The Crazy Gears app for iPad and iPhone is just outstanding in its simplicity and its ability to introduce young children to simple machines and mechanical motion. Simple elements in gears, chains, connecting rods, racks, and pulleys can be pushed around [...]]]> Cost: $0.99
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Age Levels: 6-8
App Link 
   

The Crazy Gears app for iPad and iPhone is just outstanding in its simplicity and its ability to introduce young children to simple machines and mechanical motion. Simple elements in gears, chains, connecting rods, racks, and pulleys can be pushed around the screen in such a way to meet the challenge to “pull the shade” to reveal the next puzzle. You can almost feel the torque on screen as kids learn that gears need to fit together, or mesh, just right to get the most out of them. Later puzzles help the player understand that there may be multiple ways of doing the same job. Even the youngest player can use their ingenuity to realize that a train of gears can be used to bridge a gap or to get the gear at the end of the line to turn in the direction needed. 

This is great fun for all ages and even those younger than the target age range of 6-8. Don’t miss the handbook in the grown-ups corner for some good materials for teachers and parents that explain some of the concepts and vocabulary. Leaving off one star because we want more puzzles! 

I generally see promise in any app related to technology and engineering, and I saw it here too in a concept to bring a structural design app to the iPad. But, this one misses the mark.

This app seems to [...]]]> Cost: $1.99
Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
Grade Levels: 7-12
iPad App Link

I generally see promise in any app related to technology and engineering, and I saw it here too in a concept to bring a structural design app to the iPad. But, this one misses the mark.

This app seems to try to make a truss structure game too much like Angry Birds in how it scores at the expense of basic understanding of how some of the elements work. I realize there are general explanations in the Help section, but the help should be more prominent and there once you are in the interface. It also lacks certain seemingly obvious user interface elements such as an “undo” button and a tap to take you to the next challenge once you’ve completed the current one. Finally, especially for a younger inexperienced audience, it would be helpful for each challenge level to actually state what exactly the challenge is. It took me, an experienced iPad user, and someone that has used software like this to some amateur extent, way too long to figure out how to manipulate things in the build area. For now, stick to the desktop/laptop and web versions of this type of software.

Perhaps, the developer will take some feedback and incorporate it quickly into a better release.

I originally wrote the book in 2008, which is about the time my oldest child was old enough [...]]]> I wrote Engineers Decide because I want every young person to be able to envision himself or herself doing engineering. I know that most will not become engineers, but too many children never even see the possibility.

I originally wrote the book in 2008, which is about the time my oldest child was old enough to have picture books read to him. Immediately, I noticed a large disparity between the number of books that are available about people that work in a limited few professions such as firefighters, artists, and athletes, and those that were about more prevalent professions. At that time, I found no children’s books related to engineering, one of the world’s most popular professions. Since that time, thankfully, a few self-published titles have emerged, such as Engineering the ABC’s written by my friend Patty O’Brien Novak.

So, I set out and made dozens of notes about things that engineers do. I went on to note ideas that put those things into some context that I thought children could understand and relate to. For example, a thought about engineers that work on machines became a page about engineers that work on machines that make something that is fun and familiar to all children such as crayons.

Upon completing the original manuscript, I put a package together and sent a proposal to dozens of publishers. I received but one response to say that the idea had merit, but the book just wasn’t right for their company. Now that the book was nowhere other than in a few dozen publisher’s slush piles, I was more than discouraged. But, in January 2012 things started to look positive again when I learned of Apple’s release of free iBooks Author software. Since I have some background in design and page layout software, I figured I might be able to pull off self-publishing the title without having to put out over ten-thousand dollars to fund a print run. I was also very intrigued by the fact that the iBooks format offered interactive multimedia features.

I went ahead and contacted the artist that I had hired to do some drawings for my first publishing attempt, Diana Chelaru. Diana made the drawings into beautifully colored panels while I searched online stock photo and video databases for the multimedia elements. With a few hundred hours invested into the endeavor, my dream became reality when the iBook was released in the iBookstore on July 17, 2013.

Here is the original description:
Awaken the young engineer within your student or child! Ideal for ages five through ten, Engineers Decide explains that engineering isn’t about “things” but about individuals, inspired to bring forth the discoveries that will change our world. By instilling the joy of designing the future – whether as part of a team or working solo – Engineers Decide ignites children’s curiosity to the wonders of applying their imagination to meet fresh challenges. Engineers deciding upon solutions for product development, as well as all sorts of inventions familiar to children, are described simply and depicted with colorful artwork. And photos show children actively participating in the adventure of discovering next-generation technology. Filled with interactive graphics and videos, Engineers Decide stirs tomorrow’s engineers to realize their potential by exploring this exciting field.

