Technology News 2008: Indian Creek High School

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Highlighted projects of Indian Creek High School.  Features include Automatic Can Crusher Project, Software development tools/projects, promotional videos produced by students, and more!

Purdue University program uses cheerleading to inform girls about technology careers

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Indiana's  Journal and Courier reported on the "Cheer in the Classroom summer camp," a "five-day program that...is held at Purdue University for girls from seventh to 12th grades who are interested in cheerleading and technology." According to Christi Jacobs, "a former Purdue cheerleader who started and runs the camp," the camp's goal is "to use cheerleading as a tool to inform girls about the careers available in technology-related fields." Jacobs pointed out that the camp utilizes "many hands-on activities that relate back to a wide variety of majors, from computer and information technology to mechanical engineering." Jacobs said, "I think the most rewarding thing was last year when I conducted my survey, my research came back and it was statistically significant that this camp was effective in that the girls found technology more interesting."

2007-2008 Engineering & Technology Education Day Proclamation

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Proclamation from the Governor of Indiana that declared on February 25, 2007 to be known as Engineering & Technology Education Day.

07-08 Outstanding Technology Education Teacher Awards Winners

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StudentAware joins America’s Air Force in congratulating the following Outstanding Technology Education Teachers. These 250 represent some of the most dedicated and well respected teachers in the Technology Education teacher network of over 30,000 teachers. Each one of these teachers was nominated by their grateful students who recognize the "outstanding" contribution they make everyday. Each one of the Outstanding Technology Education Teacher award winners will be presented a laser engraved plaque and engraved multi-tool by America's Air Force, designating him or her as an Outstanding Technology Education Teacher for 2008 Indiana winners include: Richard Watt (Attica Jr Sr HS), Arden Smith (Hanover Central HS), Steve Clark (Howe Military Academy), Pat McDonald (AK Smith Career Center), Kim Fisher (Heritage Jr Sr HS), Mike Shirey (Heritage Jr Sr HS), Mike Scamihorn (White’s Jr Sr HS).

Indiana Project Lead The Way we are number one!

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"WE'RE NO. 1!" THAT auspicious ranking is always a source of pride when Hoosiers talk about their favorite sports team. But there's another No. 1 ranking that some Indiana teachers, students and potential employers can take to heart. Indiana has more high schools involved in Project Lead The Way, an innovative, hands-on curriculum to get kids interested in engineering careers, than any other state in the country.

Award-winning teacher is mentor

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Furney, an industrial technology teacher, recently was honored as one of 25 Central Indiana teachers to receive the 2008 Indianapolis Power & Light Co.'s Golden Apple Award. He was selected for his innovative uses of math, science and technology. "All it takes is one kid to say, 'Thanks, hey I've enjoyed your class,' " he said. "If I have 30 kids in each class and three say thanks, it's all worthwhile."

College of Technology in Kokomo site of first NASA-Project Lead The Way teacher training

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"In K-12, teachers tend to teach in silos, and our goal with this workshop is to break down barriers and encourage teachers to work across disciplines," he said. "We've found that a curriculum comes alive when kids understand the connection between engineering, math and science. Learning math and science concepts is important, but showing students how to apply that knowledge is a great way to foster an early interest in STEM subjects." Grimsley said the two locations where training will be held this summer – the College of Technology at Kokomo and the University of Texas at Tyler – were selected because of the large number of Project Lead The Way schools in those states.

Purdue PLTW offering STEM lunar exploration course

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"NASA was aware of Project Lead The Way and approached us with the idea of expanding the lunar exploration workshop to reach teachers that are interested in teaching using a STEM-based, cross-disciplinary approach," he said. "In this workshop, teachers will learn innovative ideas to teach math, science and engineering subjects that they will be able to take back to the classroom."

For (Ryan) Newman, teacher’s a winner

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It's not often that a retired school teacher has a national network TV crew flown to his home to discuss a former student. But that's exactly what happened to former LaSalle Indiana High School (Technology Education) teacher Frank Cackowski after the executive producer from the Speed Channel informed him that NASCAR driver Ryan Newman had selected him as one of his hometown heroes.

Indiana High School Team Scores 2,843 MPG Win in Shell Eco-Marathon Marked by Drama, Sportsmanship

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Smart motoring, a cheese-wedge design and high winds propelled a $3,500, gasoline-fueled 3-wheeler built and driven by a team of high school kids past a pack of much-pricier supermilers crafted by collegiate engineering students to win the 2008 Shell Eco-marathon Americas fuel-efficiency competition Saturday. "When we first arrived, I wasn't sure a small high school like Mater Dei could compete with all these elite colleges," said Justin Stute, the team's captain. "But our first run broke the record (set the year before by Cal Poly) and then our second car did even better."

Teachers who spark interest in math, science and technology capture IPL Award

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Matthew Putman — Technology Education, Westfield High School, Westfield Washington Schools Students used The SMET2 Project – named for using Science, Math, Engineering and Technology – to create a Simple Machine Energy Transformation device to solve a design challenge. Students created six SMET devices that were arranged in a pattern to transfer energy from the first device to the last. All groups had to communicate to make their projects work together in a chain reaction to raise an American flag three feet in the air at the end of the machine.

Girls cheer for technology

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The College of Technology is using a new routine for one of its summer camps for kids. "Cheering in the Classroom" is a camp for students who have an interest in cheerleading, and some interest in technology wouldn't hurt. The program, directed toward girls, is offered to any student who is going to be a seventh-grader all the way to a high school senior. This will be the second summer that the camp will be held. Christi Jacobs, a graduate student in the College of Technology and a Purdue cheerleader for four years, started the camp as a part of her graduate assistantship in the assistant dean's office for the college.

Super Mileage Challenge allows students to apply math, science skills to solve real-world issues

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Meghan sets an example of what hands-on, minds-on learning can do for students, and how determination and hard work can pay off. Meghan’s team placed second in the challenge out of 24 teams, achieving 960.57 miles per gallon, and also won the Sportsmanship Award. As a direct result of this experience along with what she’s learned in her Project Lead the Way Introduction to Engineering course, Meghan has decided to pursue a degree in engineering at Purdue University or Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Though she’s not sure yet whether chemical or mechanical engineering sounds more appealing, Meghan does know that she has gained skills that will help her become a valuable contributor to Indiana’s academic and economic future.

