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Welcome to the TEK Project

TEK: Tech Engineering for Kids

The theme of the Tech Engineering for Kids project at Tennessee Tech is to implement, demonstrate and assess a model for contextual learning in engineering that emphsizes real-world applications in designing specialized assistive devices for children with special needs. The project pairs engineering student teams from a TTU engineering class (e.g., Kinematics and Dynamics of Machinery ME 3610) with assistive technology needs for children with disabilities in the Upper-Cumberland Region of Tennessee.  The student teams are supported by instructional faculty and technical staff at TTU along with service coordinators or educational professionals located in the region. They form a larger multi-disciplinary team to address the child’s assistive technology needs. The larger group supports the student team to provide necessary input in defining and addressing the need while the student team carries out the project design from early stage conceptual design through overseeing fabrication, testing and demonstration. This project provides a strong hands-on component to the mechanism design class at TTU and provides a multi-disciplinary project activity for our students. The project also provides an opportunity to provide unique or specially designed assistive technology solutions for children in Middle Tennessee.

PROJECTS