3rd Trimester

Technology and Engineering 

Sixth Grade: 

Another six weeks have come and gone. It is amazing how fast time flies while teaching the
six-week Future Pathways class. While I am writing this blog it is the last day of fourth term and I am
seeing so many smiling sixth grade students. We are racing their cars to determine who designed the fastest dragster. These students can hardly contain their excitement.

Seventh Grade: 

I am really excited about my 3rd Trimester Tech Explo class. In preparing for next years transition to full semester class I have changed a few of the projects and activities we are completing. I believe this will greatly benefit student learning and make the course even more project based. Students will continue learning 3D modeling basics and engineering drawings through the completion of a 3D printing project and a puzzle cube project. Additionally students will design a bench in our 3D modeling software then we will transition to a more traditional woodshop setting, learn power tool safety and build a 3 foot bench. Each student will have a 3 foot bench to take home by the end of the trimester.

8th Grade: 

We have completed our SeaPerch underwater robotics competition and have two teams per
class that are invited to compete at the Pattonville High School Pool for a regional SeaPerch Competition. To decide which teams will attend the regional competition we will test our underwater robots on March 20th during school at the high school pool. This was a really exciting project that I believe was a lot of fun for students. Not only did students get to design and build their robots but they were able to gain hands-on experience using tools and applying the lessons of our electricity unit to create a working robot. The finished products were really fun to see work. The fact that students can see and touch a product that they built themselves can give students confidence that, if they put their minds to it, they can create anything. Building and creating is not something students normally get to do in class and I am glad that my Gateway to Technology students have the chance create. We are continuing our robotics unit by exploring simple machines and gears in the coming few weeks. Students will learn how to use gears to increase power or increase speed through many hands-on robotics builds.

Indoor Winter Fun

Indoor Winter Fun

One of the tough parts about being indoors is that when the weather is so nice you just want to be outside. I personally love hiking, camping, backpacking and rock climbing which makes being indoors tough. But when the weather is below freezing being in the wood shop, designing engineering projects, or working with computers can be a great way to spend the time. Here is a brief description of what our current 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Technology and Engineering students have been up to this winter.

6th Grade: 

Every six weeks students change courses and sometimes it is hard to accomplish everything during those 6 weeks. All 6th grade students in my course are getting a chance to learn about Computer Aided Design Software and get to 3D print their designs in class. We just finished a chromebook tag/ key chain project and now are beginning our dragster design challenge.  If your student is interested in taking a class with me next year the course title is Engineering Innovators.

7th Grade: 

After reviewing shop safety before winter break  students are in the wood shop most of the time working on their creature amp designs. We probably have one more week of construction then students will paint their projects. It is really great to see students use tools such as band saws, drill presses, and power sanders independently. I always think it is very empowering to let students know they have the ability not only to design but to build and create things with their own hands. If you student is interested in taking a class with me next year the course is titled Engineering Challenge. As you can see in the 8th grade update below we get to build and design some pretty cool robots.

8th Grade: 

Students learned how to solder on a circuit board recently. This is always one of my favorite small class projects. Parents should have seen a night light circuit that students created come home last week. We are now moving into one of my favorite units of class "ROBOTICS"! As a transition from our electrical unit to our robotics unit students are designing and building an underwater robot from scratch. This robot is through the Sea Perch program. We will have an in class competition and the winners of that competition will have the chance to participate against schools from all over the area at a regional Sea Perch competition taking place April 7th at the Pattonville High School pool.

Dragsters and 3D Printing

Dragsters and 3D Printing

6th Grade: 

Student Designed 3D Printed Key Chain

Students are in the middle of designing and fabricating their dragsters for the upcoming races which will take place during the last week of the trimester. I love how students learn how to manipulate objects in 3D, create their own unique dragster design, and use some simple power tools to make their design become a reality. It really seems like the students are excited for this really unique opportunity. If your son or daughter really enjoys the technology and engineering section of their future pathways elective wheel they can learn more by taking the Technology and Engineering course next year.

Students have also designed a key chain which will be printed by our 3D printer. Be on the lookout for students taking these key chains home soon! 

You can always check out what is going on in Mr. Franck’s class by going to https://mrfranck.blogspot.com/ .

