Design and Technology: Guide

Alison Hardy, Jason Davies, Jeffrey Buckley, Adri du Toit, Scott Bartholomew, Suzanne Gomersall, Cathy Growney, Marion Rutland, Ulrika Sultan, Louise Davies, Trudi Barrow, Matt McLain, Sarah Davies, Helen Brink, Richard Brown, Silveira, V., Mburu, P. K. , Andrew Halliwell | View as single page | | Feedback/Impact.
Design and Technology Education: Guide
Context
D&T curriculum
Pedagogy
Assessment
Resources
What is D&T?
Knowledge Structure of D&T
Signature pedagogies
What is assessed in D&T
Where can teachers find resources to support D&T
D&T in England
D&T Capability
Demonstrations
Formative & summative assessment
Research about D&T
D&T in Scotland
Creativity
AI as a pedagogical tool
Peer and self-assessment
Links to other useful resources
D&T in Wales
Gender in D&T
Design fiction
D&T in Ireland
Food in D&T
Lesson planning
D&T in South Africa
AI in D&T
Gifted students in technology education
Primary D&T
Values in D&T
Critical thinking in D&T
D&T in the USA
Biomimicry
Primary to secondary transition
History of food in D&T
Strength of Evidence
Transferability
Areas for further research
Editors' Comments
Online communities

AI in Design and Technology as subject content

Trudi Barrow

AI provides innovative tools and approaches for pupils to use in D&T. This guide delves into how AI applications in text-to-text, text-to-image, and image-to-image transformations can be effectively utilised by pupils within D&T education as a design tool and as an emerging technology (Barlex, Steeg and Given 2020).

The use of AI being taught as subject knowledge is relatively new (for example ChatGPT-3.5 was launched only in 2022) and although Barlex, Steeg and Given have talked about it as a disruptive technology since mid 2010s, contemporaneous research is limited. However, there are examples of practice shared here from teachers and conference papers used here to explain how its place as curriculum content in D&T.

Use of AI in Design and Technology

Text to Image

  • Pupils can create work quickly and effectively using text to image generative AI tools such as Midjourney, Dall-E or Adobe Firefly that can produce sketches in specific styles using specific techniques in seconds. They can also produce photographs of 3D prints, and prototypes made from specific materials.
  • Students can critically analyse AI-generated visuals, comparing them with human-generated designs to understand the strengths and limitations of AI in design.

Image to image

  • AI rendering tools, such as Newarc.ai can be used to experiment with materials and their properties. Students can render a sketch of a product or garment in many different materials quickly to visually test options.
  • Students can utilise AI tools for quick generation of design variants in specific sections of a design image helping students to explore multiple iterations of a concept without the need for extensive manual revisions.
  • CAD models that have been rendered rudimentarily can be imported into AI image to image tools to augment them into specific locations or render them with more complex materials with specific lighting specified (Charlwood 2024).

References

Barlex, D., Steeg, T. and Givens, N., 2020, Teaching about disruption: A key feature of new and emerging technologies. In: A. Hardy, ed., Learning to Teach Design and Technology in the Secondary School. Routledge, 2020, pp. 137-154.

Charlwood. E (2024) AI and Computer Aided Design, Futureminds Magazine; CLEAPSS.

Further reading

Futureminds Digital Magazine: AI Special Edition, CLEAPSS, 2024

The AI Educator tool links, Jan 2024

30 Tools for the AI classroom

AI in Education

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