Spotlight: Innovative Learning – Indiana Super Mileage Challenge

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Strapping on her helmet, sophomore Meghan Newman scrunches her body down into the tiny gap of a driver’s seat in team Winamac’s bright yellow car 24u. As a driver in the 13th annual Super Mileage Challenge, sponsored by the Indiana Department (IDOE) and the Indiana Mathematics Science and Technology Alliance (IMSTEA), Meghan is doing more than trying to break last year’s mark of 1,365.41 miles per gallon. She’s exhibiting the importance of today’s students being the innovators and problem-solvers of our future. The Super Mileage Challenge charges students with engineering a solution for our nation’s energy needs today. Brad Moore, an engineering and technology education teacher and Winamac’s Super Mileage Challenge adviser, has seen the benefits of these partnerships through the experiences of his students. He has seen that no matter what future path his students choose, integrating math, science and technology brings about a variety of benefits and opportunities.

IPL Golden Apple 2008 Award Winners

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Nathan Furney — Technology Education, Ben Davis High School, M.S.D. of Wayne Township. “Technology education teachers are the 21st century counterparts of what used to be called ‘industrial technology,’ ‘industrial arts’ or ‘shop’,” wrote Nathan Furney’s assistant principal. “However, the curriculum they teach has changed drastically in the last 30 years.”

IPL Golden Apple 2008 Award Winners

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James Hanson, Jr. — Project Lead the Way, Walker Career Center, M.S.D. of Warren Township. James Hanson, Jr., works with others to assure curriculum is on the cutting edge and meets the criteria for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) standards. In his Product Redesign/Reverse Engineering and Rapid Prototyping program, his pre-engineering students were given the freedom to explore their creative side as they combined elements of professional design and engineering to redesign the external shell of an existing product.

IPL Golden Apple 2008 Award Winners

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Matthew Putman - Technology Education, Westfield High School, Westfield Washington Schools. Matthew Putman prepared his students for the future with The SMET2 Project. It is named for using Science, Math, Engineering and Technology to create a Simple Machine Energy Transformation device to solve a design challenge.

IPL Golden Apple 2008 Award Winners

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Steve Rogers - Engineering and Technology, Walker Career Center, M.S.D. of Warren Township. When was the last time you drove over a wooden bridge? That's what led Steve Rogers to chart a new course in teaching structural forces, Pre-Tensioned Concrete Bridges. The current principles of engineering curriculum suggested having students construct and test a balsa wood bridge. Steven's students couldn't relate, so he designed his activity to use modern technology and simulate real-world projects, including design constraints, pressing deadlines and purchasing construction materials. The final evaluation of the student's bridges used a load test to calculate load efficiency, then divided the total cost of each bridge by the load. The project addressed 10 standards for Indiana's Technology Education Programs.

These Kids Are Really on the Ball!

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A drum roll for the winners please!  Judge Harry T. Roman, an electrical engineer and inventor himself has selected the best entries in the 2007-2008 Tech Directions Inventors Award Competition.  Honorable mention was awarded to Alexander Salmins, grade 12 of Noblesville (IN) High School.  Teacher: Joe Toms.

Know-how put to good use: Students use engineering studies on projects

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Hamilton’s team dubbed themselves GreenGlobalization. They surveyed 139 people, and found that many agreed with their observations about earphones. The team then came up with 28 ideas for fixing the problem and consulted experts from speaker manufacturers Klipsch and Bose for some insights about audio technology.  Eventually, GreenGlobal-ization decided to use Memory Foam and silicone as materials for their prototype. Another G-C team called Innotech is seeking a patent for their work. Spencer House and Jordan Lewis set out to make Smart Boards – interactive screen systems commonly used for education – more accessible for individual students. They met with product and technology consultants and demonstrated Wednesday how their work would complement existing Smart Board technology.

Robotics team has victory-filled year

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When Lawrence North High School senior Taylor Chenoweth joined McKenzie Career Center's robotics team, he did not know what he was getting himself into. "I didn't realize it would teach me as much as it has," said Chenoweth, 18, who joined as a sophomore.

Local teachers win Future City awards at IPFW

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Three local middle school teachers, Nick Balmoria of Blackhawk Middle School, Richard Flickinger of Leo Jr/Sr High School, and Bob Brothers of Canterbury, were honored with an award sponsored by Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) College of Engineering, Technology, and Computer Science (ETCS) and Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) at the 2008 Indiana Regional Future City Competition. All three teachers and their schools have been participating in Future City for eight years and have consistently excelled in the competition. Their respective schools received a monetary award on their behalf.

G-C finishes 38th at Vex Robotics World Championship

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Greenfield-Central's Vex Robotics team finished 38th out of 91 teams in the Vex Robotics World Championship in Northridge, Calif. They earned at 5-4 record and were ranked as high as seventh at one point in the competition. Competing in California were international teams from China, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Canada.

Morton High School certified for pre-engineering program

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Hammond, Ind. -- Morton High School is the first Hammond Public School to be certified for the quality of its pre-engineering program, Project Lead The Way (PLTW). This certification means Morton High School students enrolled in PLTW are eligible to earn college credit. “Project Lead The Way has enabled our students to learn practical engineering skills in the classroom,” said Katherine Broadnax, Morton High School PLTW instructor. “Now thanks to the certification there is even greater opportunity since students enrolled in the program can earn college credit.

Mater Dei Car Supermileage Winner

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Following the team's win in the California (and Indiana) competition, reports swirled around Mater Dei that members would be featured on NBC-TV's "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno. Shell, sponsor of the California event, told teams the winner likely would be on the show, but the show later decided against it. Mater Dei's students are getting attention elsewhere, however. Canada's version of The Discovery Channel "interviewed the boys by phone, and then the next day they had a camera crew at the school," Ritter said. The United States Discovery Channel shot footage of Mater Dei's team at the California competition. It is producing a program on "green living." Ritter said he hasn't heard when it will air. Four team members are Boy Scouts. They were interviewed for an upcoming article in Boys' Life, a national scouting magazine.

