Design Technology: Engineering (Elective)

“I never understood how the Son of God who created electricity chose to come to earth at a time when He had to go to bed by candle-light, or how He who understood all the principles of aerodynamics and spacecraft was willing to travel from place to place riding on a donkey.” Major Ian Thomas

Overview

Students in Engineering Design are immersed in the creative process of solving problems by identifying needs and then developing solutions. Depending on the problem, the solution may be a product, a technique, and structure, a process or a combination of multiple elements. This course is intended to stimulate students’ ingenuity, creative and critical thinking and practical skills in devising solutions to engineering design problems. Students use the engineering design process to investigate, design, plan, test, produce and evaluate solutions. Students will be challenged with problems they have not seen before, giving them practice experimenting, working through uncertain, breaking problems down into smaller parts, taking risks and playing with their own ideas. The Engineering elective is a practical course, which provides opportunities for students to develop knowledge, understanding and skills in relation to general engineering concepts. Students will explore board topics in Systems, Electrical, Mechanical and Software engineering.

Aims

• Provide students with opportunities to apply maths, geometry and reasoning skills in practical, relevant and contextualised ways
• Students will explore computational skills through coding, programming, electronics and robotics
• Develop Technological, problem-solving and hands-on practical skills
• To solve an engineering problem, the students would need to design parts, build them, write code and then evaluate their success. This problem solving process will allow them to be inventors of both hardware and software in creative and exciting ways
• Explore many career fields; including engineering, science, mathematics, computer aided design (CAD) and electronics
• CAD drawing and designing: Using Autodesk Fusion 360

Topics Include

• Problem Solving Simulations – Real world scenarios
• Computational Thinking - Algorithms, Encription and Ciphers
• Computer Science - Python programming
• Engineering Design Process
• Inquiry Project - Mouse Trap Vehicle using CAD and Laser Cutting

Time Allocations

• 4 periods per cycle for a whole year

Prerequisites

• None

Requirements

• Levy cost

Assessment

• Use of technology and equipment
• Engineering design process - logbook
• Creative and critical thinking
• Classroom participation

“Looks also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things.” James 3:4-5