lsjfall01

Lite Journal Page

Letter from the Editor .................................................
2 Calendar of Events .....................................................
2 Technology Education in Michigan Update

By James Levande, Ph.D. ............................................. 3

EE: The Human-Made World

By Kim Weaver ........................................................... 4-7

MS: RTP Flyer

By Steve Miller and Chris Nielsen ............................. 8-9

HS: FIRST Robotics

By Doug Sullivan and Wayne Hall............................... 10
Lessons Template and Design Matrix ................... 12
Fall Fest Information ......................................... 13 -15

What is the

Dear Readers:

Well another summer has passed and we are back to school! This summer has been one of refreshing, replenishing and getting ready for the next batch of fresh faces!

Our curriculum pieces in this issue promise to give all of us some fresh new ideas to spark up our year. Be sure to also read the professional update from Dr. Jim LeVande from the state department.

Share our ideas with fellow staff and administrators and bring them along on October 5th and 6^th to Livingston Educational Service Agency in Howell for this year’s Fallfest. See this issue for details and registration. I hope to see all of you there!

We want to hear from you! We welcome your article, comments, and tips. Refer to the LITE Source editorial policy for submission information.

Sincerely,

Christine Bengston, Publications Editor

1 The Office of Career and Technical Preparation (OCTP) is moving from the Hannah Office Building on W. Allegan to the Victor Building on N. Washington. The exact dates of the move are being determined but the move should be completed by October 1, 2001. Be prepared to change your directories and address books. LITE Board members will be provided with the new address as soon as the move is completed.

2 The OCTP web site has changed its URL and site format. The new URL is: www.mdcd.org/OCTP/ New material is being added to the site on a regular basis. Add this to your bookmarks.

3 John L. Williams has moved from his directorship of the OCTP to become a Deputy Director of the MDCD. In his new role he will be overseeing all the educational functions for which the MDCD is responsible. These include OCTP, Adult Education, Post Secondary Education, and the King-Chavez-Parks Initiative. Interviews for the vacant directorship of the OCTP are currently taking place.

4 Michigan Technology Education and Industrial Education teachers are being asked to participate in an NSF funded project that targets in-service education and the development of standards-based Technology Education curriculum. The study is being conducted by a group of leading universities, including Ohio State, Purdue, Eastern Michigan, and the University of Minnesota.

5 The ITEA in cooperation with the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is planning a special workshop for elementary teachers at the Columbus, OH conference. The ITEA would like to use the LITE mailing list in order to promote the ITEA/SAE workshop.

1 The OCTP has compiled a status report on the participation of schools in the MI Career Preparation System. LITE members can determine the extent of their region’s participation and compare it to other areas of the state. The list is available from the OCTP or regional CPS and CTE administrators.

2 The ITEA has just released information about new on-line resources on the ITEA web site.

www.iteawww.org

8. The CATTS Consortium has just released two new resources in electronic format. They are: Foundations of Technology a standards-based high school model course guide and Technology Starters a standards-based guide for elementary technology education. These resources are available free to Michigan teachers upon request. E-mail requests should be sent to Dr. Jim Levande, OCTP Technology Education Consultant at levandej@state.mi.us.

These documents are only available electronically.

Requests for print copies will not be honored.

9. Dr. John Kuglin, the keynote speaker at the state OCTP CTE Administrators Summer Conference, demonstrated his unique web site that deals with Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and other technological applications. The site is worth exploring for its wealth of applications that can be used in conjunction with many of the problem-solving design briefs that LITE has published. The presentation and bookmarks sections alone are worth a look because of their numerous links to resources that are ready to use by classroom teachers. The site’s URL is: www.kuglin.com. The site is best navigated with Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Note: This information was presented by Dr. Levande to the LITE - Learning Institute for Technology Education board of directors on August 16, 2001.

A child’s curiosity is amazing! When a child is interested in a topic, he/she can “bombard” you with questions. How does this thing work? Where did this come from? Why do cars have a bumper? What would happen if we didn’t have a bridge? Why are there roads? The questions can go on and on. Learning about the human-made world can help to satisfy a child’s curiosity. Teachers should encourage children to observe and investigate the many technological developments that are around them. The following activities are intended to help students become aware of the human-made world.

Take students outside and have them illustrate one product/system made by people.

Once students have completed their drawings, have them share their illustrations and explain why they feel their object is human-made. Compile a list of what the students share and then brainstorm some more products/systems.

Human-Made Mobile

Let the world of technology begin! Have students create a mobile that contains human-made products/ systems.

Materials:

� wood beams-3/16" x 3/8" x 9"-one for each student (students may use the nine-inch piece of wood left over from the “Natural World Mobile.”)

� rulers

� pencils

� glue

� drill

� scissors

� safety goggles

� hole punch

� construction paper

� string

Hanger for the Mobile

Students should measure and cut a piece of wood nine inches long.

Safety rules should be discussed with the students. When using tools, goggles should be worn.

