Gold's Corner
PTC Software
By Dennis Gold
Jul 24, 2008 - 2:11:31 PM

As discussed here is some information on our education Program.

  At PTC, we’re committed to our future engineers and it's our vision to reach as many students, teachers and schools as possible to promote technical literacy in education.

Our education programs utilize PTC’s completely integrated industry leading design applications, including; educational versions of Pro/ENGINEER for 3D modeling, design and manufacturing; Windchill ProjectLink for project collaboration and Mathcad for engineering calculations.  These are the same tools being utilized by over 49,000 commercial customers in over 30 countries.

  Our schools program introduces students to 3D design technology as early as middle school so they can become better problem solvers, critical thinkers and collaborators.  For schools involved in this program, PTC donates up to 300 seats of Pro/ENGINEER Schools Edition that students can use in the classroom and at home.  We also provide additional teacher training opportunities, classroom materials mapped to national standards, discussion groups, and web-based resources for design collaboration between schools.  All that is required for a school to receive this donation is for a teacher to attend a two-day workshop taught by a certified instructor.  In this workshop, teachers are taught how to use the application, the curriculum and be prepared for introducing it into the classroom.

PTC is also leading the global engineering movement in education for our future engineers.  The days of engineering design teams standing shoulder to shoulder, working on 3D designs in isolation are over. Equally, the days of our future engineers designing in isolated classrooms are over. It is imperative that we teach our future engineers to design and build next generation products with other engineers who don’t just live across town, but across the country and nations.  Unlike any program before it, we offer them the opportunity to create new design, solve design problems and collaborate together as a global design team.

Through  PTC's Global Engineering Initiative, students use Windchill Project Link, a project-based collaboration tool accessed through the internet, to learn how to work collaboratively in geographically distributed teams.  Windchill has robust CAD visualization and CAD data management tools, discussion forums and real-time meeting capabilities. Utilizing a virtual workspace, students can be anywhere in the world and access up-to-the minute data about their project. Team members can share thoughts, build on each other's input and capture innovations as they evolve. And, through our partnerships with higher education institutions, businesses and government, we offer students the opportunity to collaborate on "real world" design challenges.

To date, over 4 million students worldwide have used PTC software in the classroom, and PTC's program is credited with transforming the study of design in several inner-city schools, closing the gender gap in test scores, and changing the way thousands of kids think about learning.

  PTC Global Education Program Brochure - http://www.ptc.com/view?im_dbkey=65478

  There are three main product offerings as part of the PTC DesignQuest Schools Program:

  Pro/ENGINEER Schools Edition – FREE Program
FREE licenses of Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire design software (up to 300 seats), project based curriculum and tutorials. We also encourage teachers to allow students to install Pro/ENGINEER at home.  All that is required to receive the application and curriculum is that you attend an introduction workshop.  All workshops are taught by fellow teachers that have been certified as instructors by PTC.  There is typically a nominal fee for the workshop paid to the instructor; over the entire program is free. 

  Here is the schedule of upcoming workshops - http://www.ptc.com/appserver/mkt/etd/workshop_list.jsp

  Pro/ENGINEER Schools Advanced Edition
Certain students will excel and be ready for the next phase of 3D design, which is why PTC has developed this comprehensive 3D engineering package. The functionality in the Pro/ENGINEER Schools Advanced Edition will give students invaluable experience to prepare them for an engineering program in college or for a job directly out of high school.  This edition includes a complete CAD/CAM/CAE solution.

  Mathcad Schools Advanced Edition

  With PTC's Education Program, students can:

  ·         Build technological literacy

·         Learn to work collaboratively in teams

·         Develop communication, interpersonal and social skills

·         Improve critical thinking and strategic thinking skills

·         Increase confidence

·         Experience project-based problem solving

·         Become familiar with advanced design processes

·         Prepare for real-world careers in technology

Our Schools program is not just providing free/low cost applications!

P TC is focused on delivering an integrated program aimed at inspiring the next generation of Engineers, Designers and Technicians.

Our integrated program provides the following four elements:

·         Free/low cost design applications         

·         Complete curriculum and project based activities – Mapped to national standards (ITEA) and Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) Initiative

·         Assessment/certification tools

·         Global Engineering

As for higher educational solutions, we also have a winning University Plus Program. 

Attached please find the benefits of our program that schools can take advantage of.

Lastly, here are some exciting programs we are involved with:

·         FIRST Robotics Competition – teams enrolled in FRC will gain access to Pro/ENGINEER, MATHCAD and Project collaboration solutions for the development of their robots.

·          F1 in Schools ( Canada) – Teams enrolled in F1 will receive team licenses of Pro/ENGINEER Schools Edition and an integrated Wind tunnel application.  In addition, teams will receive a training module on how to use Pro/E to design their F1 CO2 car.   Attached is the tutorial we build for this.

Our hope is that by introducing design technology early, students in your board can gain an understanding of how and why technology works and be more inclined to enter engineering or a technology program after high school.  We want to help bridge the academic gap and inspire all students to design the products of the future.

In North America, we have over 12,000 teachers trained and using our technology in the classroom.  We are also focused on several strategic states, PA being one of them.  The engagements in the given state involve discussions with state boards of education and the governor’s office.  Attached you will find information on the activities in Vermont.

I spoke with my colleague Ralph Copppola, who actually met with Rosanne White some months back.  They actually talked about the DOE Real World Design Challenge (details on challenge attached).  She was going to get back in touch with Ralph on the next steps.  I know she has yet to do that.  Maybe with your help, he can move forward with this.  I know she was quite interested.

In the meantime, I am more then happy to provide the TSA – PA with software for the computers during the various events.  In addition, see how you can get involved in the DOE project.

There is a lot of information here….but please let me know if you require further information.  I look forward to talking with you soon.

Regards,

Mark