Chapter 8

When I first read the title of this chapter I thought about many different things about “designers” but I did not really look at it the way the chapter has set it out. This chapter is all about design inside and outside of the classroom. One thing that the chapter talks about is how to enhance learning and make it more meaningful by adding different design elements. The four areas that the chapter discusses are drawing design ideas with computer aided design software, testing designs and building mental models with simulation software, developing programming skills while designing in the media arts and finally designing music with composition software.

When I was reading this chapter I had some concerns on how these designing programs could be used in the schools. When I just looked at the page the capitol letters “CAD” stood out among the rest of words. I have heard of that design program because I remember my sister coming home and talking about it from her engineering classes. One of my concerns right off the bat is how the students in my classroom were actually going to use a tool that engineers use and take classes on. Another concern that I had while I was reading was how I was going to learn these different design programs and as usual the chapter came to the rescue. It taught me all about different design programs that are child friendly and easy to use. I really liked the idea of having the students design their own objects on these programs like the Pro/DESKTOP which has a design, drawing and album setting for the children to play around with and create different things. I have always been a big fan of creativity and art and in my mind this is a great form of art that many of the children in my classroom could probably relate to.