Choosing the chapter guide for the
Digital-Text Technology chapter
The technological process
Digital-Text editorial team
July 16th, 2009
Technical report
Index
Introduction
3
Preliminary designs
4
Proposed solution
9
Assembly plans
10
Construction process
13
Budget
14
Final evaluation
15
Appendix
17
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Introduction
Need
Most chapters of Digital-Text textbooks have a character who guides the student through
the subject. This chapter, The technological process, doesn't yet. This is the need that we are
going to meet: we need to decide on, design, and establish a character to be the chapter
guide.
Guidelines
The characters typically meet the following criteria:
– They are famous figures related to the subject area.
– They are represented as comic-book characters.
The first point narrows our search to famous figures related to the technological process, or
to technology in general.
Research
Research is done on famous engineers. This is done using both paper books and Internet
resources, and a long list of engineers and inventors is drawn up (Appendix 1) .
To narrow down this list, each participant in the project votes for 5 historical figures
(inventions, such as the transistor, which were created by more than one person, are
discarded before the vote).
The top characters were the following:
· Bi Sheng (circa 990-1051 B. C.) Considered the inventor of the Chinese movable type
printing press.
· Harry Harry Brearley (1871-1948) Inventor of stainless steel.
· Whitcomb Judson (1836-1909) Inventor of, among other things, the zip.
· Sergey Korolyov (1907-1966) Actively participated in the first Soviet space missions.
· Adolphe Sax (1814-1894) Inventor of the saxophone
Once the shortlist is made, images are found of each person. The illustrators use these to
make their preliminary designs.
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Preliminary designs
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Preliminary designs
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Preliminary designs
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Preliminary designs
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Preliminary designs
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Proposed solution
The sketches of the preliminary designs were presented to a group of 54 professionals in the
field of education. Each person chose three designs and gave one of them a double score.
The results are summarized in the following graph:
40
35
30
Puntos
25
20
15
10
5
0
A.1 A.2 A.3 B.1 B.2 B.3 B.4 B.5
C.1 C.2 C.3 D.1 D.2 D.3
E.1
E.2
E.3
Guía
The most-voted-for sketch, the second design of Harry Brearley, is what was used as the
guide for this chapter.
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Assembly plans
Here we have the plans for the final design of the chapter guide. These plans include
technical information about the final product: measurements, materials, colors, among other
details.
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Assembly plans
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Assembly plans
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Construction process
Organization
All of the proportions and details on the previous page have been followed in the drawing
up of the chapter guide. This is used as a base from which to draw the same character in
different poses and locations.
Materials and tools
The following materials have been used for drawing up this character:
blue pencil (Colbluer)
camel hair brush #3 (Rothko)
India ink (San yue)
sketch pad (Papiershine)
digital drawing pad (Digital pen)
GIMPshop software for digital coloring
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Budget
Product
Price
Amount
Total
blue pencil
0.4
4
1.6
camel hair brush
7
1
7
India ink
7
1
7
sketch pad
8
1
8
digital drawing pad
250
1
250
GIMPshop software
freeware
computer
provided
subtotal
273.6
VAT (16%)
43.8
total
317.4 €
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Final evaluation
At the end of the production process, a character has been designed to act as a guide to the
chapter The technological process. The decision was made based on votes from professionals
in the education sector (who decided the five finalists,) and teachers and students, who
made the final decision. Although this method was democratic, it doesn't necessarily reflect
the tastes of everyone; for this reason, we are aware that the result could easily have been
different.
That said, it is enough that the final design meets the initial requirements: it is a famous
person related to the theme (he developed stainless steel) presented in a comic-book style.
The use of black ink for the outline gives the drawing more expressive force, making it
appropriate for the age-group at which the chapter is aimed.
We wanted to check the reactions of teachers and students to this new character. To do this
a questionnaire was sent to different schools. The following graphs show the results of the
survey of 41 teachers and 130 pupils of different ages:
Teachers
9.8
14.6
Completely appropriate
Too serious
Too childish
53.7
Not appropriate at all
Doesn't know/doesn't answer
19.5
2.4
Students
3.8
3.1
1.5
Completely appropriate
23.1
Too serious
Too childish
Not appropriate at all
Doesn't know/doesn't answer
68.5
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Total
6.4
4.7
5.8
Completely appropriate
Too serious
Too childish
18.1
Not appropriate at all
64.9
Doesn't know/doesn't answer
Overall, the character meets the need for which it was designed: it was well-received (almost
65% thought it was completely appropriate) and, although we know we could have gone for
another option, we think this is the perfect choice for this chapter.
