Grade 8 - Manufacturing project results

Grade 8 EVEN sections are currently finishing up their projects.

Here are a few pictures showing their current efforts

 

Grade 6 - Bridge building construction in full swing

After researching, designing, and creating a scaled drawing of their bridge, all students are now building. Here are a few pictures of the students in action.

Once the bridges are completed the students will have them tested. Stay tuned for the results.

Grade 8 - Learning how to build Scratch Games

Everyone dreams of creating that next great video game. But this time the ODD section 8th graders actually tried to do it. What they quickly learned was just how complex game development actually is. Here are some of the games they were able to finish.

Iron Suits vs Androids

Space Dodge

Hit and Run

Volcano Crash

Final Game

Crossy Skys

Space Adventure

Shark Attack

You are the Turtle

Avoid the ball

Santa and the Yummy Cookies

Spider and the Leaves

Rock Fall

Adventures with Tera!

Potatoes vs Unicorns

Asteroid Dodge

Grade 7 - Design Process Part 2 is now due & final photos

To all ODD section 7th graders

All projects are now due either on paper or via sharing the google docs.

Since everyone always wants to know who held the most weight here is your winner....

For safety reasons this was the last photo we took because the final height of the pile forced the teacher to use a chair to place the books on top. In the end he held the 50lbs, all 25 of the Red books and 18 Blue books totaling nearly a 140lbs.  Well Done. 

Here are the remaining photos. 

Grade 8 - Robotics is now in full swing

All 8th graders know what the final project is - SumoBots. But to get there they need to build a strong foundation in both hardware design and software development. To help them with their learning the students must complete three projects each with different parts. 

Project 1 - Driving Test

They must drive for a certain period of time and then stop

They must drive forward for a period of time, stop for a period of time, and then backwards for a period of time. 

They must start on a line and stop on another line without using sensors. 

Finally they must program their robots to navigate a slalom course without touching any of the cones. 

Project 2 - Looping Line Detector

Students will learn how to use a color sensor to control their robot's action depending upon if the robot sees the line or not. They will also learn how to make decisions based upon what the sensor sees and how to make the program loop indefinitely. This will help them to remain on the playing field. 

Project 3 - Looping ultrasonic detection

Students will learn how to use the ultrasonic sensor to "sense/see" another object within a certain distance and react to it.

So far the students have really taken to the challenges presented to them. Sometimes things work great and sometimes things go wrong.... very wrong which leads to alot of learning and laughing. The video below shows one such example. Both students were not present for the filming since they couldn't stop laughing. 

 

To prove just how much these students are using their robots the picture below shows how many dead batteries there are from all the usage. And that's just one table, there are two others off camera. 

 

Stay tuned for more updates. 

Grade 8 - Current Lego SumoBot Competition Brackets

To all ODD section 8th Graders.

The following are the Round Robin Brackets for each class assuming all groups produce and present a legal robot by the competition due date. Our sole purpose is to determine a winner for each section. If a team has been mathematically determined to be the winner then the end of the period will end all matches.

Section 8-1

Section 8-3

Section 8-5

Section 8-7

Section 8-9

Any team not presenting their robot for inspection by the due date AND have it deemed legal will not compete.

Once each Section has a declared winner those winners will face off in order to declare an overall ODD section champion.

ODD Cycle Finals

The winning robot will be put to the side and will await the winner of the EVEN section competitions later in the year.

Hour of Code Week

To all students:

The Engineering and Technology Department will be providing the opportunity to every student at Somerset Middle School to learn Computer Science by taking part in an Hour Of Code.

If any parent or student would like to learn more about the Hour Of Code you can head over to their website:

https://code.org/

Or check out this excellent video: What Most Schools Don't Teach

Grade 8 - AutoCAD

To all EVEN section students

AutoCAD is a commercial software application for 2D and 3D computer-aided design (CAD) and drafting. AutoCAD is used across a wide range of industries, by architects, project managers, engineers, graphic designers, and many other professionals.

Prior to students working independently in AutoCAD they are instructed as a group on how to use the software to create basic drawings.

Drawing Commands and Topics:

Copy    Move   Trim    Zoom   Pan      Mirror

RELATIVE RECTANGULAR COORDINATES allow you to specify a position along the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis to locate a point relative to the last point you specified.

Grade 6 - Structural Design

To all EVEN section students

 Using newly acquired knowledge students design their bridge through a set of rough draft drawings and a final drawing which will be used as a template for their project.

The Engineering Design Process is used for this project which involves designing, building, and testing a structure, in this case a Balsawood Bridge. A major area of focus is on the structures overall efficiency. Concepts such as Tension, Torsion, Sheer and Compression are considered when deigning the structures.

The nature of this project involves the use of sharp objects and cutting tools. Students are also evaluated on how they follow classroom safety procedures.  Key points which are stressed to all students are:

1) Focusing on the task at hand.

2) Displaying proper use of cutting tools.

3) Work area is kept clean.

4) Listening and follow teacher’s daily instructional plan.

Final Product is a Balsawood Bridge which students take home.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Engineering/Technology Dept

Mr. Medeiros and Mr. Falcon would like to wish everyone the very best Thanksgiving. Please be safe as you travel to spend time with family.

Grade 6 - Introduction to Scratch Programming has begun

To all ODD section 6th grade classes:

Introduction to Programming using Scratch has begun with it's first project.

The areas we will be concentrating on are:

-Looping

-Conditionals

-Variables

-Expressions

Upon successful completion of the above projects students will be tasked with creating their own  Maze Game as a final project for this unit.

Grade 7 - More Design Process Stages