Trends and Issues in IDT

 

 

1. Chapters in Section V identify trends and issues in IDT in various contexts: business & industry; military; health care education; P-12 education; and post-secondary education. Select at least three of these five contexts and compare/contrast the IDT trends and issues. Then explain how they are similar or different from the IDT trends and issues in the context in which you work.

 

Business and Industry is profit based, for that reason the approach has to be based on profit and loss or time lost or gained. Some businesses are so large they must include globalization, that is a little too much so we will stick to business and industry close to home. In B&I the first person involved is the Industrial designer who has the job of training of individuals and being aware of the laws concerning training individuals and governing specific industries. Included in their job are the procedures and materials necessary for training and must be sure to include safety in all areas. They must not discriminate any person and should respect the intellectual properties of others. What the Industrial designer is looking for is cycle-time reduction, increased effectiveness and efficiency. Training in business in ongoing and will continue as it has for the past thirty plus years. Employee training is continual.

 

 

Saving lives, healing the ill, and sick, preventing illness, maintaining health is the job of the health care professional. As such there is and must be a continuation of research. My estimation is the health care profession is the most expensive training as well as the most extensive training of all. This is truly a business where one must take the proper steps to go up the ladder or get to another level of professionalism. Whatever the position of the health care specialist they must possess and maintain as well as constantly improve skills to make analysis of situations. They must know how to evaluate any given problem and find a solution. On top of all this they must also know how to protect themselves from litigation in case of anything that goes wrong.

 

 

The role of the military is so far reaching it would take the complete blog to enter the information. Constant threats by our enemies, known and unknown, make the job of the industrial designer as challenging as any field. Some of the major issues and challenges include keeping up with the constant changes, like the equipment used by the different branches, one reason is that new equipment is often considered obsolete before the troops even learn how to use it. As we have learned in some other classes the industrial designer must often work backwards to address training because he is called upon to create a path to a destination that has never before been done. Train personnel for different climates, terrain, weather and hope he or she were able to do it correct since it has probably never been done before. Possibly the most difficult challenge is to teach soldiers to take the life of someone, the enemy, to save their own and maintain our freedom.

I am proud to say I was a soldier for many years. I love my country and I salute all the present day military, the past military, and the future military.

 

For approximately four decades I earned my keep as an auto technician for General Motors products. Our job was to "Keep American Rolling" and that is what we were able to do. The last thirty years or so we were in almost constant training all because of the invention of computer technology. It is a good thing by all standards. By using technology we were able to push a few buttons, print out instructions and get the job done quick. Prior to computers it was necessary to find a book for the  product one was working on if you could locate it and it was either lost, or someone else was using it. Having one's own PC made the job much more efficient in all areas. Besides finding information to deal with the repair concerns we took training classes online and the more one took and passed the more one was rewarded. By rewards certificates were issued, but the best thing is it was a way to earn more money as the higher the certified level the more money. I should say and remind myself of the personal satisfaction obtained from being ASE Certified at the top level for twenty five years. Computer technology also helped the customer in other ways as well. Getting the issue solved saved time and saved the customer money, also by getting the customer finished quickly and efficiently they were able to get on with their jobs so they could be more productive as well.  

 

 

I do not believe for a minute that working on vehicles is nearly as important as the Military, or Health fields. However different the fields are the modern training methods are able to improve the efficiency of all areas. First off they all must have a client, then someone to take the role of leader or industrial designer. After that we incorporate team members and team leaders and in some cases there is an external designer or consultant. The methods are constantly being improved upon and as things get better the cost will be lower.

 

 

2. Chapters in Section VI discuss global trends and issues in IDT. As the world's population grows exponentially, we face unprecedented challenges that have implications for learning. How and can we prepare our youth to address the problems of living in a world with 9 billion people when the earth's resources cannot sustain that many? Does our current education system, curriculum, and instructional practices help learners foster the complex problem-solving skills necessary to tackle these issues? Are there methods and practices used in European and Asian countries that we should use here in the US? Why or why not?

 

Education is the answer to the question of "how and can" we must first teach our students to think on their own in their own way. In some areas this is one of the best times to be alive and allowed to be here on Planet Earth. I was one of the fortunate who were allowed to grow up in the 1950's with all the blessings bestowed upon us. Like 'rock 'roll, fast cars, cruising the streets, duck tail hair cuts, that was a great time. Now we are faced with new challenges. Who is going to furnish the food? Where is the food coming from? What are we going to do with all the waste created by this many people? Think deep about this one; how and what are you going to do with the people who die, where you going to place them?