Using a ruler, students should make marks on the piece of wood at 1", 4-1/2", and 8".

Students need to drill three holes in their pieces of wood, practicing safe habits!

Creating Human-Made Items

Students need to make a world. Provide a circular object that they can trace on blue construction paper. Once they have cut the circle out, have them use green construction paper to make pieces of land.

Each student will need to trace four copies of his/ her hand. It is recommended the teacher trace each student’s hand first and then have it be used as a pattern.

Have students glue each hand evenly around the world.

Students should make four human-made products/ systems using various pieces of construction paper.

Students should punch a hole in one of their paper hands. A piece of string is attached from the middle hole on the piece of wood to the hand. The student also needs to tie one end of a piece of string to one of the end holes and then tie the other end in the other hole.

Students can make a little hammer and write the words “Human-Made World.” The hammer may be attached to the center of the wood piece.

Mobiles are made to be hung. Enjoy them as they decorate your room!

Investigating Our Homes

Once students have completed their mobiles, let them investigate the many human-made products/ systems around their homes. Send home the worksheet that looks like the one below as a homework assignment.

Students will investigate one of the products/systems and then build a model. The teacher may want to send a note home several weeks before this activity begins, asking parents to send in recyclables.

When you send this worksheet home, make sure the students understand that they need to choose one item to draw. They will be investigating this object and creating a model of it.

The first thing the students should do is read about their product/system so that they can learn about it. The teacher will need to decide how students will investigate their products/systems: Internet, encyclopedias, dictionaries, or non-fiction books.

Once students have read about their objects and written a report, let them “dig in” and get the materials they need to make their models.

Let students build!

One student looks through a “telescope.”

Continued on page 6

RTP (Round the Pole) Flyer

By Steve Miller and Chris Nielsen
Vicksburg Middle School

Requirements

Purpose: To apply a problem solving model, create a PowerPoint presentation, and produce a document using Microsoft Word.

Requirement: Each team must have at least one PowerPoint presentation. Each individual must write a desktop published document using Microsoft Word.

Optional Hint: Each member may create their own presentation. If you don’t trust your teammates, keep notes for your own presentation.

Pre-presentation Requirements:

Technology Education (Team): (Checked by Mr. Nielsen)

� Restatement of the purposes) of the lesson and the problem to be solved in your own words

� Problem Solving Model: Describe your problem-solving model and explain how your team applied each of the steps to the building of the RTP Flyer.

� Advantages & disadvantages of each of the 2 best ideas are clearly stated, compared, and logical rationale is used for the selection of the final design.

� Improvements (Feedback): Describe any changes that you made to improve your flyer from the initial drawing to the finished product. Also, explain any further changes you would make if you had more time or could start over.

� The oral presentation, using PowerPoint, is clear and complete. The presentation duties acre to be shared by the team. (Note: Do not read from the screen.)

� Overall Quality: Pay attention to detail. Use care and accuracy developing the content. Practice a quality presentation. (Make a good impression.)

Individual Slide(s):

Each team member must create their own slide, or slides. This slide, or slides, must contain appropriate points about what you did, what you learned, the single biggest benefit you received from this project, what employability skill was reinforced most with this project, etc. You are to use Clip-Art, header/footer with your name, date, project title, building/transition effect, and sound clip.

Evaluations:

The day before any presentations start, turn in to Mr. Nielsen, your completed computer generated task list indicating whether or not each task was done, the Team Evaluation and the Technology Education Presentation Evaluation. Turn in the completed PowerPoint Evaluation to Ms. Robertson or Mr. Miller.

Design Brief

You are to design and construct a vehicle which will fly higher than the pole using the RTP Flyer methodology.

Construction

1 Your flyer is to be constructed from one piece of balsa sheet and one piece of music wire. You are to produce your own wheels as needed.

THE COMPETITION

What is it?

The FIRST Foundation Vision - “At FIRST, we see a world where science and technology are celebrated, where kids think science is cool and dream of becoming science and technology heroes.”

The FIRST Competition - is a vehicle for achieving the FIRST Foundation Vision. The mission of the FIRST Robotics Competition is to inspire curiosity and create interest in science and mathematics among today’s youth by immersing them in the world of engineering and showing the important connection between classroom lessons and real-world applications. To date, FIRST is best known for its annual robotics competition known in FIRST lingo as “The Competition,” in which corporations or universities team up with a high school in a high tech sporting event which pits gladiator robots against each other. They are designed in just six weeks by teams of students, corporate engineers and other corporate professionals. The responsibility of corporations in The Competition is not to teach science and technology, but rather to inspire kids to pursue careers in these fields. AND IT’S FUN!!

What are the goals of the program?

To expose middle and high school students to engineers and the engineering profession. Most students this age have major misconceptions about what engineers are like and-what engineers do on a daily basis. Our goal is to introduce the students to engineers and show them that what they do is not only vital to our country, but also can be fun.

To create an environment that makes “heroes” out of engineers and scientists. Most students look to professional sports heroes as role models. These people have li