Cox Named Director of Curriculum for Engineering

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Sam Cox, Senior Associate Director of Engineering Curriculum for Project Lead The Way, Inc., has been named Director of Curriculum for Engineering effective immediately. He will be responsible for leading the Project Lead The Way.

IMSTEA Super Mileage Challenge Results 2008

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The results of the 2008 IMSTEA SMC where nearly 50 cars from 40 high schools from across Indiana competed in the 13th annual Super Mileage Challenge on Monday April 28, 2008. The event, sponsored by the Indiana Math, Science, and Technology Education Alliance was held at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis.

G-C Team Takes a Miserly Route

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 G-C’s fuel-stingy vehicle gets 1,105 miles a gallon to win engineering contest.  It was an incredible experience just learning new things that I had no knowledge of before. The SMC made it more of a realization of what working in engineering will actually be like. The Super Mileage Challenge has really allowed me to explore the mechanical engineering field. Team members expect Monday’s victory to increase interest in G-C’s Project Lead the Way program, which has already received significant attention for its achievements. “We can compete at the state level on a very complex project,” Land said. “In many ways, this is a collegiate-level project.”

Creating Fuel Efficient Cars

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Science and math students teamed up with students in “shop class” to create a one of a kind car and have fun learning at the Indiana Math Science Technology Education Alliance’s (IMSTEA) Super Mileage Challenge Monday at O’Reilly Raceway Park.

It's Not About Speed, It's About Gas Mileage

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Super Mileage Challenge is not about speed, it's about gas mileage. Locally, Triton, Warsaw and Whitko each have entered a car in the stock class; and Warsaw, Wawasee and Whitko each are entering a car in the unlimited class. Unlimited class allows engine modifications and will have a total of 24 entries. The unlimited class typically average more than 1,000 mpg.  Students in Jay Ocken's classes at Whitko started on their cars in November when they put together their 30-page proposal. They actually started building the cars in February, Ocken said. The Whitko students fell behind their timeline and had to play catch up, he said. "But that's a good lesson to learn." The frame took the longest, Ocken said. All the welding and aluminum work was done in-house. Once the frame was together, Ocken said everything else happened faster.

Fairfield, Wawasee Students to Race for Mileage

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Students from both Fairfield and Wawasee are entering a car in the “unlimited class,” which allows engine modifications. The unlimited class cars typically average over 1,000 miles per gallon. According to James Thompson, president of IMSTEA, “The students learn not only the technical and scientific aspects of building a high mileage car, they also learn how to work as a team and solve complex problems.”

Eggs Take Flight

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In the competition, groups of between four and six students designed and built a machine to launch a raw egg at a target 25 meters away. Students also had to design a device to protect the egg, because even just a cracked shell meant a lower score. Teams were judged on accuracy, how secure they kept the egg and a written report. Teams from Delta High School took grand champion and second place. Highland High School’s team won an honor for their Web page detailing the project. The team from Pendleton Heights built a launcher that used compressed air or fire the egg. Team members had been meeting after school for the past five weeks testing the machine and brushing up on their understanding of physics principles like pressure and aerodynamics.

SPORTS BRIEF: North HMVE Team Has Successful Showing

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Is 1,500 miles per gallon possible?

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Approximately 50 cars from 40 high schools across Indiana will compete in the 13th annual Super Mileage Challenge Monday. The event, sponsored by the Indiana Department of Education and the Indiana Mathematics Science and Technology Alliance (IMSTEA), will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis. Students expect to average 1,500 miles to the gallon during the event, breaking last year’s mark of 1,365.41 mpg.

Crown Point Robotics Team Reaches National Stage

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When building a robot, every component counts; similarly, a strong team is made up of many different parts. In less than two years, Crown Point High School's RoboDogs robotics team has built itself into a flourishing force of students who work by the motto "People who say it can't be done should not interrupt those who are doing it."

Grassroots Robotics

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560 Indiana teachers receive VEX robots & training Thousands of additional students learning robotics & competing. A new and rapidly expanding robotics program in Indiana is enabling many thousands of high school students to design and build robots—and compete in robot challenges—as part of their school curriculums. This is an exciting development because the students get to “wrench” on robot designs of their own creation even as they learn the diverse disciplines that come together in robotics—mechanical engineering, electricity, math, materials science, physics and more. This rapid expansion of robotics in Indiana schools is the result of carefully planned robotics workshops and competitions held by the Indiana Robotics Educators (IRE) in various Indiana locations throughout the year.

High Schoolers Build 1700 MPG Car

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Mater Dei reached 1,345 MPG in Indiana and then, after a bit of tweaking, went to the Eaton Proving Grounds in Marshall, Michigan and hit 1,693 MPG. Similar high school Supermileage competitions are also held in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin (where 56 schools are participating this year). A coordinating group called Supermileage USA is in the early stages of organizing a national competition.

IMSTEA Super Mileage Challenge

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The objective of the IMSTEA Super Mileage Challenge is to promote the integration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics through a project requiring the application of all four of the disciplines.

Delta Super Mileage Car

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Delta High School will compete in the Super Mileage Challenge in Indianapolis at O'Reilly Raceway Park on Monday April 28, 2008.

Cowan students learn to build better bridge

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The goal was for the bridge to support 6,000 pounds. The 25 people weighed 3,844 pounds. It's possible the bridge could have held more students, but students checked the bridge and found 2-inch drywall screws were used instead of 3-inch ones, Evans said, calling it a "material failure." The 40-foot truss bridge was created entirely by students in Mike Evans' construction process class. Evans acted as a consultant to students, answering questions whenever needed. Working on a tight budget, the entire bridge cost $327.53 to build. Once it is taken apart, the wood will be reused for future classroom projects, Evan said.

Mater Dei students win fuel efficiency competition

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“We’ve been at it a while and that’s one of the reasons we’re successful,” said Dan Ritter, who works at SABIC Innovative Plastics in Mount Vernon and who has a son on Mater Dei’s super mileage team. “We’ve been doing it eight years, and each year you learn a little.” Mater Dei won the competition’s $10,000 grand prize, as well as $1,600 for finishing first place in combustion engine and $800 for third place.

