In the fall of 2018, my students and I established the first engineering course at my Title I high school. The course is project-based, focusing on mechanical engineering during the first semester, and electrical/computer engineering during the second. The purpose of the course is to make engineering accessible to ALL students, so the focus is on trade skills like designing, drafting, constructing, coding, programming, and competing. This course has led to the creation of my school's first engineering club, first robotics team, and two consecutive science championships!
Since 2018, our enrollment in physics and engineering has exploded from 50 to 150 students and we need a technology upgrade! Our lab was originally given leftover desktop computers that didn't function well even in 2018. Now, less than half of them operate correctly, and many do not turn on. New laptops will be used bi-weekly by my 150 students during semester one, and EVERYDAY by my 100 engineering students during semester two. Students will use the laptops for laboratory experiments, research and design, 3D modeling and printing, coding, and microcontroller/robot programming. An example lesson is when my students create motion-detecting alarms by programming Arduino microcontrollers. This tech will be maximally used in our laboratory, and is well worth the investment!
About my class
In the fall of 2018, my students and I established the first engineering course at my Title I high school. The course is project-based, focusing on mechanical engineering during the first semester, and electrical/computer engineering during the second. The purpose of the course is to make engineering accessible to ALL students, so the focus is on trade skills like designing, drafting, constructing, coding, programming, and competing. This course has led to the creation of my school's first engineering club, first robotics team, and two consecutive science championships!
Since 2018, our enrollment in physics and engineering has exploded from 50 to 150 students and we need a technology upgrade! Our lab was originally given leftover desktop computers that didn't function well even in 2018. Now, less than half of them operate correctly, and many do not turn on. New laptops will be used bi-weekly by my 150 students during semester one, and EVERYDAY by my 100 engineering students during semester two. Students will use the laptops for laboratory experiments, research and design, 3D modeling and printing, coding, and microcontroller/robot programming. An example lesson is when my students create motion-detecting alarms by programming Arduino microcontrollers. This tech will be maximally used in our laboratory, and is well worth the investment!
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