Design, Invent, Imagine: Thinking About Technology

Design, Invent, Imagine: [Thinking About Technology | Looking at the World and Seeing Design| Guess My Technology]

Thinking About Technology

What's the Point?

To get participants' thinking and talking about technology and imaginative solutions.

To get participants to identify and explore different examples of technology and come to appreciate the importance of naming.

To help participants see that technology is everywhere.

What You'll Need:

Options for Technology Examples
- a collection of between 10 and 25 actual examples of technology (e.g., ink pens, tools, hole puncher, coffee pot, computer, etc.)
- a collection of between 10 and 25 picture examples of technology (e.g., ink refrigerators, cars, scissors, etc.) mounted for display.
- Have participants each bring in an example of technology
- A 10-15 min video of clips from the Flintstones and/or Jetsons or any children's program that features imaginative technology.
paper
felt tip pens
chart paper or chalk board
PC computers with KaHootz loaded and ready for participant use

What To Do:

Getting Started
1. Have participants explore the technology collection and/or watch the video tape that you have compiled.
2. Naming: Ask participants to name/identify the technology they see. As they name each object, record the response. NOTE: Language and naming play an important role in identifying the technology examples. Sometimes participants will identify things differently. It is important that you help the group negotiate names and differences of opinion.
Next Steps -- What is technology?
1. Get a discussion going to find out participant notions of technology. The guiding questions below can help to direct the discussion.
  - What was your favorite invention?
  - Who needs technology?
  - Why does a particular example of technology look and work the way it does? (Place Flintstones & Jetsons in a time frame: past, ancient, future, cave people, etc.)
  - How did the creators come up with the tools / technology that are seen in the program/s (IMAGINATION)
  - How do inventions come into being?
  - Who designs technology and why?
2. You may want to have participants work with the collection of "Stamps" included in KAHooTZ, to create their first Xpression based on their technology brainstorming and discussion. After entering the KAHooTZ environment, have them go to "Create" and find stamps that represent technology or are related to technology. Have them create a collection from their finds, label each and then select their 5 favorites. Have them create a second page using their 5 favorite technologies.
  Explain:
  1. The importance of naming their Xpression (see HELP -- "Xpression titles" included in "About Xpressions")
  2. How to save their Xpression (see HELP "Saving my Xpression" in "How do I – Create?"), and if there is time
  3. How to publish their icon (see HELP "Publish an Icon" in "How do I -- Icons?) and
  4. How to publish their Xpression (see HELP "Publish or Send -- Publish my Xpression").

Working with Imagination Place! in KaHootz

Have participants visit:

Tips & Tricks-- to learn about how to name the things that they create in Imagination Place! in KAHooTZ.

Wacky World of Whatchamacallits'
Quests & Queries and create an Xpression based on an exploration of technology. Have them name their Xpression and if there's time -- publish it to KAHooTZ.

Word Wave's:

Design Journal and develop Journal Idea 1 which asks that they think of a machine that they need and then visualize their idea in an Xpression.
Buzz and create an Xpression based on one of its Story Starters.

KAHooTZ Help / KAHooTZ Tech Tips

During this workshop session, participants will have an opportunity to create an Imagination Place! Xpression of their own. It is important that they begin to understand the language of the on-line environment. The KAHooTZ on-line help has extensive information about the environment. Where you can find specific information is given below.

About Xpressions -- Information about the basic building blocks of KAHooTZ.
About Create -- Find out more about creating backgrounds, draw, stamps, sound and text -- elements that are used to create Xpressions.
Xpressions: How do I -- Create -- Information on starting, testing and changing Xpressions.
Saving my Xpression (in "How do I Create) Learn how to save Xpressions you have created.
Publish an Icon Information about making an icon available to the KAHooTZ world.
About Mail Find out basic information about mail in KAHooTZ.
How Do I Mail? Learn what you need to know to use mail in KAHooTZ.

Note: Be sure that each participant has an icon that has been published to KAHooTZ.

Design Notebooks

Ask participants to make a list or sketch the machines, devices, and/or technologies that they think are most important.

Just Between Us

Naming

In previous studies the Center conducted with high school students in pre-engineering classes, girls often expressed that they knew they learned when they were able to name and explain the different parts and tools they used to design devices. Naming, in and of itself, is a path to empowerment -- a way of distinguishing things in the world around you and understanding them. In our Imagine classes, there were multiple opportunities for students to invent their own names for things. Identifying futuristic machines in Jetsons and Flintstones cartoons enabled girls to search their minds for what was salient and interesting about the things they recognized as important and to come up with some way of describing it. Students also had to come up with names for their own inventions as well as parts that they gathered from the workshop.

Resources

The Way Things Work
Eyewitness Books: Invention
Mistakes That Worked