Journals

Maintaining an engineering journal is one of the standard practices of engineers. It is a record of their thoughts, actions and communications related to the projects they work on.

Documentation is a critical part of any engineer's job. They document their work in many ways and documentation will be done different ways in different companies. At Dakota Ridge High School students will document their work in may ways. In the computer lab (room 2490) student will be able to apply their current skills with Microsoft Office, share their work on their Google Drive, and add their work they develop using the AutoDesk Fusion360 3D modeling CAD software. Students will also use their writing skills to document their progress, thoughts and designs in a journal (composition book provided by the teacher). Students will record at least one full page entry for every class period. The more thoughtful and focused the student is, the more useful their journal will be for managing projects and studying for tests. Do a image search of "Engineering Notebook" to see many more examples.

Engineering Journal - Setup

Front Cover - Student's Name, Class Name, Semester, Year

Title Page (first page) - Student's Name, Class Name, Semester, Year, Teacher's Name, School Name, School Address

Table of Contents (second page) - 3 columns: Unit #, Topic/Project, Page Number

Page Numbers - Starting on the page after the table of contents, the front of every page needs to be numbered in the lower right corner using a black ink pen.

Every journal entry needs to start on the front of a new sheet of paper and be dated (upper right corner). Good journal entries will use both words and drawings to explain your ideas.

Once you have finished a page, sign the bottom line next to the page number.

Use as many pages as needed each day but each page is signed and dated separately.

Journal entries may be: Answers to warm-up questions and/or class assignments

Reflections on what you know or think about at topic

Notes on a topic you are learning in class or researching on your own

Notes about a project you are working on in class

Engineering design ideas you have related to class project (or not).

Practice technical drawings - Orthographic, Pictorial, Isometric, Oblique, Perspective, etc.

A page from Alexander Graham Bell's engineering journal.

Igor Sikorsky's Helicopter Design

Leonardo De Vinci drawing - Note the combination of drawings and text descriptions.