I love PBL, most tech teachers do, and I am glad to see a way to enhance two “units” we have done in Tech I; one is in bridge building, and one is in solar car design.
I will tackle the bridge first. we have done this twice as a unit, and i have pics, a few vids and links to other websites that have shareware. also would like to use some free software such as google sketchup so students can experience solid modelling without the big expensive software
just for pratice, here is a link Bridge Competition
After talking with Bud, sounds like the way to go is thru virtual campus
our librarians at silver creek are ahead of me on this stuff, and i am bitter and jealous about it (just kidding) but look forward to not having a blank stare when they talk about “wikis” etc. Comment a few months back from Phile Goerner: he did some informal tekkie stuff with our kids and was suprized at what they did NOT know…i wonder if this should be a unit in Tech I ? ? ? Does anyone know of other classes that TEACH the skills of blogging etc, or is it so second nature to kids that it would be a waste of time? Any standards on this?
I can relate to the comment by Whipple, p.25 of feeling isolated, i am the lone tech teacher at silver creek, as is the case in most schools. we share at district tech meetings, but those are infrequent…i welcome a chance to visit, compare notes, and can tell its a great group to share with
and i am trying to get over my need to puctuate, capitalize and talk reel good inglish on the dadgum internet
5 responses so far ↓
1
kwillmann
// Jun 2, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Hey Dottie,
My daughter participated in a bridge contest in 5th grade. Her group set a new school record by holding something over 45 pounds. It remains one of her proudest moments and a reason why she loves math.
2
Bud Hunt
// Jun 2, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Dottie,
Lots of great thinking here – but please don’t get over that punctuation thing – I’m a fan of capitals and periods and the like. My project here at CyberCamp is on how we teach this type of writing – others and I call it “connective” or “connected” writing. More tomorrow in my WiP presentation.
3
Christine
// Jun 2, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Dottie,
If you are ever interested in doing a tech ed collaborative project of sorts, I’ll encourage you to email my tech ed teacher. We would to move beyond the walls of the classroom.
bnuebel@cherrycreekschools.org is my tech ed guy.
Virtual bridge building…I like it.
4
Richard
// Jun 3, 2008 at 9:44 am
This is a working copy of Dottie’s link:
http://www.pec.org/PEC%20Bridge%20Building.html
5
Richard
// Jun 3, 2008 at 6:50 pm
By the way, Dottie,
when students in my computer programming club set up an online forum for them to use for posting code and comments, one thing they did was demand that we use proper English. Pretty funny, actually, as they’re the generation that is commonly thought to massacre the English language….
One rule: no leetspeak:
http://www.google.com/intl/xx-hacker/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet
Leave a Comment