Who-gnu?!

The Meaning of Life Video

janders31@gmail.com — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 23:43:00 +0000

Mr. Neat's Engineering Class: Hybrid goKart

janders31@gmail.com — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:00:00 +0000

More good stuff - Solving Real World Problems with Dr. Neato.

Check out at the end of the video students driving the Go-Karts that they built in class!!

2009 JPL Invention Challenge - Crescenta Valley High Team

janders31@gmail.com — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 13:54:00 +0000

Solving Real World Problems!
Friend Greg Neat - aka Dr. Neato, and his bridge building Engineering Class.

Learning Stations/Classroom Management

janders31@gmail.com — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:05:00 +0000

When working with large classes of students, many teachers develop "Learning Stations" with different learning activities in each area. This way a teacher can break the large class into smaller groups who will work independently at one station, then after a certain amount of time, groups move on to another station.

EXAMPLE:
A middle school teacher is going to have his/her class start studying BRIDGES and STRUCTURES
and has decided to split his/her class into 4 groups of 7 students in a group.

GROUP A - (if enough computers) .... logs onto the Internet and opens up the programs "Building Big." The Building Big program has a few different sections in it that the teacher can make note for the students to read or perform the various activities. When completed with that they can move on to the "West Point Bridge Design" program which is relatively self-explanatory. The students should be able to move along in program at their own pace, or with some help from others in their group.

GROUP B - is assigned the chapter in the textbook or a xeroxed copy or reading material that is on the topic of "Bridges and Structures." They are to read this chapter and answer questions that are at the end of it to help them understand the information better. They can also write down important vocabulary that is highlighted in the chapter, so they will become more familiar with it.

GROUP C - is presented with some pictures or models of various bridge types. This group is also given either graph or blank paper and diagrams with a short paragraph of information each of the bridge types. Their assignment is to draw a good diagram of each bridge type and list three to four important characteristics about each bridge. They can also show the representative vocabulary and/or forces that are at work in the different areas of a bridge - tension and compression; span; torsion; shear; etc.

GROUP D - stays with the teacher as she/he gives a lesson on the different bridge types; the forces that are at work in building structures; and with a give-and-take discussion with the small group of students is able to spend more time with some of their stories or questions.

The teacher can determine how long the groups are to stay at their stations. Students could stay in each area easily the whole class period or half (20-30 minutes). Students can rotate to a new station for the second half of the class, or the next class day. Eventually all students will be exposed to each learning station and the teacher can then move on to a bigger hands-on project or computer based project that is based on their learnings.

Project Based Learning

janders31@gmail.com — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:21:00 +0000

Project-Based learning allows students to become invested in their own learning. Research shows that students have different learning styles and that those who are engaged and provided a varied approach to their learning, aside from just using textbooks, are often eager and ready to learn more, ask important questions, and develop some critical thinking skills! If educators are able to provide a learning environment where students can more actively participate in their own interests and learning in an engaging, challenging and stimulating manner, we can see some exciting results!

Over the years many different terms have been used to explain this active and creative learning style - Experiential Learning, Hands-on Learning, Problem-Based Learning, or Inquiry Learning. This video shares with you some examples of students and teachers involved in active project based learning activities.

Think about one lesson that you do with your students and think of how you could open it up to a more project-based learning activity! More tangible, hands-on LEARNING and more FUN for everyone!!

Vocabulary Labeling

janders31@gmail.com — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:47:00 +0000

A simple, yet effective way to help your students learn the VOCABULARY of your classroom and curriculum is to put labels onto the various tools, storage areas, and equipment that you use. This way the words are constantly present in your classroom environment and after you introduce these terms to your students they can continually have a reference as they look and work around your room. This labelling technique can be helpful for those students who are learning a new language, as well as for those students who are more visual learners.

Some teachers will create a board of the vocabulary words...sometimes they call it a "Word Splash" board. Others will label specific items e.g. - in the woodshop tool cabinet a small sign that reads - "Hammers" is located in the area where all of the hammers are hanging; a sign that reads - "Screwdrivers" does the same for where those tools are stored.

Just look around your whole room and label everything that you feel is of importance to your classroom, as well as the vocabulary that you use for your lessons.

I have been pleasantly surprised at how observent the students are about this signage. They can and do observe and memorize it...and, will miss it when it is removed from where they are used to seeing it!

PTC-ProDesktop CAD Program

janders31@gmail.com — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:20:00 +0000

PTC ProDesktop is an introductory CAD program. CAD stand for Computer Aided Design.

