PTC DesignQuest Schools Program - FAQ

What types of education programs does PTC offer to schools?
A commitment to secondary education is one of the cornerstones of the PTC Education Program. The PTC Education Program provides teachers and professors with complete learning solutions to prepare a new generation to succeed in a technological world. From secondary school to the university level, PTC is helping students and educators get the best in product development education, by providing software, training and classroom materials to educators all over the world.

The two programs that PTC offers to schools are:

PTC DesignQuest Schools Program
The PTC DesignQuest Schools Program introduces students to 3D design technology as early as middle school - so they can become better problem solvers, critical thinkers and collaborators. Teaching design helps students to develop critical thinking skills and to solve multidimensional problems. Design challenges students to make decisions, to identify opportunities and to take effective action.

The visual nature of designing in 3D appeals to students across a wide range of abilities, offering a new and natural avenue of communication. Students learn to think logically and spatially - skills they will take with them into adulthood. Teachers have stated that students who struggle with written communication often show phenomenal growth in this new 3D environment, granting them the ability to express their ideas for the first time.

As part of the PTC DesignQuest Schools Program, we offer technology teacher-led training workshops, free seats of Pro/ENGINEER Schools Edition for classroom and student home use, classroom materials and projects.

This program is about more than just free software - it's about encouraging technological literacy for all.

The Schools Advanced Program
Pro/ENGINEER Schools Edition is a great way to introduce ALL students to 3D design and technology, but there are certain students who will excel and be ready for the next phase of 3D design. In answering the requests of many teachers, we have developed a program called Schools Advanced.

The Schools Advanced program includes Pro/ENGINEER Schools Advanced Edition for classroom and students' home-use, training provided by PTC professionals, classroom-tested materials and customer support - all for an affordable price.

Students with experience using Pro/ENGINEER in high school will be well prepared for college. Pro/ENGINEER is used in over 450 colleges and universities in North America and 1,500 around the world, including 46 of the top 50 mechanical engineering schools in the US as ranked by US News and World Report.

Pro/ENGINEER students will also hit the ground running in their careers, and have an advantage over other students and employees.

Why should Pro/ENGINEER be taught at the high school level?
The short answer is to better prepare your students for the future. Pro/ENGINEER experience on a student's resume will help to get their foot in the door at companies like Jaguar, Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Hasbro, U.S. Surgical, Ferrari, Motorola, and tens of thousands of others who use PTC software to design products.

Preparing students with skills that a quarter million engineers currently employ gives them a competitive advantage when entering the workforce. And, students who enter universities with Pro/ENGINEER experience also have a competitive advantage, as 46 of the top 52 mechanical engineering universities* in the US currently teach Pro/ENGINEER in the classroom. High school teachers have a responsibility to teach technology that is widely used in industry - and Pro/ENGINEER is the most widely used product development software solution around the world. (As ranked by US News and World Report - 2005)

Why should I spend time teaching design?
The fundamental skills that are required to be successful at design are the same skills that all teachers seek to instill in their students. Simply put, teaching design helps students develop critical thinking skills and to solve multidimensional problems. Design challenges them to make decisions, to identify opportunities and to take effective action. It also teaches students to recognize talent and expertise in others and to value collaboration while respecting healthy competition.

The visual nature of designing in 3D appeals to students across a wide range of abilities, offering a new and natural avenue of communication. Students learn to think logically and spatially - skills they will take with them into adulthood. We have found that students who struggle with written communication often show phenomenal growth, as they are empowered to express their ideas for the first time.

Teachers at my school are under a lot of pressure to improve students' performance on standardized tests. How does teaching design improve students' test scores?
The results from our pilot program in the U.K. suggest that students who learn 3D design improve their performance on a wide variety of standardized assessments. When students undertake design projects, they learn to identify needs, frame problems, weigh alternatives and to express themselves with greater confidence. These skills will be taken into other subjects, thus improving the overall understanding of critical lessons.

