Technology Requirements

Photo: A Ford PAS student's PowerPoint slideshow


Photo: Students collaborate on a project

The world we live in is becoming increasingly reliant on technology, yet schools have varying degrees of access to advanced technologies. Ford PAS is designed to give schools some flexibility in the level and extent of technology required. However, because competency in using technology is so important for students’ futures, the curriculum assumes that a certain set of technology tools, listed below, are available. Especially critical is regular, reliable access to the Internet for teachers and students. If your school has technology resources beyond the designated level, the curriculum identifies some opportunities to use more advanced tools; you and your students are likely to find additional opportunities as well.

Technology Tools Checklist

Equipment Required

  • Computers with Internet access for teacher and students
  • Computers for students (at least one computer for every two or three students; PCs are preferable, as some required software runs only on PCs and program directions are also written for PCs only) Click here to see which software/simulations are compatible with Macs.
  • Monitor and VCR or DVD player

Equipment Recommended

  • LCD projector (With an LCD projector, the resources available on the Web site, as well as students’ PowerPoint presentations, can be projected in the classroom.)

Software Required

  • Quick Time Player, download www.apple.com/quicktime/
  • Microsoft Office
  • Microsoft Access or FileMaker for Careers, Companies, and Communities (4), Planning for Business Success (7)
  • Enterprise Dynamics (PC only) for Planning for Efficiency (6), available from the Ford PAS online catalog
  • HOMER (PC only) for Energy for the Future (12), download from https://analysis.nrel.gov/homer/
Software Recommended
  • Web site-building software for People at Work (3) (for example, Dreamweaver, Frontpage, or Microsoft Word, or software and server space providers, such as Homestead or Trellix)
  • MINITAB Statistical Software for Ensuring Quality (8) (if MINITAB is not available, the activities can be adapted for Excel).
  • ESRI ArcView GIS software (PC only) for From Data to Design (9). A one-year license for the software and the accompanying required text Mapping Our World is available for purchase from the online catalog. You can obtain an ongoing license for your school by completing and submitting a community mapping project to ESRI.
  • Computer-aided design (CAD) software, which can be used in Reverse Engineering (10) and Different by Design (11). CAD software is available to Ford PAS teachers through PTC (PC only).

Software Compatibility

Below is a list outlining software compatibility with PC (Windows) and Macintosh computers.

Module and Software/Simulations

Required or Optional?

PC (Windows) Compatible

Mac Compatible

Various Modules: Microsoft Office (Access, Excel, PowerPoint and Word)

Required

*

*

Planning for Efficiency (6): Enterprise Dynamics
http://www.incontrol.nl/?to=requirements

Required

*

 

Ensuring Quality (8): MINITAB Software

Optional

*

From Data to Knowledge (9): ArcView GIS

Optional

*

 

Different by Design (11): PTC Pro/DESKTOP CAD Software

Optional

*

 

Reverse Engineering (10) and Different by Design (11): Other CAD Software

Optional

*

*

Energy for the Future (12): HOMER

Required

*

See note below.

Online Simulations

  • Planning for Business Success (7): Rags to Riches
  • From Data to Knowledge (9): GIDEON
  • Markets Without Borders (14): Global E2

Required

*

*

Notes

Ensuring Quality (8): MINITAB

No Mac version is available, but you can run Release 14 or 13 on a Power Macintosh if you have installed Windows emulator software, which allows PC software to run on a Mac. See the MINITAB Web site for more information.

Energy for the Future (12): HOMER

No Mac version is available, but you can run HOMER on a Macintosh computer within a Windows emulator.

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