Projects Starting and Spring Break

6th Grade:

Students are in the middle of constructing their dragsters in the shop this week. Some classes were even able to paint their cars. Due to many students being absent this week because of the 6th grade camp we did not finish the cars. It has been really neat to see that the designs students created on the computer are now turning into an actual product that they will test by racing down a track.

7th Grade:

Students have sanded down the piece  of wood that will become their passive amplification box for their cell phones. Students have also taken the big safety test on all the tools we will be using in the next few weeks. Unfortunately it does look like some students did not study for the safety test and will need to retake the test after spring break. All students have access to the safety notes from home by logging into their google classroom for Tech Ed. Students who did not pass also know exactly which questions they missed. This information was e-mailed to their school e-mail accounts. When using power tools in the classroom safety of our students is my number one priority. 

8th Grade:

The glider design challenge is in full swing. From identifying the problem, brainstorming, creating technical drawings with measurement, and creating a cardboard prototype most students have moved into the final phase of the project: creating the glider out of balsa wood! I really enjoy this project because students are going through an engineering design process while having fun and being creative. It is really interesting to see students create their cardboard prototype then realizing the prototype and their design didn't really turn out how they wanted. These students then were able to change their design based on the information they gathered from their prototype. Even if the student gliders do not fly as they expected students have still gained valuable experience in following an engineering design process.

In other news:

We also got a new tool in the classroom this week. I cannot wait to see how students can use our new router and router table! I already have 7th graders coming up with ideas how to modify their projects using the router! 

Underwater Robots, Speaker Covers, and Power tools

Spring break is fast approaching. I for one am excited which probably means the students are even more excited.


Underwater Robotics:

The robot named "The Apex predator of the Sea: AKA David Hasselhoff" performed great this past Saturday at Pattonville High School. The students worked hard the past three weeks and the hard work paid off!! They won FIRST PLACE in the middle school division tied with Hixon middle school! The robot operated flawlessly and the maneuverability of David Hasselhoff was second to none!



6th Grade: 

Students are hard at work this week learning how to operate Autodesk Inventor, designing their dragsters, and beginning to construct their dragsters.   They get to see their car in 3D before ever using power tools to construct the dragster. I always tell the students their is an undo button on the computer but not on power tools. Knowing that this design process can be used in real world engineering problems is important.

(Designing and printing off plans in Autodesk Inventor)

(For so many students this is the first time they have ever used any type of power tool. The smiles on student's faces when they have succeeded in doing something totally new are great! This is one of the reasons why I love teaching! ) 

7th Grade: 

Next week we will be in the shop constructing our projects full time if students have passed their safety test which we are taking Friday (today). This past week students have finalized their design and created an orthographic or multiview drawing which shows the front, top, and side view of their passive amplification box. Students have also designed their speaker covers which will be 3D printed in the near future. In fact we have already 3D printed a few covers.

On a separate note grades are continuously being updated. Please check on your students grades for missing assignments. I am still missing safety contracts from students that were passed out the very first day of class. They cannot use power tools without this contract signed.




(3D printed speaker covers)


8th Grade: 

This week students were gaining background information regarding how an aircraft can fly by completing a vocabulary assignment and a worksheet on Bernoulli's principle. Students also started brainstorming and creating plans for our next hands on project. We are creating a balsa wood glider that will be launched. The goal of the glider is not distance traveled but how long the glider can stay aloft. Knowing how Bernoulli's principle works and how an airfoil creates lift will help them create a well crafted glider.  
For maker fair Friday we had a few woodworking projects really start taking shape. It is also really neat see a few students learn how to operate their own arduino micro-controller during class.

(two students measuring and getting ready to use the circular saw)

Five Day School Week!!!

This week we have finally had a full week with no snow or days off and I can definitely tell we were able to cover lots of material.

6th Grade: 
We continued measurement this week. Students were able to build their Air Skimmers utilizing a ruler and measurement. One of the fun things I like to do with this skimmer plan is have students take a completed model and "reverse engineering it" to discover how it was put together. We also started learning a new software called Autodesk Inventor this Friday. Students were working on a small tutorial project that I created. You can find the tutorial link below.

Autodesk Inventor Tutorial

7th Grade: 
Students are almost finished designing their passive amplification box for their cell phones. The past few weeks students have been designing and following along with the YouTube video instructions to create a 3D model of their very own amplification box design. The original design is just a rectangular box but I am encouraging students to be creative and to truly design a unique and one of a kind project. I do have a few students that are falling behind during this project and I encourage them to watch the YouTube instructions at home to get a better understanding of what they should accomplish during the school day. I also have a few students that do not have their safety contracts turned in. Below are the YouTube Instructions.

Front and Back
Middle
Assembly Instructions
Multiview / Orthographic View (What they need to turn in for a grade.)


8th Grade: 
With our aerospace unit in full flight we constructed and tested hot air balloons! A few of the balloons worked great, flying even further than we thought. Others didn't get off the ground but the students made a good effort. One takeaway from this week should be that students know the science behind why the hot air balloon fly. They are also learning about the scientific concept of convection in their science classes this week. Students worked on an aerospace vocabulary assignment this week as well. Next week we will focus on airplanes and how they fly. We will also end up creating a balsa wood glider in the near future which I am really excited about.

After School Robotics: 
One of the benefits of taking the 8th Grade Technology and Engineering course is the cool extracurricular opportunities. This Saturday a few of my students will be competing at Pattonville High School in an underwater robotics competition. Let's hope "The APEX predator of the Sea: aka David Hasselhoff" (students came up with this name for the robot) can pull out a win for PCMS.