Driving Mater Dei The Issue: Students win major fuel efficiency competition. Our View: Team excelled against college students

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Mark Singer, global project manager for the Shell Eco-marathon, said in a prepared statement, "Students participating in this competition are the brains of the future, stretching the boundaries of fuel efficiency and providing solutions to the global energy challenge."

Travis East Recognized as One of NSBA’s ‘20 to Watch’

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According to the NSBA, individuals who receive this distinction are the emerging voices that will shape the future of education technology. East was recognized as one of the “thought leaders of tomorrow” who is “not afraid to question, redefine and transform education

2007 IPL Golden Apple Award Winners

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Cory C. Cooper — Technology Education, Franklin Community High School, Franklin Community School Corporation. Cory Cooper’s project, Terminal Velocity, began with his students constructing a wind tunnel. Using Leonardo DaVinci as their inspiration, they then researched, designed and built parachutes. Students applied scientific processes to refine the designs after testing prototypes in the wind tunnel and dropping them from the football field’s bleachers. The IPL Golden Apple Awards program honors outstanding central Indiana educators who creatively use math, science or technology in the classroom to inspire and motivate improved student achievement.  Since its inception in 1991, this program has recognized more than 400 public and private school educators who have developed and implemented a wide range of innovative projects using math, science or technology.

2,843 MPG? Mater Dei High School Team Takes the Prize

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Mater Dei High School of Evansville, Ind., set a new mileage record at the 2008 Shell Eco-marathon Americas, held ON Saturday April 12, 2008 at California Speedway competing 2008 Shell Eco-marathon Americas. The team won the grand prize at the event. "When we first arrived, I wasn't sure a small high school like Mater Dei could compete with all these elite colleges," team captain Justin Stute said in a statement announcing the results. "But our first run broke the record and then our second car did even better. That really motivated both of our teams to go all the way."

South students make history by entering robotics regional contest

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For the first time in school history, students from Terre Haute South Vigo High School entered a First Robotics Competition. Eight students and three mentors took the short tip to West Lafayette, to compete in the 4th Annual First Robotics, Boilermaker Regional on March 13-15. South Robotics Team No. 2368 was one of 40 teams competing for a bid to the National competition in Atlanta.

Eyeing the future: Students Examine Manufacturing Careers

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After talking to representatives from several local industries during JCIDC's first iPOD day, the two Crothersville High School students gained new insight into the importance of manufacturing in the community as well as knowledge of career opportunities.The iPOD event, which stands for Industry Possibility and Opportunity Day, brought students from six area high schools to the Seymour High School auxiliary gymnasium for a career fair geared toward manufacturing.  Students in Bob Sexton's manufacturing and engineering program at SHS came up with the name iPOD as a way to get students' attention. By participating, students could register to win an Apple iPod.

Kindergarten Manufacturing!

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Kindergarten students from participated in a production run on Friday, April 4, 2008 at Ball State University.  The students became employees of the “HANGING PLANTER MANUFACTURING COMPANY” for the day.  Four classes of kindergarten students came to the Applied Technology Building, and worked in the manufacturing lab in AT 215. During the "run" they used industrial equipment to fabricate, assemble, and package a "hanging planter"   The final product included a wall unit, pot (cup), potting soil, and seeds . . . . all the items necessary to begin small flowering plants for home or yard.  The roughly 1-hour manufacturing period included assembly, packaging, and the inspection processes.

Purdue Program Honored, Renamed

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For the third time in four years, Purdue has been honored for the way it prepares engineering/technology educators. The program was named as the 2007 Outstanding Program by the ACTE’s Engineering & Technology Education Division. Formerly titled technology education, the program opened in 2007-08 academic year with its more inclusive name.  

Indiana schools offer PLTW

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Indiana's Star Press reported that Project Lead the Way (PLTW) "classes focused on careers in engineering and engineering technology were offered to Central and Southside high school students for the first time this school year, in hopes of filling a need in the workforce eventually." The implementation of PLTW "came months after the Muncie Community School Board decided to end the machine trades program at the Muncie Area Career Center because of lack of student interest." Jo Ann McCowan, director of extended services and career and technical education, said that Muncie Community Schools "received a $67,000 grant from the Department of Workforce Development to offer the program." According to the Star Press, "The first class, introduction to engineering and design, focused on mechanical engineering." The next class, "which will be added next year, will center on electrical engineering." McCowan said that PLTW "will re-open the doors to the machine trades program for students who are interested in machine technology, but don't plan to go to college to be an engineer."

Females in Technology hosts workshops for Girl Scouts of Central Indiana

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Members of Females in Technology at the Indiana State University College of Technology hosted a special event for Girl Scouts of Central Indiana who were interested in technology-related careers on March 1. Troops from Indianapolis, Mooresville, Carmel, Fishers and Lafayette attended the event designed for females ranging from grades 6-12. “I was glad to have an opportunity to educate young girls and their mothers about women in the construction industry and especially to address issues of stereotypes,” said Jennifer Hale, senior manufacturing/construction technology major from Terre Haute and the president-elect of FiT. Each workshop provided a hands-on activity to show the girls something they would experience every day in their major.

Batesville school board meets

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Next year 54 Batesville High School students are enrolled in two sections of introduction to engineering design, the first of eight courses offered by Project Lead the Way Inc. (www.pltw.org), a Clifton Park, N.Y.-based organization. “It took off quickly,” reported guidance counselor Matt Maple. With state leaders trying to attract more manufacturers here, educators are being pressured to prepare teens for those jobs, Maple said. “It was our responsibility to find out how.” He learned PLTW already has been implemented at Jac-Cen-Del, Jennings County and Columbus high schools.