 

A real way to get an education outside of a book, classroom, PC and so forth is to get outside and grow a garden. I have and will continue to raise food for myself. Doing this for yourself teaches one what will grow, why it will or will not, all one has to do is store the information and there is an education on that part of the subject. Although the work is hard, it is rewarding. This year some of my tomatoes did not do well, so I consider it a loss, but I learned not to use that variety again. One will experience both success and failure raising a garden of vegetables, but the work is more satisfying than an ice cream cone on a hot summer day.

 

Some of these answers are being solved as we communicate right now, today. People the world over are learning new methods of growing their own food. There are so many ways to supply one's own food from a garden to container gardening, to raised bed gardening. All one has to do is search the internet, information is there waiting for you to look. Any clue will do, from food, vegetables, canning, freezing. Just look the information is there. We are not positive that the Earth will not sustain 9 billion people mostly because it has never been proven or disproven.

 

Some present day schools are growing their own food right at the school, preparing it and serving it in the cafeteria. So, this added curriculum is helping solve one of the future problems. Another is "Think Green" where water is being saved by new plumbing methods. That is by redesigned water saving commodes, urinals, shower heads, water filters. In some parts of the world the issues of the future are being studied and information is being used to get the people ready for the future. One really good method I studied is from Africa where farmers are planting a certain kind of tree to fertilize the fields, and it is working. Chemicals are no longer used and production has increased. Interested people can just type in the words "schools growing own food" into the search engine and a wealth of information is right there where one can pick and choose where, why, how, it is very informative and interesting.

 

I say yes instructional practices are being  developed right here right now to address the issue of what are we going to eat when the population gets to be too many. By way of the internet I took a journey to Europe, Africa, Australia, Belgium, England, Asia they are preparing as well in some areas. I found some methods similar to those practiced here in the USA. Although I noticed some did not mention anything at all concerning food, just education. Some of the school designs in Europe are very interesting and should be considered for use here. There is one in Sweden that has no walls, the windows are designed to allow the correct lighting and help control the temperatures. There are about 39 different education systems in Europe, so it would not be feasible to include all here. All one has to do is click on ec.europa.eu/education to obtain information.

 Many of the designs of school building are designed with learning in mind, safety and comfort of students learning. Very interesting designs, just too many to mention here.

 

One thing I have always known and said, the USA needs to have a rail system like Europe. I have been there, traveled all over Europe and never missed a train. Thanks to the great system they have there. Through education we can get there, but we will probably never have such a system. Take my word for it, it is great.

 

Why or why not? I think we need to study the designs of their school buildings to find ways and means to  conserve our energy, and  enhance education. We should also gather all the information that is available and make good use of it. From the looks of things I found it appears they borrowed from the USA. Some of the schools around the world are also growing their own food. I think it is the wave of the future in education.

 

One class I had with the second grade I told them that by the time they were my age everything would be different especially about food and the cost. Our discussion lead to one of my favorite areas, gardening, several knew what it was and do help with the work. Although some help with the grocery shopping they had no idea where the food actually came from. We had a good talk about how vegetables are grown, how cooked and why they needed certain things in their diet. Although I am sure some of this will be covered in health classes and others I think some classes on survival would benefit the future students. I know, and have seen hunger in schools and I know first-hand that a child cannot learn if their stomach is empty. That is just one more reason to grow your own food, it is already happening here in Texas, the United Stated and around the world. I think we should all jump on the bandwagon and educate the people of the world how they can grow their own things, food, clothing, and other necessities and learn some methods of survival. In my opinion they better know these things by the time the population gets to 9 billion.

 

Along with our textbook good information is here at these websites and others.

 

 www.southalabama.edu/coe/bset/Dempsey/courses/trends1/what isidt.html

www.buildingeurope.eu/

eceuropa.eu/education

vivo.cornell.edu/display/individual16732

A website I use quiet often is www.UnderwoodGardens.com I recommend is and it has a video section where lots of new information can be found concerning growing your own stuff.

 

Some more of my opinions; All things are possible through education. What good is a missile if your stomach is empty? Why is there no more research towards finding an alternative fuel to fossil fuel? How do you get there if you don't know where you're going? You cannot see the future, but it is there, waiting, so get ready. Best way to learn is to get out and do something.

Thanks for visiting, I do hope you check out the www.UnderwoodGardens.com especially the video section.

Stanley Smith