Outcomes
By mid 2009, Stage 1 of the Technology Block upgrade has been completed, which includes a new entrance way, the complete upgrade of the T8 metal workshop, and the conversion of the former maths room T6 into a multi-material workroom, the results of which can be seen in the gallery. Stage 2 will be completed in 2013 and will include the complete upgrade of the T2 Wood Workshop and the Graphic rooms and more storage facilities.
"The new purpose-built workshops and the other changes have significantly improved the school's capability to deliver the new requirements of the subject and to deliver Gateway projects and new courses," says Matthew.
"Perhaps more than any other subject, the environment in Technology sets the 'tone' for a student's perception of the subject. The alterations we made to the department, even early on, have made a huge difference. When students walk through the entrance foyer, down the corridors lined with displays of student work and into the workshops where the first thing they see is the research/design areas, then they appreciate Technology as an innovative, problem solving, multimedia experience. The numbers opting for our courses rose as soon as even the interim changes had taken place."
The use of the projector and staff laptops within a workshop setting have been particularly successful, says Matthew, enabling a wealth of demonstrations and exemplar work from a variety of sources to be immediately available to motivate and inspire the students both in class discussion and one-on-one. "The use of this technology by students to demonstrate some of their problem solving work or perhaps show alternative solutions to peers will be equally worthwhile. No longer is the workshop simply a dusty noisy environment, but a multifunctional creative space that supports all stages of technological development work."
"The overall impact of the changes to the department has been stunning and students and staff are thriving," says Matthew. "Having an environment that supports good technological practice – to conceptualise, review, model, test, modify, liaise and conceptualise again, in a cyclical manner – has greatly broadened student understanding of Technology and its processes. Their practice is continually being reinforced by the existence of dedicated spaces for each aspect of a project and by the ease with which they can move from one stage to another, and back again if required. There is a greater emphasis on the exploration of ideas and materials through modelling, principally as the result of the availability of the new multi-materials workroom. The environment now actively encourages the kind of exploration that makes Technology the unique subject that it is."
At the beginning of 2009, Karl White took over as HoD Technology and Graphics. He moved from his position as Deputy HoD, and so was involved throughout with the upgrade. "The new environment allows the student to explore, develop, refine, and research in a range of areas and mediums," he says. "Just having display areas for student work is changing the tone. The interest level and quality of the classrooms is setting the standard for students' own outcomes, which can only improve the awareness of our subject."
