Welcome to Engineering/Robotics, a two-semester elective class.  This year will be our second year participating in a national engineering curriculum: Project Lead the Way. PLTW is the nation’s leading activities-, project-, and problem-based (APPB) program for middle and high school STEM education. We are partnering with Leland High School and San Jose State University to bring this program to Bret Harte, and I’m looking forward to sharing this experience with you.

We’ll still be designing, building, and testing rockets, model airplanes, and LEGO NXT robots, but we’ll also be learning how the engineering process works by designing, drafting, and using  Autodesk Inventor 2011 for computer-aided design. Our LEGO robots will be joined by FischerTechnik robotics equipment, and we’ll be learning how to program in RoboPro as well as LEGO MIndstorms. Leland High School also offers three Project Lead the Way engineering classes, so you can continue to learn about engineering in your high school years as well.

There is no textbook for this class. Instructional materials will be supplied to the students through handouts and other material. STUDENTS MAY DOWNLOAD AUTODESK INVENTOR 2011 FOR FREE. Inventor requires fairly high graphics capability to run on a computer, but I encourage all students to download it if they have access to a computer that will run it at home (mom and dad can play with it too J -- don’t worry, your kids will show you how to use it). Downloading it is NOT required, and students will never be assigned Inventor homework. I’ll be sending home more detailed information about how to download inventor soon.

 

WORKING IN GROUPS – This is perhaps the hardest part of this course. Part of the engineering process is working with other engineers—something that ultimately results in the best product. Most students find that working with others, listening to their ideas, and being willing to compromise are the hardest challenges in this class. I encourage you to think about this and come to class willing to take on this challenge. It’s a skill that will be immensely valuable throughout your lives and make you highly sought-after in whatever career you choose.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

HOMEWORK—Although most work is done in class, you may need to work outside of class to practice a skill or to complete a project or presentation. Assignments will be posted on the board in class and on the class assignment calendar which can be accessed through the Bret Harte website or on my website.

QUIZZES/TESTS/FINAL TEST—Quizzes are often unannounced and have smaller point value than tests.  Tests are announced in advance and may be multiple choice, fill-in, short answer, drawing, or practical application. A final examination is given at the end of the semester and will cover all material taught during that semester. The final exam will count no more than 10% of the grade.

NOTEBOOKS—Students must save and organize all homework, worksheets, warm-ups, news summaries, class notes, and other class materials in a binder or section of a binder. Do not use an accordion file. Designs and sketches will also be added to this notebook and should be kept throughout the year.

PROJECTS—Students will spend much of class time designing, building, programming, and testing. Students who are unable to work at a fast enough pace may be required to finish their projects as homework or before or after school in the classroom. Student projects will be evaluated multiple times during the building and performance process. Behavior is important! If a student is off-task or distracting others, this will affect their daily project-progress evaluation.

GRADES

It  is important for students and parents to check grades and assignment credit on the Infinite Campus Portal. Students can access the Portal on the library computers or can arrange with me to check their PIV outside of class time. Letter grades for this class are based on a percentage of total points as follows:

90-100%   A- to A+          80-89.9%   B- to B+              70-79.9%   C- to C+              60-69.9%   D- to D+             below 60%    F

LATE WORK—Eighth graders should know the importance of turning in their work complete and on time. Assignments lose a letter grade for each day they are turned in late. For example, an assignment that would normally receive a B will receive a C if it is one day late, or a D if it is two days late.

ABSENCES/MISSED WORK—All work missed during an excused absence must be made up within a reasonable time (including projects). During an absence, check the online assignment calendar or contact your study buddies. Upon returning from an absence, check the assignment board in class and pick up any work from the make-up work folder. When you return to class, be sure to meet with me to discuss making up all work missed, including project progress. Students who participate in independent study while on vacation should realize that the work assigned cannot adequately take the place of class activities that occurred while they were gone. Consequently, students should be present in class whenever they are well.

EXPECTATIONS

RULES/TARDIES—All school district and school rules must be followed. Classroom expectations are posted and referred to in class. Students who receive three tardies or who do not follow the rules can expect to receive an after-school detention or a behavior referral to the school administration.

All students at Bret Harte are expected to exhibit the five aspects of Bronco Attitude in their behavior and work:

Cooperation    Work together · Respect differences · Accept others’ ideas and be willing to compromise · Communicate

Honesty    Sincerity · Trust · Be truthful to yourself and others · Academic honor

Self-Confidence    Be sure of your abilities · Stand by your beliefs and ideas · Be positive · Set goals · Believe you can do anything you put your mind to

Respect     Be considerate of others · Be courteous to all · Treat others as you wish to be treated · Accept others regardless of race, religion, gender, and other individual qualities

Responsibility    Commitment ·  Take responsibility for your actions · Know right from wrong · Manage your time

BE READY TO LEARN—While in the classroom, students are expected to participate in discussions, answer questions, take notes, participate in constructing projects, and keep the classroom orderly. Students are responsible for keeping track of assignments in a planner.

¨¨¨SAFETY—Proper behavior and safety are very important in our class. Any student who fools around or behaves in an unsafe manner while working on projects will be removed from the activity and receive zero points for each project not completed. No student will be allowed to endanger themselves or others, misuse equipment, or interfere in the work of others. Students must follow instructions and show respect for others in the classroom. ¨¨¨

Need help?            Need more information?            Need to confirm make-up assignments?

I'm available before school by appointment, and, although I am often in my classroom after school, it's best to make an appointment to make sure. I can also be reached at my email address: carol_zafiropoulos@sjusd.org. In order to send me an email, you'll need to make sure your email address is registered with the district email server (see the “Links” section of my website for a link to do this).

 

Required Materials to Bring to Class Every Day

·         3-ring binder (separate binder or a binder section)

·         have at least one pocket divider in binder

·         1 red pen, 1 black or blue pen, a pencil/ eraser

·         white ruled binder paper

·         colored pencils

·         planner to record assignments