All types of engineers, designers and architects use CAD programs to help them with their design work these days. You don't need to be a great artist any more to work in these fields, although it is helpful if you can "think visually" - or, picture your ideas in 3-D.
Even jewelry and cake designers use CAD programs for their work...have you ever seen that TV show - "Ace of Cakes?" They definitely use a CAD program for all of those fancy designs that they create!
Spend some time with this program and learn some of the basic tools of how it works.

Google Translator

janders31@gmail.com — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:57:00 +0000

If you're having some difficulties with understanding some of the text, please copy and paste your document into Google Translator. For the most part it is quite accurate translating from one language to another.

Design Squad - Collective Collaboration

janders31@gmail.com — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In this episode of Design Squad the teams are presented with a challenge to create a better peanut butter making machine for a community in the poverty stricken country of Haiti. When they first learn about the challenge the teams are shown a short video of how peanut butter is made in Haiti. You will see that these Haitians live in very primitive and limited conditions. The teams are then given certain criteria that they must understand for creating their final project - their device must use only manual power - no electricity, and be made with parts that can easily be replaced and repaired in Haiti.

As you watch the video you'll see the challenges and difficulties that each team has in their process. You should start to recognize the steps of the Engineering Design Process as you follow along. Keep that in mind because after watching this video you will being completing a short project using the video and the Engineering Design Process!

Design Squad Engineer

janders31@gmail.com — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 23:28:00 +0000

The field of engineering can be many things.
Designing new products, coming up with new materials for these products, and testing things out....to name just one aspect in the many fields of engineering.

This video shows us the work of a design engineer, Connie Yang, an MIT graduate who loves being outdoors and doing different outdoor sports. Connie is currently working on designing new style tents for the NEMO Company.

I'm sure her work is quite difficult, but it actually looks kind of fun in this video. Makes you think that being an engineer could be quite stimulating, creative, challenging and fun!!

Check it out!

Kite Power?!

janders31@gmail.com — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 13:57:00 +0000

Saul Griffith unveils the invention his new company Makani Power has been working on: giant kite turbines that create surprising amounts of clean, renewable energy.
A TED video

Honda Cog Commerical

janders31@gmail.com — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 13:39:00 +0000

Stop Motion Animations

janders31@gmail.com — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 13:27:00 +0000

Leonard Zakim Memorial Bridge Boston, MA

janders31@gmail.com — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:48:00 +0000

Galloping Gertie: The Collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge

janders31@gmail.com — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:27:00 +0000

Model Making - Bridges

janders31@gmail.com — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:47:00 +0000

Bike Pack

janders31@gmail.com — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:10:00 +0000

Now here's a clever idea and design

for those who like to mountain bike....

a bike that folds up into it's own pack,

so you can carry it up the mountain...and ride down!

Google Docs

janders31@gmail.com — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:23:00 +0000

If you are one of those people who doesn't own Power Point (and a Student Edition can cost about $75.00), you may want to check into Google Docs. Google has come up with several different programs that we can use including spreadsheets, making forms/quizzes, even making your own website, using google...and the beauty of it is -it's all for free!

In Google docs there is a category called Presentations where you can create a Power Point presentation, similar to the ones we've done in school. A great added feature of Google Presentations is that if you and another student are working on a project together, you can both contribute to the Presentation, but also can work on it separately - each in your own home!

Check out this little intro video to Google Docs

You will need to create your own gmail account to get to these Google options and then you'll be able to create your own projects, so you should check in with your parents on that. Let your parents know if have any questions about this that they can email/check in with me anytime.

July 4th - Summer Fun!

janders31@gmail.com — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:59:00 +0000

Boston Esplanade - July 4th 2009

Where did you spend July 4th?

Someplace fun, I hope!

Add your answer to the poll on the right.

Or, better yet, add a comment below

and let us know if you saw any fireworks and where ...

Hopefully you got to see some.

They are so strikingly beautiful...and loud!

I love hearing Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture

as the fireworks explode overhead!

Though, I have to admit, this year I saw them from home...

on TV!

This is one of the exciting things about living around here.

The Boston area is so full of the history of our country.

Until you travel outside of this area, you almost don't realize some of

the unique and special things that New England and the Boston region have to offer.

Hope you're having a great summer...

whether you're in New England

or traveling elsewhere...

Keep us posted!