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Appendix: List of engineers and inventors from initial research
Robert Adler
(1913-2007)
William Cumberland Cruikshank
(1745-1800)
Edwin H. Armstrong
(1890-1954)
William Cullen
(1710-1790)
Joseph Aspdin
(1788-1855)
Glenn Curtiss
(1878-1930)
Roger Bacon
(1214-1292)
Salvino D'Armate
(1258-1312)
Ralph H. Baer
(1922-)
James Dewar
(1842-1923)
Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi
(1162-1231)
Rudolf Diesel
(1858-1913)
John Logie Baird
(1888-1946)
Taqi al-Din
(1526-1585)
Ibn al-Baitar
(d. 1248)
Al-Dinawari
(828-896)
Abi Bakr of Isfahan
(c. 1235)
William H. Dobelle
(1943-2004)
Ibn Bassal
(fl. 1038-1075)
Anastase Dragomir
(1896-1966)
Eugen Baumann
(1846-1896)
John Boyd Dunlop
(1840-1921)
Arnold O. Beckman
(1900-2004)
James Dyson
(1947-)
Ulugh Beg
(1394-1449)
Thomas Edison
(1847-1931)
Alexander Graham Bell
(1847-1922)
Willem Einthoven
(1860-1927)
Karl Benz
(1844-1929)
Douglas Engelbart
(1925-)
Emile Berliner
(1851-1929)
Ole Evinrude
(1877-1934)
Tim Berners-Lee
(1955-)
Samuel Face
(1923-2001)
Abu Mansoor Nizar al-Aziz Billah
(955–996)
Michael Faraday
(1791-1867)
Bi Sheng (Chinese: 畢昇)
(990-1051)
Muhammad al-Fazari
(d. 796/806)
Laszlo Biro
(1899-1985)
James Fergason
(1934-)
Clarence Birdseye
(1886-1956)
Enrico Fermi
(1901-1954)
Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī
(973-1048)
Humberto Fernández Morán
(1924-1999)
J. Stuart Blackton
(1875-1941)
Adolf Eugen Fick
(1829-1901)
Otto Blathy
(1860-1939)
Abbas Ibn Firnas (Armen Firman)
(810-887 A.D.)
Katharine B. Blodgett
(1898-1979)
John Ambrose Fleming
(1848-1945)
Nils Bohlin
(1920-2002)
Jean Bernard Léon Foucault
(1819-1868)
Walter Houser Brattain
(1902-1987)
Benoît Fourneyron
(1802-1867)
Louis Braille
(1809-1852)
Benjamin Franklin
(1706-1790)
Harry Brearley
(1871-1948)
Buckminster Fuller
(1895-1983)
Sergey Brin
(1973-)
Dennis Gabor
(1900-1979)
Robert Cailliau
(1947-)
Boris Borisovich Galitzine
(1862-1916)
C`ai Lun (en chino:蔡倫)
(50 A.D.-121)
Elmer R. Gates
(1859-1923)
Hezarfen Ahmet Celebi
(fl. 1630-1632)
Hans Wilhelm Geiger
(1882-1945)
Lagari Hasan Çelebi
(fl. 1633-1640)
Henri Giffard
(1825-1882)
Juan de la Cierva
(1895-1936)
Heinrich Göbel
(1818-1893)
Georges Claude
(1870-1960)
Robert Goddard
(1882-1945)
Henri Coandă
(1886-1972)
Peter Carl Goldmark
(1906-1977)
Josephine Cochrane
(1839-1913)
Charles Goodyear
(1800-1860)
Lloyd Groff Copeman
(1865-1956)
William Robert Grove
(1811-1896)
Cornelis Corneliszoon
(1550-1607)
Otto von Guericke
(1602-1686)
Jacques Cousteau
(1910-1997)
Johann Gutenberg
(c. 1390-1468)
Thomas Crapper
(1836-1910)
John Hadley
(1682-1744)
Bartolomeo Cristofori
(1655-1731)
John Harrison
(1693-1776)
