The slashdot headline has little to do with the actual article. There is no causality present between the use of CAD and drawing, or at least none that has been discussed in the article itself, and the association is much clearer. My design students generally suck at drawing when they begin their studies for a simple reason: they've been spending less time practicing drawing (and more time playing WoW, not necessarily using CAD).
A bigger problem that isn't mentioned is that the command for traditional drawing and sketching skills in the United States is shrinking, and growing dramatically in China. http://www.core77.com/reactor/08.04_china.asp has an interesting article about this topic, which - in my opinion - is the design equivalent to off shoring in India. Cheaper labor combined with equally (or often better) skilled employees is a no-brainer for traditional US business. Additionally, the manufacturing firms in China will often "throw in" design services for free if you tool or manufacture with them.
It's gotten to the point where the Taiwanese are off shoring to China because it's cheaper..
Please tell me you don't actually enforce a font-size requirement on assignments. Please.
I do indeed; if I don't include some sort of font-size and overall length requirement, I get papers that are several paragraphs and papers that are dozens of pages. I much prefer to have a consistent style and size to grade; it makes it easier for me to provide meaningful written feedback to each student.
Try printing something out in Verdana 8 point; it's not as tiny as you think it is.
Because I'm 28 and can read it just fine, and I'm the only one who really cares to wade through grammatical misfortunes of your/you're and to/too/two?
Verdana 8 point is beautiful:)
I am a teacher:) I teach industrial design at an art and design school in the south. I have been continually impressed with the lack of basic reading, writing and grammar abilities of the kids coming out of high school. These kids write things like "new cents" instead of "nuisance" (among other travesties of misfortunate homonym usage), end sentences when they feel like it (often without a verb), and balk at the thought of a three page paper in 8 point font.
I suppose this is "to be expected": it's an art school, after all. However, my students excel at the type problems listed in the article (interpreting, analyzing, comparing and contrasting) : not only can they interpret things like exercise and blood pressure tables, they continually shatter my expectations when assigned the task of redesigning the 1099 tax form or visualizing the supply chain from raw material to mass produced object.
My point is, I guess, that these kids are absolutely and systematically awful at "traditional" skills of reading, writing, and rhetoric. They seem to have compensated for these issues, however, by learning to visually unravel problems and to solve them through less traditional methods. I don't think this is taught in high school, and so I'm left wondering two things: where do they learn these "innovative" problem solving methods, and what the fuck ARE they learning in high school?
Slashdot Mirror
The slashdot headline has little to do with the actual article. There is no causality present between the use of CAD and drawing, or at least none that has been discussed in the article itself, and the association is much clearer. My design students generally suck at drawing when they begin their studies for a simple reason: they've been spending less time practicing drawing (and more time playing WoW, not necessarily using CAD).
..
A bigger problem that isn't mentioned is that the command for traditional drawing and sketching skills in the United States is shrinking, and growing dramatically in China. http://www.core77.com/reactor/08.04_china.asp has an interesting article about this topic, which - in my opinion - is the design equivalent to off shoring in India. Cheaper labor combined with equally (or often better) skilled employees is a no-brainer for traditional US business. Additionally, the manufacturing firms in China will often "throw in" design services for free if you tool or manufacture with them.
It's gotten to the point where the Taiwanese are off shoring to China because it's cheaper
Please tell me you don't actually enforce a font-size requirement on assignments. Please.
I do indeed; if I don't include some sort of font-size and overall length requirement, I get papers that are several paragraphs and papers that are dozens of pages. I much prefer to have a consistent style and size to grade; it makes it easier for me to provide meaningful written feedback to each student.
Try printing something out in Verdana 8 point; it's not as tiny as you think it is.
Because I'm 28 and can read it just fine, and I'm the only one who really cares to wade through grammatical misfortunes of your/you're and to/too/two? Verdana 8 point is beautiful :)
I am a teacher :) I teach industrial design at an art and design school in the south. I have been continually impressed with the lack of basic reading, writing and grammar abilities of the kids coming out of high school. These kids write things like "new cents" instead of "nuisance" (among other travesties of misfortunate homonym usage), end sentences when they feel like it (often without a verb), and balk at the thought of a three page paper in 8 point font.
I suppose this is "to be expected": it's an art school, after all. However, my students excel at the type problems listed in the article (interpreting, analyzing, comparing and contrasting) : not only can they interpret things like exercise and blood pressure tables, they continually shatter my expectations when assigned the task of redesigning the 1099 tax form or visualizing the supply chain from raw material to mass produced object.
My point is, I guess, that these kids are absolutely and systematically awful at "traditional" skills of reading, writing, and rhetoric. They seem to have compensated for these issues, however, by learning to visually unravel problems and to solve them through less traditional methods. I don't think this is taught in high school, and so I'm left wondering two things: where do they learn these "innovative" problem solving methods, and what the fuck ARE they learning in high school?