Children: Engineers of Tomorrow Engineering the World Today

1. Children: Engineers of Tomorrow Engineering the World Today Georgina Echániz Pellicer, SM MIT/Media Laboratory georgina@media.mit.edu

2. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: AN APPROACH TO ENGINEERING EDUCATION Engineering • The science of applying scientific knowledge to practical problems • The art of plan, manage, and develop things by skillful and creative acts

3. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: AN APPROACH TO ENGINEERING EDUCATION College Registration K-12 Failings • Low profile mathematics and science education • Lack of formal presence of engineering and technology

4. PARTICIPATIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AND CREATIVE LEARNING MATERIAL Participative learning environment • Teachers and students express themselves • Students and teachers learn from each other • Students plan and design learning activities • Teachers and students have fun while learning

5. PARTICIPATIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AND CREATIVE LEARNING MATERIAL Creative Learning Material • Computers and Internet • Computers programming • Basic Electronics

6. CHILDREN ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS FOR COMMON PROBLEMS • Identify a real problem affecting the community • Think of a solution for that real problem • Create a virtual model using the computer • Build a prototype using basic electronics

7. Electronic Water Level Detector and Water Sampler • Monitoring water wells at the 26 district is done using a probe • Determine phreatic levels and sample • Design an electronic device • Build a prototype

8. Electronic Water Pollution Detector • People do not regularly clean their water tanks • Detect turbidity in the water tank • Engineer an electronic device • Build a prototype

9. RESULTS • Students think that: “This experience has been a door full of opportunities, accomplishments and unforgettable experiences. Speaking of the academic side, I learned that education does not have to bee boring or tedious, we can learn while we enjoy what we do. Now I know the importance of teamwork, and the satisfaction of learning new things, it is incredible how a simple idea can end up in an amazing creation. The learning experience was very interesting because we used different technological tools, we also did research and discussed about what we learned and how we could apply it to help the community, then we went hands on and let our imagination fly to create something that is useful… An important experience for me is to realize that mathematics is not a boring subject, as we sometimes tend to think, and now, I have decided to go to College and be an Engineer.”

10. FURTHER DISCUSSION • We have reached a limited amount of teachers and students who have benefited from this learning experience • We are still looking for a strong methodology to take the workshop experience back to the Schools as a common approach of teaching and learning that can improve science and technology teaching, and prepare children to face present and future technological challenges, and to understand science and technology as a the basis of careers that can contribute to shape the world in which we live in, such as Engineering