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!

4th Term Update

6th Grade: 

It is always fun to see new students who are excited to learn and I believe my new 6th grade classes fit that description. We have been hard at work identifying measurements and are now using measurements to create an air skimmer out of cardboard that will glide on a concrete or wood floor. Students at this time should be able to identify measurements to the nearest 1/16th of an inch. For some students this is a completely new skill that they are learning. One great part about teaching measurement is that this is a useful skill the students will have for the rest of their lives.

7th Grade: 

Students have been hard at work on their creature amp projects. Starting this week some students will take home their projects. We have been, for the most part, sanding and painting the past few weeks. If you look below you will see some of the completed projects.

8th Grade: 

We have started my favorite unit of the year "robotics". Students have researched how various robots have changed the way we live and are now working on a robot that will complete a challenge underwater. Yes that is right students are creating an underwater robot!!
We are using the SeaPerch platform which is sponsored by the United States Navy. If you would like more information you can always check out www.seaperch.org. Towards the end of February I will take the students down to the high school pool and they will compete against each other trying to score as many points as possible on the 2017 official SeaPerch Challenge.  The top 3 teams will have a chance to compete against middle schools across the area at the Pattonville SeaPerch competition. This will take place on Saturday February 25th.  From designing the PVC body to soldering the circuit board for the controller students are learning through creating which makes for a very interactive and hands on class.

Time to piece together the design. 

Students measuring out parts for the robot. 

The 2017 SeaPerch Challenge 

Last Post Before Winter Break

8th Grade: 

We have been exploring the world of electronics the past few weeks in 8th grade Gateway to Technology. Resistors, capacitors, transistors and more have been the topics the past few weeks. Students have learned how to use a digital multimeter to measure current, voltage, and resistance. We even explored Ohm's law and the mathematical relationship between voltage, current and resistance. The next two weeks before winter break students will learn how to use a transistor to create a simple night light. After prototyping the nightlight using Snap Circuits students will then learn how to solder real electrical components to a circuit board to create a night light they can take home. Soldering irons can be dangerous if used improperly which means we will have to go over safety precautions in detail. It would also be helpful if parents talked about safety with their student as well. After we come back from winter break students will utilize their design and electrical knowledge to create an underwater robot. I am really excited about this project. To kick this underwater robotics project off we will watch a movie called Spare Parts. This movie is rated PG-13 which means your son or daughter will come home with a permission form for this movie some time in the future. I hope your son or daughter has learned a lot through the Magic of Electrons unit. Below you will find some pictures of the different things we have completed in class.


7th Grade: 

We have explored Autodesk Inventor and went over shop safety the past few weeks. Starting today 11/9/16 students are working in the shop using various types of drills, saws and other woodworking equipment to create their creature amps. We have many great designs that I am excited to see come to life. Safety is my number one priority and I expect students to always act appropriately in the shop while tools are being used. I know at the middle school level students can be a bit goofy at times but I let them  know that being goofy in the shop can lead to injuries.
I really love to see students so excited about coming to class during our time in the shop. It is a change of pace from the "normal" type class. It is really rewarding to see students create something with their own two hands.

6th Grade: 

Students have just finished designing their mini dragsters on Autodesk Inventor. We are now getting ready to go into the shop to create the dragster that they designed. It is really fun to see students design the car in 3D computer aided design software. Some students really take an interest in this software. If you know your son or daughter is interested in 3D design their are multiple free software that can be downloaded to your home computer. One of those is called 123D design. You can find the free download at http://www.123dapp.com/design

Students learning to use a multimeter

Shop safety. Today's topic
bandsaw. 

Using Snap Circuits to discover how resistors work. 

What do all of those color bands on resistors mean? 

Notes.
Yes. We take them in Technology and Engineering. 

Winter is Coming...I Think??

What great weather we have been having lately. I know December is almost here but it sure does not feel like it today. School between Thanksgiving break and Christmas break can be interesting. Students are excited about the long Christmas break that is on the horizons. Here is just an update on the course content we will be covering in December.

6th Grade:

Students will be working with autodesk inventor to design their dragster these next few weeks. This is always a really fun project because not only do students get to learn a new software but they get to go into the shop and actually create their project. Be on the look out for a safety permission form coming home in the next few weeks right before we start using the drill press in the shop.

7th Grade:

We will be going into depth regarding shop safety in the next few weeks. Students should already have their safety permission form turned at this time. Students will be using power drills, bandsaws, the drill press, and other power tools to complete their creature amp project. The creature amp, if created correctly,  will passively amplify the speaker on a students cell phone. What is so great about this project is the ability for students to design, create and truly make something unique. I can't wait to see what types of designs the students come up with.

8th Grade:

We will continue working with electronics through the month of December. First we will explore many different types of circuits using SnapCircuit kits. This is a very hands on unit that allows students to explore the world of electronics by completing many projects. After students have mastered different types of circuits students will explore the world of soldering. Students will learn how to use circuit boards and fix small electronics by soldering. I am really excited about this unit.

New Trimester and New Students

First of all I would like to welcome all of my new students and parents to PCMS Technology and Engineering. I try to post a blog entry every other week to help keep parents informed of all the activities we are completing in class and to open a line of communication between parent, student and teacher. If any new parents have questions please feel free to e-mail me anytime.

6th Grade: 

2nd trimester students raced the dragsters they designed last week. If you haven't seen them ask your 6th grade student about the dragster races. This is always the day my 6th grade students look forward to all term. As for my new 6th grade students we are going to cover what an engineer does and measurement before students start designing their dragster on a 3D modeling software called Autodesk Inventor.

7th Grade: 

Students are doing research on types of
engineering careers. 

My 1st Trimester students did a great job on their furniture design project. Students were given a client and had to design a piece of furniture based on the clients needs and wants. I always think it is important for students to understand that when you are a designer or any type of engineer you have to meet the needs and wants of your client. I use the TV show Fixer Upper as an example. Chip and Joanna Gaines always take their clients needs into account when they design and fix the houses.

To all of my new students we will be covering the various types of engineering career possibilities the first 5 days of class. It always amazes students at the many different types of engineering careers. From biomedical to mechanical all these engineers may do different things but they all solve practical problems.

8th Grade: 

We have started a new unit called Magic of Electrons. This is the first time I am teaching this unit and I am very excited. Student interest in the subject is huge. First students learned how electricity worked and now they are creating an electromagnetic and a DC motor. Students will be taking these two projects home in the next week or so. After learning about motors and generators students will end up learning how simple circuits work using snap circuits.

Electromagnet is working!! And it is hat day. 

Another electromagnet

It's hammer time!