General Problem Situation:

Dangers of many kinds threaten children the world over and both their health and safety are a common concern. Children face different problems and hazards because of both environment and from the use of a wide range of technologies. Some common hazards are land mines, traffic accidents, contamination of the environment, and household chemicals.

General Design Challenge:

Design and develop a way to protect a child from a problem, danger and/or hazard. A student or team of students should identify a particular problem facing children in some specific part of the world.

Specifications:

Students should develop a list of specific requirements that the successful solution should meet.

Documentation

A folio can be developed that includes a page for each of the following:
1. Title page
2. Table of contents
3. Identification of the problems
4. Alternative solution ideas
5. Selection and development of one solution
6. Drawings or photos of solution
7. Results of testing
8. Evaluation of solution with suggested improvements

Also, students should consider the following in their work:

• Age Level of Problem must be stated
• Specific design brief should be developed to fit problem
• Solution should be appropriate for age and problem specified
• A design process should be documented
• Solution should be safe and easy to use.

Draft of Cover Letter.....

Dear Educator:

You and your children are invited to participate in an International Design Challenge sponsored by the Design and Technology Section of the International Technology Education Association studentsechnology Education Association. The D&T section of ITEA is dedicated to promoting the study of technology through the use of designing and making activities. During the next academic year teachers and their students from around the world are invited to try the following design challege and share the results of their efforts through the internet.

The International Design Challenge is not a competition. It is an opportunity to share ideas and solutions among students from many nations. During annual ITEA conference in March, the D&T section member Joel Rothchild of Israel shared his dream of The idea for the challenge arose dthe where d of Israel shared a dream shared his dream of having children from many countries work on a design problem with their results reported throught the internet. This idea captured the imagination of the members and a team was formed to develop an appropriate challenge.

The international Design Challenge problem is rather open so that it may be open for participantsı interpretation. We are interested in how it is interpreted, the problems identified, and the solutions selected by various participants. This feedback will be a vital part of the sharing. Specific examples of problems are not being offered because we do not want to influence your thinking and creativity. However, the solution of your design and development should take the form of a physical product or system. The product or system should be modeled appropriately and tested.

We encourage results and solutions to be put on your schoolıs Web Page, if possible. We then encourage you to provide us with your Web address so we can provide a link to your page from the D&T International Design Challenge Page. We then further encourage you to provide us with video, photos and color copies of student work to be displayed at the 1998 ITEA annual conference.

At the conclusion, the results and solutions we accumulate will be shared via the internet and the 1998 ITEA annual conference in Fort Worth, Texas at an intereset session March 8-10 for the conference attendees to view. We merely wish to share the varied ideas from different cultures.

Respectfully yours,

Melissa M. Ceppa

Wendy M. Kelly