New Course Proposal for

Spatial Thinking and Communicating

INTD 100-3


E. Jane Fee and Janet McCracken, TechOne

January 16, 2007


Calendar Information


Course Number: INTD 100


Course Title: Spatial Thinking and Communicating


Credit Hours: 3


Vector: 1-0-0-3


WQB Designation(s): N/A


Course Description:

Students will be introduced to the world of 3D thinking, representation and communication, with a focus on spatial thinking. The overall goal is to provide students with the foundational skills and knowledge they need to understand, create, and use computer-generated 3D representations.

The curriculum covers the basic technical issues of representing 3D environments, as well as cognitive science theories of visual thinking. Ideas, examples, and projects from science, technology, engineering, art, communication and business illustrate and support core concepts.


Prerequisite(s): None


Co-requisite(s): None


Special Instructions: None


Course(s) to be dropped if this course is approved: None



Rationale for Introduction of this Course

Visual thinking and communication are integral to job performance and knowledge sharing in an ever-increasing number of academic fields and commercial industries. With a growing reliance on graphical communication and interpretation, visual literacy skills have become as important as their textual and mathematical counterparts.


This course has been designed to meet school interests within FAS with respect to the TechOne program, benefiting students when selecting courses and providing complementary content to existing first and second level FAS courses. This is a foundation course for FAS students and is open to all Surrey students. The INTD prefix more appropriately labels this as an interdisciplinary course.


Will this be a required or elective course in the curriculum; probable enrolment when offered?


Elective; Probable enrollment 300.

Scheduling and Registration Information


Indicate semester and year this course would be first offered and planned frequency of offering thereafter:

Fall 2007, yearly thereafter


Which of your present CFL faculty have the expertise to offer this course?

Most faculty with primary teaching responsibilities in TechOne are either CFL faculty in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology or LT faculty with appointments ending July 31, 2008. Continuing appointments, with primary teaching responsiblities within TechOne, will be made once the revised program is approved.


Will the course be taught by sessional or limited-term instructors?

Only as part of a team led by CFL faculty


Are there any proposed student fees associated with this course other than tuition fees?

No

Does this course duplicate the content of a previously approved course to such an extent that students should not receive credit for both courses? If so, please specify.

Students who take INTD 100-3 Spatial Thinking and Communication will not receive credit for ENSC 204-1: Graphical Communication for Engineering. If a student switches from the Surrey Mechatronics program to the Burnaby campus, ENSC 204 should be waived for these students


Effective date: 2007-08


Resource Implications


Does this course require specialized space or equipment not readily available in the department or university, and if so, how will these resources be provided?

No


Does this course require computing resources? (e.g. hardware, software, network wiring, use of computer laboratory space) and if so, describe how they will be provided.

Surrey has a 100 user license for Solidworks and has it available in Surrey labs 3050 and 3300. It is on the keyserver and easily installed by ACS Staff.

Course Description

Specific topics taught include: perception of solid shapes; creating solids from templates; presentation methods of 3-D structures; geometric logic; dimensioning; tolerances and auxiliary views; descriptive geometry; and methods and techniques for manipulating solids.

During the semester, students meet weekly for 3-hour sessions. Through a blend of theoretical and hands-on exercises they progress through increasingly complex challenges that begin with simple work in 2D and culminate in the creation of a 3D project.

Working in small teams, students learn to express ideas visually, sketch, create paper representations, use modeling software and interpret each other’s work. They use three-dimensional output devices (such as 3D printers or stereolithography devices) to produce physical models of their creations to begin to build an understanding of objects in space. In the second half of the course, they begin to work with a 3D modeling program, learning to create and manipulate viewpoints, etc. Finally, over the last three weeks of the course, each team creates and builds a 3D object using the modeling software. Each final project is then presented in a public forum.

Course Objectives

Students will:

Evaluation

Participation 10%

Assignments 30%

Quiz 10%

Presentation/Final Project 25%

Final Exam 25%

Course Text

We will be creating an electronic reading pack. Student workbooks and courseware provided by the 3D Modeling Software provider

Edwards, B., (1999) Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Penguin Putnam, New York

Tufte , E. (1990). Envisioning Information. Cheshire, CN: Graphics Press, 1990.

Bertoline, Weibe, Miller and Mohler (1997). Technical Graphics Communications.