Visual Arts & Technologies

“Don’t we just make in Technology?” 

Article by Mike Lampard, MS Technologies Coordinator 

If I was paid for every time I heard a statement such as this is my teaching career in the Technologies area, I’d be a wealthy person. There is still sometimes the perception that the learning in Technologies is just about making or production skills. However, the end products are the result of a lot of different thinking and decision-making processes. Human advancement is built (excuse the pun) on people thinking how something can be done differently, often pushing the boundaries. 

In the Technologies, students use the design process to frame their thinking. In the ‘Double Diamond’ method, students use both divergent (creative) and convergent (critical) thinking skills to create their unique designs. 

• Divergent thinking poses questions and expands possibilities. Who could be the end users for a product? What is the need? What characteristics identify a group? Developing a range of possible solutions and thinking about variations. 
• Convergent thinking defines, analyses and aids in making decisions. The design brief, which summarises the need & defines the direction for a project is a key result of this decision making. The product design solution is a tangible aspect of convergent thinking, including many critical decisions made during the process. 

So yes, we make in Technology, but this is accompanied by high level thinking along the way.