High Schoolers Create Car That Gets 1693 Miles-Per-Gallon

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Warning: This article may cause serious arousal in environmentally-conscious individuals and/or anyone distraught at the current price of gasoline. Engineering students from high schools all over Indiana are preparing to enter their automotive creations into an annual mileage competition. The majority of entries entries achieve fuel economy that most people only fantasize about, with many cars breaking the 1,000 miles-per-gallon (mpg) mark. That's right, 1,000-mpg.  The annual Super Mileage Challenge is hosted by the Indiana Mathematics, Science, Technology and Education Alliance (IMSTEA) and takes place on April 28 at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis.

Mater Dei team gears up for race

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Mater Dei High School students are gearing up for a return trip to the Shell Eco-marathon Americas, where student-built, fuel-efficient vehicles are put to the test. A news release from Shell promoting the Eco-marathon Americas said the event is "part of a global effort to help change the way the world uses fuel."By participating, the Mater Dei team will help shape the future of transportation with their ingenuity."

Team puts Pac-Man through the motions

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Cameron Schmitz would rather not crash the robot he is controlling. But it’s tough for the Pendleton Heights High School senior when five other robots are whirring around a racetrack, each trying to lift a large rubber ball, place it on an overpass and knock an opponent out of the game. When we first get a kid involved in this team we get them to start using his imagination. That’s a wonderful experience to see somebody bloom.

Sparky didn't spark, but the kids had fun anyway

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Being in the club has helped him in many ways. "It's really helped me talk to people that I don't really know," he said. "I know how to use a lot more tools and they showed us different ways to think about problems, different ways on how to solve problems." Mike Koch, an engineer and a mentor to the team, said the kids "did everything humanly possible to get it (their robot) to perform, but it just wasn't in the cards." "This is a normal part of life, and good for the kids to learn," he added. "They worked well together and were still friends when the competition was over." The robot-building project "is an excellent program," he said.

NEWS: Cutting edge PHHS jumps into tech program

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Building robots, programming computers and solving design problems are not subjects every high school student has the opportunity to pursue. But since adopting the Project Lead the Way program in 2005, Pendleton students get to do just that. “We have the valedictorian of the sophomore class in one of these classes right now,” said Klipsch. “This student probably never would have been in our hallway (Technology Education) if not for Project Lead the Way. We’re getting to see kids that never would have taken our classes otherwise — which is great.”

Big wheels: Mater Dei Supermileage Team looks forward to more titles

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Wouldn't a car that gets more than 1,500 miles per gallon catch your attention with gas prices where they are? The Mater Dei Supermileage Team makes that car a reality. The team consists of a group of students whose objective is to design and build a car with high gas efficiency as the ultimate goal. With the help of adult advisers Dan Ritter and Bob Neisen, the members obtain knowledge in engineering and shop techniques. The cars the team designs may not be road-worthy, but they do well in the many competitions that the team competes in annually. The team is working hard to design and build a car that will, hopefully, exceed last year's successes.

Southern Wells Students Win in Bridge Building

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Southern Wells students Cody Watson and Brandon Biberstine won 3rd place at a Bridge Building contest on Saturday, February, 23rd.  The contest was hosted at Indiana-Purdue University/Ft Wayne (IPFW) as part of National Engineers Week.  Students were challenged to build the lightest, stiffest bridge with only 200 popsicle sticks and wood glue.  The students won a $50 prize.  The school has placed in the top 3 both years students have participated.

Southern Wells Teacher Receives Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellowship

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Doug Hunt, Technology Education and Project-Lead-the-Way teacher, was one of 120 teachers statewide to receive the Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program.  Funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. the program enables teachers, principals, guidance counselors and school librarians from all over Indiana to take time to pursue their personal interests, explore subjects that intrigue them, and just “get away.”  This summer, Hunt will be attending a guitar-building workshop at Purdue University, where he will build a guitar in a week under the watchful eye of representatives from the country’s leading guitar manufacturers and Purdue faculty.  He will then spend several weeks in Chicago, home of the blues, testing his mettle playing at the city’s various blues clubs in their open jam sessions.  Lastly, Hunt will build a guitar on his own.

Robot teams gearing up for Purdue

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"This is an electric atmosphere at which more than 1,000 teens and adults will cheer for their favorite robot," said Przybylinski. "This year's competition really challenges the dexterity and skill of robots and drivers."Regional winners will join more than 300 teams to compete in the international championship event April 17-19 in Atlanta. "The program is a great way for high school students to get hands-on experience with engineering and technology related practices," Przybylinski said. "Plus, they have fun in the process. For many students, this is the highlight of their year."

G-C tech program a three-time winner

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Greenfield-Central has received another accolade for its high school’s technology program – the program excellence award of the International Technology Education Association. G-C is one of fewer than 50 programs worldwide to receive the award, according to a news release by ITEA, a Virginia-based organization for technology and engineering educators. “This is the third time in 25 years that we’ve received this award,” said Gary Wynn, department chair of the GC technology education program. “We’ve strived to develop a curriculum that prepares students for the outside work or their (university) education.”

Students honored at state capitol

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It’s good to make the connections with people because later on we can recognize them and talk to them about what else is going on.  In a time when funding is tight, it’s good for legislators to see how high school students are using technology, Gard said. “It’s been interesting over the years to see the displays and how what they’re doing has advanced,” Gard said. “It’s great for us to see the opportunities out there. They’re being advocates for the program, and that’s a great thing.”

Purdue Prepares to Host Robotics Competition

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Forty teams of students from the Midwest and North Dakota are riveting their robots for the fourth annual FIRST Boilermaker Regional Competition on March 13-15 at Purdue University. "This is an electric atmosphere at which more than 1,000 teens and adults will cheer for their favorite robot," said Amy Przybylinski, event chairperson and a Purdue mechanical engineering graduate. "This year's competition really challenges the dexterity and skill of robots and drivers."

Teams prepare for robotics competition

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Students from east central Indiana competed, informally, with their robotics projects on Sunday. They were preparing for the 2008 FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Challenge. "We are here just comparing the robotics to other robots. We try to get as much done with fine tuning as possible," Greigh Davis, president of team 829, said. Students designed the robots by themselves in their workshops. They decided what they wanted to do, and their mentors helped them bring their projects to reality and assisted in fixing any technical problems.

