FAQ Page

First-year freshman from ANY MAJOR on campus can take FYET 102A Introduction to Technology & Innovation or FTET 102B Innovations of World War II as a first-year seminar to participate.  

The Shocker Design Experience is a full first-year experience over two semesters with a fall first year seminar course AND a spring applied project.

Follow the schedule provided in Blackboard. You'll meet in the classroom (JBC 338) one day per week, and you'll meet with your team on the other day of the week.

Some key points:

• Everything you need to know each week is detailed in Blackboard. Blackboard is Wichita State's Learning Management System (LMS), and you cannot successfully participate in most courses without it. For Shocker Design Experience, all of your activities, assignments, readings, and instructions will be detailed by week in Balckboard. If you do not review our Blackboard page each week, you will not be successful in this course. 
• Make sure that you review each weeks Blackboard page titled "Homework." For Week 1, this is titled "Week 1 - Homework." This is the most important page to review each week, as it tells YOU what YOU need to DO.

We want students of ALL majors to participate! Having multiple perspectives on a team is a key element in design and improves problem solving, increases quality, and delivers a better end result for the customer. Believe it or not, engineers are not the most important members of teams! Business majors keep the project within a budget and form a business plan. Fine Arts majors consider the aesthetics of the design and how people will interact with it. Liberal Arts majors interact with customers to get to the heart of their needs and see how our product can impact society. Health Professions majors ensure that the design interfaces with the human body in a safe and comfortable way. Every team member brings a diverse perspective and that's what makes a multidisciplinary team great!

We want you to focus on developing experience and learning what you’re interested in. There are a set number of workshops, mini design challenges, and a project that are required to pass the course. We teach to mastery and our goal is to help you become a curious learner.

First year seminar courses include student success topics which will contribute to your overall achievement in this course and throughout your college years and future career. Workshops will be offered on topics such as: time management, study skills, active listening, teamwork, communication, campus resources, information literacy, health and wellness, career development, financial literacy, and more. These topics will be offered in 1-hour workshops, called “Professional Development Workshops,” with some guest lectured by subject matter experts across campus and some offered asynchronously on LinkedIn Learning. 

We use the Shocker Design Experience webpage list all workshops as if it is a professional conference. You may pick and choose the workshops you are interested in and sign up for them with the RSVP links provided.

Workshops can be completed outside of class on your own time and will be considered part of the "homework" of the course. There are multiple asynchronous options for those with busy schedules. If you are still having trouble finding workshops that fit your schedule, please contact the instructor to find other options.