Software Design Teacher Resources

Eighth graders determine the location of specific features of the stimulated ocean floor. The features include the continental shelf, continental slope, an ocean trench, and a mid-oceaniz ridge.

Middle schoolers predict and then analyze the layout of the tectonic plates that form the ocean's floor using mapping skills and Inquiry based problem solving, They compare the depth of various regions in the ocean with the geologic age...

Young scholars become familiar with teh selection, evaluation, and use of instructional software for 4-8 classroom. They download software demos from the web and discuss critiquing software. Students browse software evaluations on web...

Students study soil and its composition. In this soil composition instructional activity, students study examples of soil during several days of aeration. Students summarize their data, organize it, and must be able to explain their...

Gives an overview of software design methodology and differentiates between formal and systemic design. Then it discusses specific principles of design methodology.

An article on the role of design in the context of the overall software development process. Includes the two phases of design techniques.

Students gain experience with the software/system design process, closely related to the engineering design process, to solve a problem. First, they learn about the Mars Curiosity rover and its mission, including the difficulties that...

For those students interested in developing cool video game software for computer or those who enjoy applying their compter science skills to solve problems, a career as a computer software engineer might be worth examining. This Science...

The official website of SmartDraw offers comprehensive information about this drawing software, as well as a free-trial download. Additional content includes tutorials, examples, and scenarios. This software is often used in...

A description of the design patterns that are common in software engineering.

A comprehensive archive of links to versions of many different browsers. Current to 2005. This site is maintained by an international volunteer group primarily for professional web developers.

Describes bottom-up design methodology and differentiates it from top-down procedures. Contains some questions to help choose a particular methodology.

Students research OCR and OCR techniques and then apply those methods to the design challenge by developing algorithms capable of correctly reading a number on a typical high school sports scoreboard.

Student groups use the Java programming language to implement the algorithms for optical character recognition (OCR) that they developed in the associated lesson. The ultimate goal is to produce computer code that recognizes a digit on a...

In this blog article, the author talks about some of the trade-offs that must occur during the software design process with reference to an interview with Bill Buxton who was Principle Researcher at Microsoft Research at the time....

Understand the software process and software process models.

This article discusses some of the different trade-offs and compromises that happen during a design process, for example, usability vs. appeal. Includes some examples from a home renovation and from technology features.

Learn about software development methodologies and the development process.

Product improvement is the process of making meaningful product changes that result in new customers or increased benefits realized by existing customers. The two most popular ways to make product improvements are to add new product...

Offers dozens of essays written by people who use math in their careers, providing practical answers to the question: 'Why should I study math?'."

Most 12-year-olds love playing video games- but Thomas Suarez taught himself how to create them. After developing iPhone apps like "Bustin Jeiber," a whack-a-mole game, he is now using his skills to help other kids become developers. [4:33]

The software industry is a major part of the world economy. This site traces the relatively short history of the software industry, from the 1950s through the 1980s.

A discussion of the role that good design specifications play in the successful completion of a software project.

A Wikipedia description of design patterns used in software engineering.