Zionsville robotics team to compete in world championship

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Constructed and operated by Zionsville students, collected tennis balls and dropped them into a trough on their way to winning first and sixth place in a contest Saturday, and qualifying the students to compete in a world championship. On Monday, several members of the Robotics Club demonstrated their winning robots for state lawmakers at the annual Technology Educators of Indiana Day at the Statehouse. "Seeing students get excited about academic material outside of the classroom, it makes you realize what education is all about," Mulholland said. "It's reinvigorated me as a teacher."

State Hands Out $1.8 Million in Grants

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The Indiana Department of Workforce Development is awarding more than $1.8 million in grants to help better prepare Hoosiers for work. Fifty-two institutions were awarded grants for Project Lead the Way programming. These grants will increase the number of schools participating in or enhance existing programs in Project Lead the Way, a national curriculum and teacher training effort aimed at promoting student interest and participation in engineering. Project Lead the Way provides a four-year sequence of courses, which when combined with traditional mathematics and science courses in high school, introduces students to the scope, rigor and discipline of engineering prior to entering college. A hands-on project and problem-based approach to teaching and learning, Project Lead the Way adds rigor to traditional programs and relevance to traditional academics.

Indiana schools receive grants to fund robotics competition teams

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According to an announcement by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (IDWD), "Terre Haute South Vigo High School was among 27 Indiana high schools or postsecondary institutions receiving grants totaling $114,000 that will be used to fund teams competing" in the For Inspiration & Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics program. Teresa Voors, the IDWD commissioner, said, "This program helps provide an education and career path for young people who might not otherwise have discovered an interest in science and technology." She added that "students who participate in FIRST Robotics are 50 percent more likely to attend college and twice as likely to major in science or engineering." The Tribune Star notes that the "grants...were funded from the federal Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006."

Robot builders prep for competition

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The robots on display at the Morrison Mock Professional Building on Sunday didn't look like your stereotypical sci-fi robot, but they were amazing. Six Indiana robotics-building teams -- two from Indianapolis, one from each Kokomo, Madison County, Huntington and Muncie -- were there to work the bugs out, and maybe show off a little one last time before shipping their machines to regional competition this week. The focus for the students is on science, math, engineering and technology, according to Leblanc. The program is an extra-curricular activity that is tied in with what they are doing in school, and it gives them a way to apply math, science and physics concepts in a real world situation. "Just like the real world, they have deadlines, budget constraints and teamwork challenges," she said. "And they have fun doing it. It's an excellent program," he said "You just don't find many programs like this where kids can get hands-on experience in problem solving and hands-on application. "It's a great opportunity to work with young people," he added. "I spent all my life learning these things, so why not pass it on?"

College, career prep programs get boost with grants

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According to the department, the grants will help schools better align their curricula with more rigorous academic standards and improve student preparation for high-wage, high-demand jobs projected for the state in the decades ahead. The grants from the state were awarded in two categories: Tech Prep and Project Lead the Way. Tech Prep is a nationwide career development system that includes a planned program of study incorporating academic and career-related courses leading to a diploma, degree or two-year apprenticeship certificate.

Avenues to Success-Developing a Thriving Technology Education Program

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Greenfield-Central High School, the technology education has faced many challenges over the past several decades. Educational changes and reform at all levels seem to have had a positive effect on the required classes or "core" courses. As a result, "elective" courses seem to be delegated to a secondary role in a student's education. Indiana is fortunate to have an articulated technology education curriculum model created through the Indiana Department of Education's Technology Education Curriculum Committee. This curriculum offered course titles and a foundation curriculum that teachers could model in their own classrooms. But, while the written guide provided a direction, the final course curriculum had to be developed by the instructors and then enhanced by the resources they used or created.

DWD Grants awarded to twenty-seven schools for robotics competition

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Twenty-seven Indiana high schools or postsecondary institutions are receiving grants totaling $114,000 that will be used to fund teams competing in the FIRST Robotics program, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development announced today. An international program, FIRST (For Inspiration & Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded by inventor Dean Kamen to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. The program's goal is to help young people recognize the opportunity, power, and joy of solving problems through science, technology, and engineering. "Engineering and scientific innovation are very important to the economic future of our state," said Teresa Voors, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. "This program helps provide an education and career path for young people who might not otherwise have discovered an interest in science and technology, she said."

Students stand up to ‘Challenge’

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Jason Williams was disappointed when he learned that transportation issues were going to prevent Western Boone Junior-Senior High School from taking a team to an annual engineering competition, Tech TREK, earlier this year. So when he heard about a regional construction challenge, he took the initiative to pull together a team and tell the school’s technology teacher they wanted to compete in January. What they didn’t know in the beginning was if they did well enough in regional competition, they would win an all-expense-paid trip to Las Vegas for the finals.

Teaching the future

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More than 12 years ago, Bob Sexton started changing the way technology was taught at Seymour High School. With the change came complaints and concerns from parents who said their children should be learning woodworking, not manufacturing. Through hard-work and determination, Sexton proved the need for a new way of teaching technology education. He recently was presented with the 2007 Distinguished Teacher of the Year award from the Greater Seymour Chamber of Commerce for his work at the school. Superintendent Robert Schmielau said the program and its hands-on approach offers advantages to students and community and could help battle the so-called brain drain of graduates completing their educations and living and working elsewhere.

Students to play chef for a day at Rube Goldberg contest

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Indiana high school teams participating in the event include Waldron Junior/Senior High School, Waldron, Ind.; Brandywide High School, Niles, Mich.; Newburgh Christian School, Newburgh, Ind.; Rochester Community High School, Rochester, Ind.; and Kouts High School, Kouts, Ind.