7th Grade: 

Sanding our projec

We are starting on a new design challenge in the last week and a half before the trimester ends. Will learn how to manipulate a 3D modeling software called Autodesk Inventor by creating a pegboard toy. They will learn more advanced features of this program including assemblies and drawing files. Students are also in the process of painting and finishing their creature amps which they will take home very soon.

8th Grade: 

C02 Dragster Example

We have moved on from our puzzle cube project to our dragster design challenge. The dragster design challenge is very similar to the dragster students created in 6th grade. The dragster for 8th grade is C02 powered, bigger, and faster than the 6th grade cars which is pretty exciting. Students also must design around a few criteria and constraints which simulates a real engineering design challenge. 

As a point of improvement most 8th grade students who did not do well on our  puzzle cube assignment did so due to lack of documentation. Students put all work in a design notebook then turn in the design notebook. I have on the whiteboard all items that should be included in the design notebook from day one of the project however some students did not follow along with the proper design documentation which resulted in poor notebook grades. I have included pictures below of what a good notebook should look like. 

C02 Dragster Sketch Example

6 Weeks of School in the Books

6th Grade

With all of our back to school activities and new 6th grader orientation activities these first six weeks of school we worked fast and furious during class time. One of the really fun activities that 6th grade students were able to complete while in class was the creation of a compressed air dragster. Students  get to race against their classmates for bragging rights. Though this project is really fun for students it also teaches some important engineering skills. Students utilized a 3D modeling software called autodesk inventor to design and create a virtual model of their dragster. After they printed off their own design we went down to the woodshop and created the cars using real tools of industry including a drill press, band saw, and power drills. Next year if students so choose to take the technology and engineering class they will actually use many of these woodworking tools themselves after a series of safety tests and activities. 

7th Grade

7th grade technology and engineering is a very unique experience for students. Not only do students get a chance to use engineering software in class to design and learn the different types of engineering drawings but students actually get to go into the woodshop and learn to use tools that an engineer, entrepreneur, or inventor may use when creating a product. I truly believe it is important for students at this age to learn how to use tools and machinery safely. Learning to not be afraid of these real tools of industry can lead to many career opportunities or hobbies in the future. I have spoke with professors at MS&T Rolla and having students who have experience working with tools and machinery is very useful on their competitive design teams. 

8th Grade

8th grade engineering can be challenging to some students as I am trying to prepare students in this course to take the high school engineering courses. A few options students will have in high school include drafting, robotics, IED, Intro to Engineering and Design, and Principals of Engineering. As of right now students are learning how how to create orthographic and isometric drawings. Students will work on a puzzle cube project where they must design 5 interlocking pieces. For these pieces they will need to create orthographic, isometric, and 3D modeled pieces before they create their prototype puzzle cube. I have a few examples of student for below. 

Welcome to PCMS Technology and Engineering 2017-2018

Dear Parents,

I am excited to have the privilege of teaching your student this school year. Whether your student is in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade I strive to engage students in activities focusing on the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) subjects. I truly believe it is important to introduce our students to possible career pathways in STEM at an early age.

My mission as an educator is to help develop young adults who are civically competent, creative, and curious problem solvers who will drive innovation and industry in the United States and our global society.

Our classroom is also on social media. I will post classroom projects and activities on both instagram and twitter as the school year progresses.

Additionally if your student has my class this current trimester be on the lookout for both a safety contract and a shop fee document that will be distributed to your son or daughter in the next week or two.

Twitter: @B_MrFranck

Instagram: B_MrFranck

8th Grade Information 

It is going to be a fun year for my 8th grade Gateway to Technology students. We will dive deeper into STEM related topics and learn how to think like an engineer this whole year. We will focus on five units through out the course: Design and Modeling, Magic of Electrons, Automation and Robotics, Green Architecture, and Flight and Space. 

In addition to the classroom curriculum students will have the opportunity to work on some after school projects. One such activity that students may participate in is the robotics team. I will have more information regarding the Robotics Team and Technology Student Association soon. 

Supplies needed: 

Pens, Pencils, Ruler, Composition Notebook

7th Grade Information

If your student likes to design and build things this is the class for them. We will focus on both design and turning a design into reality using real world woodworking tools. Students will learn how to utilize tools safely and will have a chance to 3D print part of their project. I can't wait to start working with the students.

