Technologies 

Designing for the Real World 

Pre-VCE Design Technology Students 

This term, our Pre-VCE Design Technology students have turned ideas into reality — designing, prototyping and fabricating a genuinely impressive range of handcrafted pieces that showcase both technical skill and creative thinking.  

Design Technology at Templestowe College is built around a design thinking process: students identify a real need or opportunity, research and generate concepts, prototype and test their ideas, and then move into fabrication. This term's projects reflect the breadth of that process in action: 

While still a work in progress, we’re looking forward to displaying students’ work during the Art and Design Technology Exhibition in early November.

Matt named Secondary Teacher of the Year 🏆

Congratulations to Matt, our Technology Learning Area Leader, who has been named Secondary Teacher of the Year by the Design and Technology Teachers Association of Victoria.

The award recognises Matt’s excellence in the Technology classroom, his work developing engaging and challenging curriculum, and his leadership of our Technology team as they continue to be leaders in the field.

After 26 years of teaching, Matt still enjoys seeing students take an idea from a sketch through to something they can build, test and take home.

We asked Matt to tell us more about what makes Technology — and Technology at TC — so great.

Why Technology?

It's the one learning area where students get to test an idea against reality — not just explain it, but build it, break it, and fix it. After 26 years, I still enjoy watching a student go from a sketch or idea to something they can take home and be proud of. That loop of design, make, fail, iterate is where real learning happens, and it's also where I see the most growth in confidence and identity, not just skills and knowledge. I also love the fact that, as a teacher, I am also always learning. There are new skills, techniques or opportunities to learn new stuff.

What's unique about Technology at TC?

At some schools, there may be two or three different Technology pathways. At TC, there are many more opportunities, from Jewellery to Food to Robotics to Design Tech to Permaculture. It is remarkable! Combine that with real industry-grade equipment — laser cutters, CNC routers, 3D printers — and traditional hand tools, and students aren't just doing projects, they're building a portfolio of authentic, personally meaningful work that hopefully actually matters to them.

What does quality Technology teaching and learning look like?

It looks like design thinking and project-based learning driving the "why" before the "how", with students defining a real problem before they touch a tool. It looks like a genuine balance of traditional hand skills and digital fabrication, so students are equally comfortable with a chisel, knife or a laser. And underneath all of it, it looks like relationships: knowing each student well enough to know when to encourage, when to challenge and when to protect their wellbeing.