Skateboarding - Jared

janders31@gmail.com — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 01:44:00 +0000

Keep your eye out for this boarder - Jared Heiligmann. He's good.
www.jaredheiligmann.com

Saga Outerwear just picked him up to sponsor.
http://www.sagaouterwear.com/

Anyone else have any videos - skateboarding and/or other that you'd like to add to this site? Let me know...

Not Your Average Bridge!

janders31@gmail.com — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 19:50:00 +0000

In London there's an interesting bridge that pedestrians and boaters get to navigate. It's called a Rolling Bridge (some call it a "curling bridge"), and that's just what it does...curl up on itself, much like one of those "pill bugs" that you used to find as a kid, that curled up into a miniature looking soccer ball in your hand when you picked it up!

Thomas Heatherwick's studio designed and built this unique design. It opens only on Fridays at noon, and draws quite a crowd when it does. Apparently it runs on hydraulic pistons that activate the curling motion of the bridge that otherwise spans about 40 feet.

To see some great animated graphics of moveable bridges check out the site on Wikipedia...

Veggie Cars

janders31@gmail.com — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:33:00 +0000

Some people have figured out a way to change their diesel engine cars and trucks so that they can run on used French Fry oil...yes, that's right...I said used French Fry oil!

When a restaurant is finished with using the frying oil that cooks those tasty French Fries, Fried Clams, Fried Dough, deep fried anything actually, they have to drain it and add a new batch of oil to the Fry-olator. They also need to get rid of the old, used cooking oil, but they just can't throw it away into the trash. Restaurants have to pay a special oil removal service to take it away.

This is where some very clever college students came up with the idea of using the used cooking oil instead of gasoline to run their diesel engine cars. They go around to different restaurants and offer to take away the used oil for free, so the restaurant owners like that they don't have to pay to have someone take it away.

Justin Carven started his business - "greasecar.com" out in Western Massachusetts after doing a lot of hands-on research while he was in school at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA.

Another fellow, Josh Tickle, had just completed a cross-country trip in his bio-diesel-run van and wrote about this experience in his book, "From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank" . Carven took some of the ideas that Tickell wrote about and applied them to his theories on creating a converter for diesel engine cars. He's been in business selling these converters since 2000, and business is steady and rapidly growing! More than a few people are jumping onto this idea of burning used veggie fuels to run our cars!

Click on the title above to learn about Justin Carven and his company, greasecar.com.

Fastest Swimsuit

janders31@gmail.com — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:50:00 +0000

You might remember hearing the big controversy just before the summer Olympics this year in Beijing. Everyone was talking about how some swimmers from certain countries had an advantage over others because of their new swim suits. Once the swimsuit design and materials that made it up was made public, each country's swim team scrambled to get their team suited up in time for the Olympics.

If you watched the swim races you probably noticed Michael Phelps was one of the swimmers wearing one of the full-length Speedo LZR-Racer suits (laser...get it?!), that is if you could take your eyes off of all of the gold medals hanging around his neck!

These new swimsuits proved that they could indeed help the swimmers improve their performance and race times in the water. This was all because of first a great idea that they turned into a good design, made with the right materials, and repeated testing of different designs that helped the engineers/designers come up with their best product.

The Engineering Design Process in action!

Click on the title above to read further about how they created this swimsuit. You can listen to the podcast, too.

BackPack Power

janders31@gmail.com — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:59:00 +0000

Are you thinking that that backpack you bring to school is just TOO heavy?! When you try to cram just one more book into it, does it feel like it's going to rip the seams out?

Let's face it, backpacks do provide a convenient way to carry our things...lots of things. Some scientists/engineers are developing a new kind of backpack that not only carries our stuff, but can produce electricity while you're walking... and, be lighter in weight too!

Why would you want your backpack to produce electricity? Well, think about all of your electronics -- MP3s, cell phones, even lights... What they need to run on?...Electricity! Usually you have to hook them up to a charger when you get home, but with this new invention you can charge them as you are walking!

Click on the title above to read further about this interesting new invention that has some great potential to power our electronics and possibly even be a bit lighter for us to carry all that stuff we just have to have in there!

The Falkirk Wheel

janders31@gmail.com — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 12:46:00 +0000

A tremendous engineering feat - The Falkirk Wheel. It was constructed in Scotland to connect two canals together for ferry travel. It connects the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal and has a diameter of 35-meters and two arms shaped like big bird heads complete with beaks, that carry the ferry boats from one canal to the other as they rotate around.

Click on the title to watch a great video of it in operation!