Discussions and assignments in this class reveal methods for developing the writing skills and techniques needed to communicate effectively and efficiently in professional and technical industries. The course explores techniques for gathering, organizing, and presenting technical information in written reports for technical and non-technical readers. By studying the purpose and design of reports commonly used in business and technical industries, students will gain practical writing experience and stronger persuasive skills, which will also be useful in academic writing. Students work will focus on writing reports, memorandums, and other business and technical documents with an emphasis on layout, tone, clarity, and conciseness. Course includes instruction in research technique, research paper formatting, and academic documentation, culminating in a formal report on a technical topic. Login: guest_oclPassword: ocl

Companies and governments have to decide upon technological strategies, i.e. which products are to be developed and which processes and infrastructures are required for the future. Several tools to consider technological strategies are dealt with in this course.

Introduces analysis techniques for complex structures and the role of material properties in structural design, failure, and longevity. Energy principles in structural analysis and applications to statically-indeterminate structures and solid continua. Matrix and finite-element methods of structured analysis including bars, beams, and two-dimensional plane stress elements. Structural materials and their properties; metals and composites. Modes of structural failure. Criteria for yielding and fracture. Crack formation and fracture mechanics. Fatigue and design for longevity. Other failure modes. Structural design project.

A graduate-level introduction to artificial intelligence. Topics include: representation and inference in first-order logic; modern deterministic and decision-theoretic planning techniques; basic supervised learning methods; and Bayesian network inference and learning.

This course explores the potential impact of modern technologies on the school reforms debate. The first part of the course provides an overview of the current state of the school reform debate and reviews the ideas in the progressive school reform movement, as well as examining the new public charter school in Cambridge as a case study. The second part of the course requires critical study of research projects that hold promise as inspirations and guidelines for concrete multidisciplinary activities and curriculum for progressive charter schools. The course concludes with a discussion of the challenges in scaling the successful innovations in school reform to new contexts.

In this activity, students will look at images of various types of technology (eg. TV, video games, subway) and determine which ones are “technological turning points.” To help evaluate whether or not something is a “technological turning point,” students will complete a worksheet that identifies each technology's economic, social, environmental, and political effects. Students will also think about the positive and negative impact of technological change, including who benefits and does not benefit.

This course explores the design of innovative educational technologies and creative learning environments, drawing on specific case studies such as the LEGOĺ¨ Programmable Brick, Scratch software and Computer Clubhouse after-school learning centers. Includes activities with new educational technologies, reflections on learning experiences, and discussion of strategies and principles underlying the design of new tools and activities.

Studies the relations between literature (primarily of the Renaissance and Early Modern periods) and the technologies associated with its production and dissemination. Instruction and practice in oral and written communication. Topic for Spring: Hypertexts and Hyperrealities. This course explores the properties of non-sequential, multi-linear, and interactive forms of narratives as they have evolved from print to digital media. Works covered in this course range from the Talmud, classics of non-linear novels, experimental literature, early sound and film experiments to recent multi-linear and interactive films and games. The study of the structural properties of narratives that experiment with digression, multiple points of view, disruptions of time, space, and of storyline is complemented by theoretical texts about authorship/readership, plot/story, properties of digital media and hypertext. Questions that will be addressed in this course include: How can we define "non-sequentiality/multi-linearity", "interactivity", "narrative". To what extend are these aspects determined by the text, the reader, the digital format? What are the roles of the reader and the author? What kinds of narratives are especially suited for a non-linear/interactive format? Are there stories that can only be told in a digital format? What can we learn from early non-digital examples of non-linear and interactive story telling?

In order to promote students’ conceptual understanding and learning experience in introductory statistics, a technology task, which focuses on the probability distribution in which means are defined, was created using TinkerPlots, an exploratory data analysis and modeling software. The targeted audiences range from senior high school grade levels to college freshmen who are starting their introductory course in statistics. Students will be guided to explore and discover the movement behaviors of means of a set of numbers randomly generated from a fixed range of values characterized by a predetermined probability distribution. The cognitive, mathematical, technological and pedagogical natures of the task, as well as its association with the statistics education framework based on the Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) by the American Statistical Association, will be elaborated. A brief discussion on what cognitive design principles this task satisfies will also be provided at the end.

The course gives knowledge of and insight into

(1) technology development from a societal perspective,
(2) a wide range of impact assessment procedures and methods to assess and regulate the potential impact of technological projects, programmes and technology policies, and
(3) ethical theories and tools to judge and manage social consequences of these initiatives.

This version of the subject Technology Dynamics and Transition Management was taught in co-operation with the Harbin Institute of Technology in China. At the heart of this module lies a model of technology development from a social perspective, which will be applied to water problems in present-day China.

Addresses relationship between technology-related problems and the law applicable to work environment. National Labor Relations Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act. Toxic Substances Control Act, state worker's compensation, and suits by workers in the courts discussed. Problems related to occupational health and safety, collective bargaining as a mechanism for altering technology in the workplace, job alienation, productivity, and the organization of work addressed. Prior courses or experience in the environmental, public health, or law-related areas.

Technology Policy Negotiations and its prequel, ESD.932, Technology Policy Organizations, form a sequence on Organizational Processes in Technology Policy. This course provides a core framework for an interest-based approach to negotiations, along with a systems approach to dispute resolution in organizations. Core interactive skills are developed, including communication skills, negotiating over the "rules of game," and cross-cultural negotiations. Key assigments center on ethical debates in technology policy, regional economic development challenges, and assessment of organizational dispute resolution systems.

Outlines tools for formulating and evaluating technology strategy, including an introduction to the economics of technical change, models of technological evolution, and models of organizational dynamics and innovation. Topics covered include: making money from innovation; competition between technologies and the selection of standards; optimal licensing policies; joint ventures; organization of R&D; and theories of diffusion and adoption. Taught using a combination of readings and case studies.

This course provides you with a framework to understand the structure and dynamics of high-tech businesses, together with an approach for their effective strategic management. It is focused on domains in which systems are important, because either or both products are parts of larger and more complex systems, or they are comprised of systems. The domains covered include computing, communications (in particular the mobile and IP domains), consumer electronics, industrial networking, automotive, aerospace and medical devices. The course will be of particular interest to those interested in managing a business in which technology will likely play a major role, and also to those interested in investing in or providing counsel to these businesses. The emphasis throughout is on the development and application of ways of thinking or mental models that bring clarity to the complex co-evolution of technological innovation, the demand opportunity, systems architecture, business ecosystems, and decision-making and execution within the business.

This subject examines relationships among technology, culture, and politics in a range of social and historical settings. The class is organized around two topics: Identity and infrastructure, and will combine interactive lectures, film screenings, readings, and discussion.

Companies and governments have to decide upon technological strategies, i.e. which products are to be developed and which processes and infrastructures are required for the future. Several tools to consider technological strategies are dealt with in this course.

Subject considers how the visual and material world of "nature" has been reshaped by industrial practices, beliefs, structures, and activities. Readings in historical geography, aesthetics, American history, environmental and ecological history, architecture, city planning, and landscape studies. Several field trips planned to visit local industrial landscapes. Assignments involve weekly short, written responses to the readings, and discussion-leading. Final project is a photo-essay on the student's choice of industrial site (photographic experience not necessary).

Our linked subjects are (1) the historical process by which the meaning of technology has been constructed, and (2) the concurrent transformation of the environment. To explain the emergence of technology as a pivotal word (and concept) in contemporary public discourse, we will examine responses--chiefly political and literary--to the development of the mechanic arts, and to the linked social, cultural, and ecological transformation of 19th- and 20th-century American society, culture, and landscape.