I teach drafting, so I already have an appreciation for the value of teaching design. Why should I switch to PTC's design and collaboration software?
Many of the CAD packages that have been marketed to schools are simply not as powerful or as easy to use as our design software. The most commonly used drafting software in U.S. schools requires very tedious sectional drawings in order to display a 3D model. This software is built on a nineteen year-old 2D foundation - and its only practical use is architectural drafting. Plus it costs schools $1,000 per copy!

Contrast that to our packages, which allow for immediate exploration of a design in 3D without the use of manual constraints and dimensions. Students can, with very little effort, quickly create a design on the screen that looks exactly as the 3D object would in real life. It is then easy to create modifications, enhancements, and then finally standard drawings and renderings of the product. Students can create multiple configurations of a design and then animate them. Standard parts, materials, holes, and textures are included.

The software also offers a great context for collaboration with other students. Thanks to the Internet, students can work together with other students in a different classroom - in the next town or on another continent.

Plus, we have two great offerings for teachers, based on students' needs. Both packages give teachers a lot of flexibility and are affordable under tight budgets.

Why choose the PTC DesignQuest Schools Program?
This is about more than just software - it's about encouraging technological literacy. We believe that by partnering with teachers like you, we can help prepare students for success in today's technology-driven society and implement the International Technology Education Association's (ITEA) Standards for Technological Literacy.

The bottom line is that PTC's software leaves the teacher's attention focused squarely on teaching - whether it's drafting, design, physics, math, or business class. With other software, teachers end up spending most of the year teaching arcane and unintuitive software. Writing teachers teach writing, not how to use a pencil and now technology teachers can teach design, not how to use software.

Who is PTC and why are they offering their software for free?
PTC is the largest software company in the world with a commitment to product development. We are the market leader in mechanical design with over 40,000 customers such as Jaguar, Lockheed Martin, Hasbro, U.S. Surgical, Caterpillar, Ferrari, and Motorola. If you haven't heard of us, it's probably because the revenue we earn every year comes from large companies, not from schools.

We are committed to education on all levels, from middle school through university. By introducing design technology early, students can gain a better understanding of how and why technology works and develop a better appreciation of the world around them. We can help bridge the academic gap and inspire all students to design the products of the future. Because the designers of the future are our future too.

How does the Schools and Schools Advanced Program complement one another?
PTC feels that the combination of our high school offerings gives students a good base for learning about technology, design and engineering. Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire allows students to learn about these subjects while at the same time having fun designing "real-world" products.

So how do you know what program is the right one for your students? It depends on the type of programs that are being offered at the school. For many schools, that are offering introductory classes to 3D product design, Pro/ENGINEER Schools Edition will provide the students with a comprehensive foundation 3D modeling. Some students or programs, however, crave more - and could benefit from experience with features like sheetmetal and machining, for example. For those students, Pro/ENGINEER Schools Advanced program is a great next step.

Whether it's Pro/ENGINEER Schools or Schools Advanced Edition or a combination of the two, the goal of our education program is to better prepare your students for the future. We're proud to be part of a technological literacy movement that seeks to improve critical thinking and multidimensional problem-solving skills. Of course, we also enjoy seeing a growing number of students become engineers.

How can I get involved?
If you'd like to use the Pro/ENGINEER Schools Edition in your classroom, you can sign up for a training in your area or contact schools@ptc.com for more information.

If you'd like to get more information on the Pro/ENGINEER Schools Advanced Edition, please email schoolsplus@ptc.com.

Are Pro/ENGINEER and Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4.0 different products?
These are not different products; Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4.0 is a specific version of the Pro/ENGINEER product family. When PTC first came out with Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 1.0, PTC decided to use the term Wildfire to mark the next generation of Pro/ENGINEER because of the exceptional development effort that led to significant improvements made to the user interface and the introduction of Web connectivity.

How do I learn more about Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire and the key enhancements in this release?
Over the coming months, we will be sending you more information about Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire and this new version for middle and high schools. There is a lot of material posted to our website about Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire. Here are a few helpful links to get you acquainted with the software, if you haven't seen it yet:

There are many enhancements in this release. These materials provide the detail on Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4.0:

 
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