On Line Mentoring Now available-Your own Design and Technology Teacher/coach.-

On Line Mentoring Now available .Your own Design and Technology Teacher/coach. Six months coaching for only $40.

The program allows students to have immediate email access to an experienced Design and Technology Teacher who cares about their success.

“They have direct access to information, someone to bounce ideas off, someone to clarify things that may be confusing for a student”.

Designed to provide academic support to Design and Technology students beyond just the occasional email.

On line Mentoring If you recommend a student who purchases a copy of the Design and Technology eBook you will receive free of charge, six months of mentoring.

How do you achieve this? Simply email the name of the student, and their email address to technology1@exemail.com.au

Paypal now added to website

Hi,

After many requests from both students and teachers I have added a Paypal link to my website ( www.designandtechhelp.com)

The Design and Technology eBook will be electronically delivered hopefully the same day.

yours in

Design and Technology

Experiments-Do not throw them away

Once the project starts you naturally will experiment with samples and materials. If after testing something does not work, do not throw away the samples!

Relevant test pieces and experiments also need to be documented and displayed to demonstrate processes you have undertaken.

A hand-written diary may seem  sometimes  as a low-tech approach but it is a very powerfull and useful tool in showing the development of your MDP.

good luck for 2009 HSC

Colin

What will I make for my Major Design Project?

Time is one of the most important factors to consider when thinking about your MDP. A Design and Technology Proforma which challenges your proposed projects makes it easier to narrow down your ideas. Where do you get such a document to help you? Email me!

good luck with your project

Colin

The importance of quality research in Design and Technology projects

An often asked question by Design and Technology students is” how many pages should my research be? ” What is the purpose of research?    To put you in an informed position about a topic. The more research, the better the knowledge!

A powerful tool is the use of surveys, more on surveys in my next blog.

Happy researching students.

Looking forward to hearing from you with your project ideas for 2009.

regards

Colin

Setting up your MDP for the HSC Markers

I have had a lot of emails about many aspects of students projects from ‘how to set out the folio’ to ‘the best methods of displaying projects’. These aspects are fully covered in a section of the eBook.

Can I say this!

Keep your cool you are almost there ;the goal is in sight.

Most people have said they are flat out on the folio and the MD Project and have not even thought about how they will set up.

Force yourself to sit down and reinvent the project. What do i mean?

When you first had the dream of manufacturing the project you are working on, you had a million ideas, use those ideas to think about how you will sell the concept to the markers. For example if you have the better bed for emergencies dress the space with information to set the scene.

Keep your head down and working hard.

all the best

Colin Christie

Interesting Analysis

When I wrote the Design and Technology eBook I never thought that it would have any impact on students and teachers in other countries. It’s  nice to know that my eBook has helped students from the following countries/locations:

Australia

New Zealand

Bosnia

Singapore

Mauritius

Malaysia

Ghana

United Kingdom

Good luck with your Major Design Project

Colin

Use information available to you from the Board of Studies

Often D & T students ask me questions about their Design and Technology course which is readily available on Board of Studies websites. I am amazed how many students get to this stage of their project and have not read the advice from their educational authorities.

Here are some sites you should have read by now.

Vic:

http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/designtech/destechindex.html

NSW

http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/syllabus2000_listd.html

WA

http://www.education.gov.au/goved/browse/0,15500,15622,15999,4653

SA

http://www.ssabsa.sa.edu.au/sace.htm

best wishes and good luck with your project

New Web page

Someone once said that “the only constant thing in this world is change.”  As the world is about change  I thought it was time to upgrade the Design and Technology website. I have included a free site to help students prepare their folios, a competition to win a copy of my  Design and Technology eBook, and advertising space. If I am a little slow to respond to your emails please forgive me. At times there are large volumes of emails  and complex issues requiring a little research on my part. Can I say, please do research yourself I can not be expected to do the lot!

It is after all your project.

best wishes

Safety and your MDP.

Make sure you have any projects which use a 240 volt power source checked and tagged by someone who is approved to do so. This will vary from state to state in Australia.

I had a student who designed a window which opened and closed according to the current weather conditions. It ran on 240 volts. He “forgot to have it checked”. The markers were not prepared to run the project as it could be unsafe and valuable marks were lost by the student.The student had well over 18 months to plan this!

More help is available in my eBook.