Technologystudent.com website
Resource Review
Description
This UK website is aimed at teachers and students of "Design Technology". Resources include information for students (such as properties of materials, electronic symbols, and different types of forces), templates, and printable exercises.
Curriculum / Qualifications links
As the site is linked to the UK curriculum, New Zealand teachers need to be selective in how they use it, especially with regard to the terminology. The section on technological systems, for example, talks about the inputs process and the outputs rather than transformations as used in the New Zealand Technology curriculum.
Although this site is of particular interest to Technology teachers, there are some sections which also link to the Science curriculum, and a few resources on Art and Health which might be useful for teachers delivering those subjects.
Content
The site is laid out under headings:
- Graphics
- Electronics
- Mechanisms
- Structures
- Resistant Materials
- Forces and Moments
- Technology and the Environment
- Technology and Cultures
- Equipment and Processes
- Gears and Pulleys
- Computer Control
- CNC (Computer Numerical Control) work
- Product Design
- Design Process – detailed and concise versions
- PCB (Printed Circuit Boards) Work
- Forces/Movements
- PIC – Controllers
- Robolab
- Health and Safety
- PSHE (Personal, Social, and Health Education) and Citizenship
- Power Tools
- Website Links
- Diploma/vocational work
Ease of use
There is a huge amount of material on the site so the first-time user might need to spend a little time assessing the content of each section; however, it is well laid out and easy to navigate.
Rating
Selena Hinchco, facilitator for the Resource Development and Facilitation: Years 7-10 Technology Project, has used this site with her students and recommends it as an informative and "fun" resource. She says that, although teachers need to be discerning in what they use or don't use and be aware of the difference in terminology, some of the resources directly link to the New Zealand Technology curriculum.
While Selena doesn't generally use the information on the design process "because in the UK they're really set on a certain design process, whereas there is more flexibility here", she has found that some aspects, such as their time chart (Gantt chart) and information on how to write a letter to a manufacturer or do a survey with a stakeholder, fit in really well with Planning for Practice. There is, she says, quite a lot of useful material on Modelling, Products, and Systems (although mostly electronic systems) which links to the Technological Knowledge strand. There are also examples of Technological Outcomes in history which relate to the Characteristics of Technology component of the Nature of Technology strand. Selena has linked some of these resources to the Indicators of Progression (PDF file, 49kb).
Selena notes that teachers and students will enjoy the animated images, particularly those of Ed testing the properties of (mostly resistant) materials, even if the language is more advanced (plasticity, ductility, tensile strength, etc.) than what the students are familiar with.
Accessibility
The website is easily accessed and there is no cost to download the templates and student worksheets.
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