The Annual IUPUI Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Student Conference

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The student conference will be held on Friday, February 8 at the IUPUI Campus in Indianapolis. In its fourth year, the day-long conference is intended to expose high school students to careers in engineering and technology. Students attending the conference will be provided the opportunity to hear presentations from faculty and students of the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI, as well as engineers companies including Rolls Royce, Cummins, Duke-Energy, and Alcoa on topics such as: “Computer and Digital Forensics;” “Speed and Studies: IUPUI Students Pursuing a Career in Racing;” “Engine Failure Analysis - What Happens When Stuff Breaks;”  and “Underground Space:  More Mysterious than Outer Space

Vigo students have equipment to help prepare them for life after high school

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Vigo County School Corp. career and technical education has a new look and new equipment that will better prepare students for college and the work force. The program benefited from $1 million in money generated through bond refinancing, said Doug Dillion, Vigo County School Corp. director of career and technical education. The major focus has been new equipment “that brings us more up to an industry standard,” he said. Too often, parents and students have an outdated image of manufacturing that doesn’t reflect today’s reality. They think of dingy factories where their work clothes will be dirty and greasy by the end of the day. “It’s just not that way anymore,” Dillion said. Advanced manufacturing is typically a high-tech, automated process “where you watch through a glass door and a machine does the work,” he said. New equipment also has been bought for Project Lead the Way, a nationally recognized program with a rigorous curriculum that prepares students for postsecondary opportunities in the engineering field.

Students help teachers incorporate technology into classrooms

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When Bob Sexton, technology teacher at Seymour Community Schools, saw Project Lead the Way students figuring out how to transfer their RoboPro program to their Play Station Portable (PSP), Sexton had an idea. The students were excited, and he wanted to challenge them to find educational applications for their PSP. A PSP is a multi-sensory, technology tool that many students already use at home to play games. Sexton said it is more than that. The PSP can be used as a portable storage device, as an internet access to online learning activities, and for classroom PowerPoint presentations. With additional add-ons such as a camera and software, students can also record audio files, share pictures and download video for use in their classrooms.

Project helps students think inside the ‘bots

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New Palestine High School students throught their robotics project could not fail.  The essentials were all in place: the angled grooves, the light sensor and the rotating bins. But as they readied the machanism to sort out a handfull of marbles by color, they found that the small spheres kept getting caught up in the funnel.  So they kept their wits and improvised.  It turns out that their device needed another propellor before it could take off.

Robot has dual purpose

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Brownsburg teacher Anthony Abrams had no trouble getting students excited about the high school's latest Project Lead the Way activity. “It's hard to get much better as a teacher than kids pounding on the door at 6 a.m. wanting to get in . . . to work," Abrams said. Their contraption, made of sprinkler valves, metal pipes, wires, batteries and other gadgets on a powered wheelchair frame, passed its first test last month at a boys basketball game when it fired six T-shirts into the crowd. It returned to the court for an encore Saturday between the first and second quarters and at halftime. I'm excited to see where it goes from here because this is just the beginning," said Wayne Johnson, another Project Lead the Way teacher. "These kids learned so much without realizing they were learning."

South High School staging open house

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Terre Haute South Vigo High School will showcase improvements and new equipment in its Career and Technical Education programs during an open house and curriculum fair from 7 to 8 p.m. today. Students, parents, community members and representatives of business and industry are invited. Room 215 highlights a new state-of-the-art automated manufacturing station, while Room 158 has been revamped to better represent the marketing industry. Other highlights include a new food lab, new CNC embroidery machine, remodeled welding lab and an engineering design lab with a 3-D Rapid Prototyper.

Muncie PhyXTGears First Robotics Team

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Richard Cassel drills into a piece of wood as his father, David, helps during the Muncie / Delaware First Robotics meeting Thursday night. The team meets six nights a week to work on their robot that will be competing in February. The robot must pick up a l0-pound ball and move it around a course competing against other robots trying to do the same thing. This is the pair's second year in the club. Also see the PhyXTGears team blog here to follow the team this season.

Program aims to smooth transition to high school

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High School seems a long way off to Brandon Lavy, but the seventh grader at Maxwell Middle School already received a taste of what it’s going to be like. G-C’s Project Lead The Way (PLTW) and technology education programs have received a lot of attention and accolades. G-C’s program is one of 15 exemplary programs that PLTW is recognizing this year. Mark Holzhausen has been recognized as technology teacher of the year and the program recognized as the technology education program of the year by E/TEI. Hozhausen said when it comes to sparking interest among prospective future students, “the kids are the best salespersons. To me, it (program recognition) reflects how serious the kids are taking their education,” he said.

Labor officials to observe workforce programs

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At Jasper, During their visit on Monday and Tuesday, Denise Dombeck and Jeff Ryan, representatives of the labor department, will go to Innovation Pointe, the University of Southern Indiana campus, the Southwest Indiana Career & Technical Center and Jasper High School. At Jasper, they will meet with teachers and students taking part in Project Lead the Way, a program aimed at improving students’ abilities in science, technology, engineering and math. Two representatives of the U.S. Department of Labor will visit Evansville next week to observe programs begun by the Grow Southwest Indiana Workforce Board.

Serving community

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Sexton is a graduate of South Ripley High School and Ball State University. He has taught math, technology and pre-engineering at Seymour High School for 15 years. “One of his former students described him this way: ‘After being in Mr. Sexton’s class, when I got to college I was a full year ahead of my class in our major,’” Bailey said. “His reputation as an excellent educator is recognized outside Seymour. He is the recipient of the Air Force Air Education & Training Command Technology Education Outstanding Teacher Award, the International Technology Education Association Program Excellence Award and the High School Program of the Year Award from the Technology Educators of Indiana.” Bailey said Sexton has been critical to the success of the Manufacturing Standardized Skills Certification for adults in the work place. His classroom technology lab that benefits high school students and adult workers is now used as the model for technology education in Indiana. “Bob has not only shown his talent for being a great teacher of young people, he has also created quite a reputation for his ability to merge technology, education and the adult work force,” Bailey said. 

Teams craft cities from imagination

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Batteries, beads and milk cartons became the stuff that cities are made of during Saturday’s Indiana Regional Future City Competition at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. The educational program challenged seventh- and eighth-graders to design futuristic cities that use nanotechnology, or tiny technology on an atomic scale, to keep its infrastructure healthy.