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Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen)
(965-1039)
John von Neumann
(1903-1957)
Joseph Henry
(1797-1878)
Isaac Newton
(1642-1727)
Heinrich Hertz
(1857-1894)
Joseph Nicephore Niépce
(1765-1833)
Rowland Hill
(1795-1879)
Alfred Nobel
(1833-1896)
Felix Hoffmann (Bayer)
(1868-1949)
Hans Christian Orsted
(1777-1851)
Nick Holonyak
(1928-)
Larry Page
(1973-)
Robert Hooke
(1635-1703)
Luigi Palmieri
(1807-1896)
Erna Schneider Hoover
(1926-)
Charles Algernon Parsons
(1854-1931)
Peter Petroff
(1919-2004)
Coenraad Johannes van Houten
(1801-1887)
Elias Howe
(1819-1867)
Muhammad Husayn
(fl. 1600s)
Fritz Pfleumer
(1881-1945)
Christiaan Huygens
(1629-1695)
Joseph Plateau
(1801-1883)
Jabir ibn Aflah (Geber)
(1100-1150)
Baltzar von Platen
(1898-1984)
Jabir ibn Hayyan (Geber)
(c. 721-815)
Al-Jazari
(1136-1206)
James Leonard Plimpton
(1828-1911)
Whitcomb Judson
(1836-1909)
Ivan Polzunov
(1728-1766)
Kerim Kerimov
(1917-2003)
Alexander Stepanovich Popov
(1859-1906)
Fazlur Khan
(1929-1982)
Al-Khazini
(fl. 1115-1130)
Tivadar Puskas
(1844-1893)
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
(1845-1923)
Ernst Ruska
(1906-1988)
Alberto Santos-Dumont
(1873-1932)
Adolphe Sax
(1814-1894)
Kees A. Schouhamer Immink
(1946-)
Marc Seguin
(1786-1875)
Abu-Mahmud al-Khujandi
(c. 940-1000)
Muhammad ibn Mūsā alKhwārizmī (Algoritmi)
(780-850)
Jack Kilby
(1923-2005)
Robert Koch
(1843-1910)
Willem Johan Kolff
(1911-2009)
Sergey Korolyov
(1907-1966)
Tim Berners-Lee
(1955-)
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek
(1632-1723)
R. G. LeTourneau
(1888-1969)
Hans Lippershey
(1570-1619)
Oleg Losev
(1903-1942)
Auguste y Louis Lumière
(1862-1954)
(1864-1948)
Ma Jun
(c. 200-265)
Al-Ma'mun
(786-833)
George William Manby
(1765-1854)
Alessandro Volta
(1745-1827)
Hippolyte Mège-Mouriés
(1817-1880)
Faust Vrančić
(1551-1617)
Dmitri Mendeleev
(1834-1907)
Robert Watson-Watt
(1892-1973)
Antonio Meucci
(1808-1889)
James Watt
(1736-1819)
Edouard Michelin
(1859-1940)
Frank Whittle
(1907-1996)
Hermanos Montgolfier
(1740-1810)
(1745-1799)
Paul Winchell
(1922-2005)
Narcís Monturiol i Estarriol
(1819-1885)
Arthur Wynne
(1862-1945)
Banū Mūsā brothers Muhammad
(c. 800-873)
Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis)
(936-1013)
Pieter van Musschenbroek
(1692-1761)
Abū Ishāq Ibrāhīm al-Zarqālī (Arzachel)
(1028-1087)
James Nasmyth
(1808-1890)
Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar)
(1091-1161)
Ibn al-Shatir
(1304-1375)
Shen Kuo
(1031-1095)
William Bradford Shockley
(1910-1989)
Isaac Singer
(1811-1875)
Aurel Stodola
(1859-1942)
Reverendo Dr. Robert Stirling
(1790-1878)
Levi Strauss
(1829-1902)
Percy Spencer
(1894-1970)
Nikola Tesla
(1856-1943)
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