, and time) into usable products and services. / Lesson 1 – Energy and Power
(8 Hours) / Students apply the concept of power generation to design and construct a windmill to produce a specific energy output and generate an energy-flow diagram for the design. Students can relate the output generation to their daily consumption of energy.
Lesson 2 – Manufacturing
(8 hours) / Students apply material properties to design and model an interchangeable part that can be used in two different manufactured products.
Lesson 3 – Construction
(6 hours) / Students apply two different construction methods by constructing a scaled model depicting the processes and resources needed for each of the two types of construction. The student also includes a rationale explaining the advantages and disadvantages of both methods of construction.
Lesson 4 – Information and Communication
(5 hours) / Students analyze the information and communication components for a social network and create a nonverbal communication to persuade, entertain, educate, control, or manage their Foundations of Technology / Technology, Engineering, and Design course.
Lesson 5 – Agriculture and Transportation
(10 hours) / Students apply transportation systems to agriculture by designing and modeling a transportation system to clean soybeans and move them from a storage facility to a truck.
Lesson 6 – Telemedicine
(3 hours) / Students identify telemedicine technologies used in an article and video about the Haitian relief efforts and generate their own predictions about how telemedicine will be used in the future to address natural and man-made disasters.
TOTAL: 40 Hours
UNITS OF STUDY / LESSONS / EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
UNIT 4
Systems
Big Idea – Systems are the building blocks of technology, and users must properly maintain, troubleshoot, and analyze systems to ensure safe and proper function. / Lesson 1 – Core Technologies
(10 Hours) / Students apply the core technologies to a given design problem through the Rube Goldberg Activity Design Brief. The device must include a minimum of five of the nine core technologies (not including structural or material) and complete a simple operation of popping a balloon.
Lesson 2 – Systems Model
(3 Hours) / Students, working individually, write instructions to operate a piece of technology. The directions explain the safe and successful operation of the system, specifically describing how the feedback loop assists in properly using the system.
Lesson 3 – Reverse Engineering
(4 Hours) / Students, working in pairs, reverse-engineer an assigned product (e.g., flashlight, remote control) and analyze the function and design of the product. Students will propose an improvement or innovative use for the product based on their analysis.
Lesson 4 – Troubleshooting
(6 Hours) / Students will conduct basic electronics experiments. Students will individually develop a troubleshooting guide to help conduct one of the electronics experiments.
TOTAL: 23 Hours
UNITS OF STUDY / LESSONS / EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
OPTIONAL ENRICHMENT UNIT
Integrated Transportation Systems (NASA)
Big Idea – Space exploration employs an integrated intermodal system of transportation to move people and equipment on the earth, between the earth and other planets, and on other planets. / Lesson 1 – Space Exploration (NASA)
(4 hours) / Students construct a systems model diagram for the Constellation Program based on the Explanation and present their model to another student. Students provide feedback on each other’s models. This also reinforces the concept of the universal systems model from Unit 3.
Lesson 2 – Intermodal Transportation (NASA)
(3 hours) / Students, working within groups, choose an air, land, or water means of transportation and design and construct a vehicle capable of safely carrying a container. This vehicle is used in Unit 6, Lessons 3 and 4, to integrate with other vehicles to move the container between multiple vehicles.
Lesson 3 – Transportation Cycle (NASA)
(6 hours) / Using the vehicle they constructed in Unit 6, Lesson 2, students generate a checklist to ensure the proper operation of the vehicle. This extension also supports the information presented in Unit 3, Lesson 4 on troubleshooting.
Lesson 4 – Decision Making and Management
(7 hours) / Students apply systems integration to plan, organize, design, and construct the integration of three means of transportation vehicles from Unit 6, Lesson 2 to move a product from one location to another.
TOTAL: 20 Hours
Classroom Rules:
See Student Handbook
Classroom Procedures:
All students are expected to keep their workstations clean and replace all materials. Students will be directed to display Employability Skills. Employability skills equal 5% of your grade and are defined as being on time, being prepared for class, working all period, and participating in clean-up at the end of class.
Grading Criteria (Per quarter)
Class work*/Notebook/Quarterly Project 50%
(See Long Range Goals and Objectives)
Assessments 40%
(Concept Mapping, Debates, Demonstrations/Presentations,
Discussions/Interviews, Journals/Logs, Modeling/Prototyping,
Multiple-Choice Tests, Observations, Open-Ended Questioning, Portfolios,
Projects, Self-Assessment/Peer Assessment, True-False Tests)
Warm Ups/Exit Slips/Homework 10%
(Extension Assignments Used To Activate Prior Knowledge, Stimulate
Long-Term Memory, Quick Writes (BCRs/ECRs), and Conclusion Class Assignments)
Possible Projects (Depending on material availability)
Mousetrap Car, Structural Bridge, Penny Toss (catapult), Simple Machines, Rollercoasters, etc.
Materials
Students are expected to purchase pencils, pens, and a notebook for this course. All other materials will be furnished by the teacher. Students are encouraged to bring their own materials to enhance their work.
Foundations of Technology Portfolio/Notebook
Students are expected to maintain a notebook or section in a binder-notebook for this course.