Thus far, Engineers Decide is only available as an iBook for the iPad. Please use this link to download from the iBookstore.

If you represent a group of educators or an engineering professional society, I would be happy to work with you on a free promotional offer for your school or group. Please feel free to contact me at dave@teachingenuity.com with regard to that or any feedback you may have about the book.

The 123D Catch app developed by Autodesk demonstrates exciting new possibilities for tablets and smart phones. Use your camera to take 20-30 photos of an object from various angles and 360 degrees around and the app generates a 3D model of [...]]]> Cost: Free
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Grade Levels: 7-12
iPad App Link

The 123D Catch app developed by Autodesk demonstrates exciting new possibilities for tablets and smart phones. Use your camera to take 20-30 photos of an object from various angles and 360 degrees around and the app generates a 3D model of the object. Models can be exported and emailed as .3dp format. Although the app has a simple interface it takes some practice to take effective photos for models, so it may try the patience of younger children.

This would be greater fun with access to a 3D printer to actually print your models, but even without that it can help to provide an outstanding orientation to the exciting new world of 3D imaging and modeling. Just a few years ago software with this type of functionality cost upwards of thousands of dollars and required high end hardware. Now you can have it in your pocket and free!

The CAD Models app provides access to thousands of drawn and rendered parts from more than 300 catalogs of leading global manufacturers. The downloadable 3D CAD models are compliant with the most important international standards and are available for all current [...]]]> Cost: Free
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Grade Levels: 7-12
iPad App Link

The CAD Models app provides access to thousands of drawn and rendered parts from more than 300 catalogs of leading global manufacturers. The downloadable 3D CAD models are compliant with the most important international standards and are available for all current CAD systems, such as: CATIA®, Autodesk® Inventor®, SolidWorks®, Creo/trade; Parametric, NX™, AutoCAD®, Solid Edge®, etc. The preview within the app provides users to rotate 3D parts and zoom.

I see at least a couple of possible classroom applications. First, these files could be used as resources when introducing basic drawing techniques such as isometric and orthographic. A teacher could select a few interesting or challenging parts for students to view and try to draw using the techniques they are learning. Second, these standard parts could become a valuable library or resources for higher level design projects. Students could use a combination of this library of parts in conjunction with their CAD system to model more advanced systems.

The Wind Tunnel app allows you to draw freeform shapes on screen and observe a simulation of how particles and smoke would move over and around the shape in a wind tunnel. This could [...]]]> Cost: $1.99, Free Lite and HD Pro versions available
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Grade Levels: 4-12
iPad App Link

The Wind Tunnel app allows you to draw freeform shapes on screen and observe a simulation of how particles and smoke would move over and around the shape in a wind tunnel. This could be a great enhancement for lessons and activities that deal with flight as well as other transportation types of activities. Have students draw and test their designs and shapes in the Wind Tunnel app first before they build and test physical models. The free version will only give you a basic sense of what the app can do and how it works; it will not allow for the drawing of your own shapes.

During Edison’s era, he made innovation happen in a unique way for that time. Having people of [...]]]> I’m writing this post for the first time from my new iPad. This device and Harry Roman’s post about Edison and R&D got me thinking about the process of invention and how its changed over the past century.

During Edison’s era, he made innovation happen in a unique way for that time. Having people of various backgrounds, experience, and expertise became the standard for research and development in industry and you can see the evidence of that in the iPad. While how exactly this product was developed and by whom remains an industry secret and a mystery to most all of us, one thing is certain: I imagine that hundreds of people had a hand in it’s development.

I imagine that the following types of people were involved in creating the iPad:

– Industrial Designers

– Engineers

– Marketing Professionals

– Manufacturers

– Software Developers

– Other industry professionals that had experience with original devices that failed in the market (reminder: iPad wasn’t the first of this concept)

Our young people need to learn about ingenuity is how it is applied by teams regardless of scale or market consciousness of a project. They need first hand experience being a team member as well as a team leader so they can begin to understand the dynamics of team work.

One interesting thing to me is how the credit for innovative products gets passed by the public. People seem to credit Edison alone for the invention of the incandescent light bulb. Yet, today the “inventor” of the iPad is Apple. I wonder if over time we’ll remember the companies as the inventors of things rather than the individuals the way we used to.