Bob Sexton of Seymour High School announced as the Teacher of the Year by the Greater Seymour Chamber of Commerce

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The Greater Seymour Chamber of Commerce will hold its 76th annual dinner Jan.16 at the Pines Evergreen Room starting with a reception at 5:30 p.m. Each year the chamber identifies four individuals and one business for special recognition.  The recipients of the 2007 recognitions are George Graessle as Small Business Owner of the Year Award, Bobby Eldridge as the Rising Star Award, Bob Sexton as the Teacher of the Year Award, Don Myers Sr. as the Citizenship Award and The Andersons as the Corporate Citizenship Award. “The chamber is honored to be able to recognize these individuals and this company for their significant contributions in making Seymour and Jackson County the great place it is to live,” chamber President Bill Bailey said.

New classes arrive at Penn High School with the addition of new design and engineering courses

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MISHAWAKA -- From designing residential floor plans, landscapes and furniture layouts to designing buildings, Penn High School students next school year will have a chance to explore the world of sawdust and nails with the click of a mouse. A new semester long design processes class will teach students in all grade levels residential construction design through Home Design Software, said James Langfeldt, who will help teach the course with Brad Robertson. In addition, Mike Maciulski, will undergo extensive training this summer to add the fifth "Project Lead the Way" course at Penn High School -- a national program that also provides an introduction to engineering design, principles of engineering, digital electronics and aerospace engineering studies, he said. "It's basically to meet the needs of business and industry," Monhaut said of the popular hands-on pre-engineering curriculum that aims to make math and science relevant to students.

Technology students at ISU bring home awards from TECA conference

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"This was a very intense competition," said Kyle Lanoue, an industrial technology instructor with the College of Technology. The Sycamores claimed the top prize in the biggest competition of the conference, the SME/TECA Live Manufacturing Contest. In this competition, teams were challenged to design, build and run a manufacturing process that produced the most product in the quickest, most efficient and safest manner.

Delta is chasing after the engineering gap

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A junior, Jennifer Buis chased her engineering dream at Delta High School in tech-ed classes her first two years. "I have always wanted to be an engineer," said Buis, one of only three females in two classes with 34 students -- mostly freshmen. "Ever since I was little, I have liked to build things and to figure out how things work. Glaze also teaches the school's super-mileage class, a tech-ed choice Buis has been enrolled in since she arrived at Delta. Students for the past few years have built low-mileage vehicles and competed in a statewide competition with other Indiana high schools. The pre-engineering classes called Project Lead The Way offer Delta High School students chances to earn college credits while still in high school. The credits, determined by students' abilities to run the software, are accepted now by more than 100 institutions nationwide. Glaze's super-mileage classes also allow students to earn dual credits, as do tech-ed robotics classes.

5 high schools named as 'Best Buy'

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Included in the list from Hamilton County were Hamilton Heights, Hamilton Southeastern, Noblesville, Sheridan and Westfield high schools. Jason Hemmerling, Westfield High School technology education teacher, instructs students in a Project Lead the Way class. WHS was one of five schools named to the 2007 Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s Best Buys list.

Manufacturing gains focus

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The $900,000 that Jackson County expects to receive as part of a $38 million grant from Lilly Endowment will be focused on improving advanced manufacturing education in area schools. The advanced manufacturing lab at Seymour High School, headed by teacher Bob Sexton, is one of the top three such facilities in the state, Walther said. Other labs in the region will be modeled upon the Seymour lab.

Race to space (center)

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If all goes well, a group of Plainfield High School engineering students next spring could be peddling on a lunar surface in their own moon buggy. They plan to be powering and steering their own experimental vehicle in the 15th annual NASA Great Moonbuggy Race sponsored by Northrop Grumman Corp., Jacobs Technology Inc. and Boeing. Plainfield teacher Johnny Vargo said his program got a big boost when the School of Engineering and Technology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis donated the frame and parts of a moon buggy for the high school students to redesign and rebuild. But he said the rest is up to them.

Honey Creek Middle School technology students compete in robotics contest

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The students had an opportunity to experience real life problem solving and engineering principles as they designed their robot. "Honey Creek Middle School technology students competed in their first Vex Robotics contest," which was sponsored by "Robotics Educators, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development." Ninety-four teams from "elementary, middle and high schools throughout Indiana" participated in the competition. According to the Tribune-Star, "Each team had to plan, design and build their robot from a stock robot kit. The robots were radio controlled and had the task of picking and placing racquetballs into a goal." Furthermore, "The students had an opportunity to experience real life problem solving and engineering principles as they designed their robot."

RoboDogs pointing to success

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Crown Point High School's RoboDogs found some success in their first year of robotics competition, leaving students and parents enthused about the next competitive assignment to be issued in January. The RoboDogs formed in the winter of 2006 and participated in the Purdue Boilermaker Regional robotics meet after receiving grant money from NASA and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. Their large robot -- complete with a mechanical arm and red bumper cushions on all four sides stood at the front of the technology classroom as students made adjustments to the controls, installed fuses and instructed the robot to go.

Project Lead the Way Introduces High Schoolers to Engineering Field

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Project Lead the Way, a new program at Central and Southside high schools, introduces students to engineering and engineering technology fields to increase the number of students receiving a two- or four-year degree. Muncie Community Schools received a $67,000 grant from the Department of Workforce Development to offer the program, said Jo Ann McCowan, director of extended services and vocational education. Freshman David Clark knows he wants to major in mechanical engineering. His father's friend owns a tool and die shop, and he's had an interest in the field for a while, he said. "I've always liked designing stuff," Clark said.

National School Boards Association’s 2007 “20 to Watch” Lead the Changes in Education Technology

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Travis East, Technology Education Teacher, Nineveh-Hensley-Jackson United School Corporation, Indiana. Travis East champions a content area that is not easily understood by many in the educational technology community. As an industrial and engineering technology education teacher, he works to provide his students with growth, experiences, applications, and exciting opportunities in technology that are unique. Examples of his work include setting up a 3D holography lab, learning 3D CAD to train his students for careers related to engineering, beginning to participate in the F1 in Schools program, beginning to incorporate rapid prototyping and machining technology using Pro/Engineer software, mold making to help students learn about injection molding/plastics technologies, and working with the Indiana chapter of the International Electrical and Electronics Engineers to advance his offerings for students.