Supplies needed: 

Pens, Pencils, Ruler, Composition Notebook

6th Grade Information

During 6th grade your student will be rotating every 6 weeks to a different elective course. My class will focus on engineering and the other STEM subjects. Our main project that students work on is a mini dragster. They will get to race these at the end of our 6 weeks together.  If your student enjoys this class they can sign up in 7th grade to take Tech Exploration.

Supplies needed: 

Pens, Pencils, Ruler

Thank you,

Brandon Franck

Technology and Engineering

Project Lead the Way GTT

bfranck@parkwayschools.net

314-415-5850

Spring has Sprung

8th Grade

We have been working with various mechanisms and how different gears can change speed, torque and direction of mechanical power. Most recently students have been learning how to program/code the VEX Robotics sensors and motors using RobotC. RobotC is a programming language that the VEX Robotics platform uses. It is really fun to see students learn to program and utilize the sensors to make motors turn on or off. The coding will get more challenging as the course moves on and as students have to design, build and program the VEX robotics parts to complete different tasks. If you would like to see what your son or daughter is programming and get an idea of how robotC works ask your student to show you the help videos that I posted to youtube.

VEX Robotics Programming Testbed

7th Grade

Students have been learning and using Autodesk Inventor to create assembly files and drawing files. Through the pegboard toy activity students learned how to maneuver around the Autodesk Inventor program. Now they are taking what they have learned and applying it to our furniture design challenge. Each student received a client and are designing a piece of furniture that meets the clients specific needs and wants. The purpose of this activity is that students get to experience what it is like to design for a client in mind and not just  for themselves. I always talk about the HGTV show Fixer Upper during this lesson and explain that the Chip and Joanna in that show always take the needs and wants of their client in mind when they design a house.  In the coming week we will be starting on shop safety and begin to work on our woodworking project. Also I just want to let all parents know that students will be coming home with a safety form and a document explaining the shop fee for class.

7th Grade Furniture Design. This student's client likes video games. 

More 7th grade furniture design. 

6th Grade

Students are designing their dragsters for the races. They are done using the computer software to designing the cars and are now ready to build.  That being said students will be coming home with a shop fee document if they have not already done so. I am really excited to see the various car designs that the students came up with.  I will post pictures of the completed cars on my blog once they are complete.

Underwater Robots and Furniture Design

8th Grade

We have completed our SeaPerch underwater robotics competition and have 2 teams per class that are invited to compete at the Pattonville High School Pool for a regional SeaPerch Competition. This was a really exciting project that I believe was a lot of fun for students. Not only did students get to design and build their robot but they were able to gain hands on experience using tools and applying the lessons of our electricity unit to create a working robot. The finished products were really fun to see work. The fact students can feel, see, and touch a product that they built themselves can give students confidence that if they put their minds to it they can create anything. Building and creating is not something students normally get to do in class and I am glade that my Gateway to Technology students have the chance create.

We are continuing our robotics unit by exploring simple machines and gears in the coming few weeks. Students will learn how to use gears to increase power or increase speed through many hands on robotics builds.


7th Grade

Students finished their wood working projects a few weeks ago and have been learning to utilize the 3D modeling program Autodesk Inventor. This is a computer aided design or CAD program that can be used in industry to design various products. Students created a pegboard to learn the basic functions of this software and later designed a piece of furniture for a client. I really like the furniture design project because students have to take a clients needs and wants in mind and effectively unitize  the CAD software. I have attached some really neat examples to this blog.

6th Grade

Another 6 weeks have come and gone. It is amazing how fast time flies while teaching the 6 week future pathways class. While I am writing this blog it is the last day of 4th term and I am seeing so many smiling sixth grade students. We are racing their cars to determine who designed the fastest dragster. These students can hardly contain their excitement.

8th grade students testing their underwater robot. 

Making some final modifications before the competition. 

Scoring points in the competition. 

Looks like we have a Michigan Fan!

Five Nights at Freddie's 

Unique furniture desk design for a client interested in chemistry

Another Unique furniture design. 

This client needed a new baby crib. 

6th Grade Students getting ready to race!